Dell PowerVault Reviews

We have been using Dell PowerVault for multiple users for VMRS virtualization storage, for backup storage, as well as for raw storage for the Windows servers, mapping it as a LAN.

It is easy for L1 engineers to assign the LUN and then easy for handling, taking a snapshot, and assigning the volumes. Everything is easy in Dell PowerVault instead of a NetApp.

It is easy and user-friendly, and it is mostly user-friendly for me when managing comprehensive storage data management features such as snapshots, replication, and provisioning with Dell PowerVault.

It is easy to take a snapshot with a single click on the volume, and we can also automate the snapshot on a daily schedule at a specific time. This is useful, and it is also very useful for me to recover the snapshots from the storage. If I have any data loss, it is useful for me to take the snapshot and then restore my data.

I am using scheduled snapshots with Dell PowerVault. In one of my customers' locations, we are working with the scheduled snapshots. It is easy for me to give a schedule, whether monthly, daily, or weekly, anytime I can schedule it.

It is very easy to align the storage across the platforms with Dell PowerVault, and moreover, it is useful for me to assign the data and the volumes will be easy for aligning it.

From the user point of view, it is easy to access the console. Anyone can easily access this with minimum knowledge of the storage.

I need a dedupe ratio to be improved.

I have been using Dell PowerVault for the past two years. For the past two years, I have worked in multiple customer locations with Dell PowerVault.

I did not face any crashes, downtime, or performance issues with it. It is smoother only.

I think it is easy to scale it up and out with the growing needs of the organization. I have not done any scalability testing because as I am a growing engineer, I need some time.

Based on my experience, the engineers are aligning equally for us and responding as fast as possible for P1 cases and all. It is easy for this.

I would rate the tech support between eight to nine.

NetApp has vast adoption; most of my customers are using NetApp and it produces replications with a higher dedupe ratio than Dell PowerVault. I do not know about the costing, but most of the customers go with dedupe. Hitachi storage also is being adopted by most of the customers due to cost efficiency, I believe, because Hitachi storage is cost-efficient.

It is easy to set up Dell PowerVault. I did not face any challenges. The first thing is we need to align a management IP, and then I need to give the controller IPs and then LAN IPs and all.

For me, it is easy to access and their support is very good. I did not face any disk failures often in Dell PowerVault. I think the build quality is good, so I give it a rating of eight.

The cost-saving aspects I cannot comment on because it is purely on the sales side, and then for technical terms, I can say that it has faster movement than storage I have in my own storage. It can be useful for me to store larger data. Even in the backup, it allows me to store a number of data and then for the retentions and all, it can be useful.

It is good overall. I do not have anything negative to say. My overall review rating for this product is eight.

Primarily, we have an in-house architecture where all our IT infrastructure is hosted on data centers owned by us, and Dell PowerVault is used for all the critical data stored in our infrastructure. For example, we have our local file server, local database running a SQL server, application server, and backups all stored in Dell PowerVault storages configured as presentable volumes to each of these servers or resources. These PowerVault storages are redundant, so we don't go by only one storage box, adding the DEU and expansion boxes on top of it, with RAID configuration for multiple disk redundancy.

Furthermore, we have a D2D and D2T strategy, where disk-to-disk is the first level backup, and secondary level storage includes a tape library, so disk-to-tape, meaning all the data on the disk is also copied onto tape and stored as a secondary copy. Overall, Dell PowerVault stores all the data in our 70% hosted infrastructure, which includes proprietary data, databases, and user data in our on-prem data center.

Additionally, in the contact center industry, we utilize solutions such as Verint and NICE for contact center recording and analytics, with the storage for calls and analytic outputs hosted in the backend on Dell PowerVault.

Users need to establish a use case for using Dell PowerVault, such as whether they want to store data for frequent access, long-term retention, or recycling data with incremental updates. Building a use case is essential since different storage solutions cater to different requirements.

When visiting Dell's website to search for PowerVault, users will encounter a PowerVault builder that helps assess requirements and suggest options. As a data owner, users must decide if they need JBOD, RAID 5, or RAID 6, and determine required storage space, such as 2.5 inch SAS or SSDs. Factors such as data type, access frequency, and required access speed assist in designing the infrastructure with Dell PowerVault as hardware. It's important to accurately size and configure the system, ensuring that choices around disk types and configurations align with their use case, as improper configurations can lead to poor performance. Users must understand their requirements correctly before seeking solutions from Dell to ensure they receive effective hardware.

One of the advantages of Dell PowerVault is the easy deployment because I've been handling hardware for 23 years, from desktops to servers and storages, dealing with various brands such as Hitachi, IBM, and HP Compaq. Compared to these brands, especially after Dell merged with EMC, the ease of deployment remains good. You can literally plug in the storage, and it's user-friendly, allowing any normal power user to configure it.

Beyond that, it is available in various options, starting from a JBOD if desired, to the ME series with dual controllers and expansion options, which means users don't have to keep buying the same thing but can add on top of it.

My experience with Dell PowerVault has been good in terms of longevity, as I have seen lower failure rates compared to those of other brands, with very minor issues over the years and no serious storage threatening issues. We've even used PowerVault series that we intended to use for five years for almost eight years, and it was still working fine, providing good ROI compared to any other brand, which are the overall advantages of Dell PowerVault.

In terms of disadvantages, if you do not have an existing relationship with Dell or are exploring the market for the first time, the initial acquisition cost of Dell PowerVault is high compared to competitors such as Hitachi or IBM, which often undercut prices. Dell does not engage in undercutting, and I've seen this when referring Dell to someone without a prior relationship; they often find limited options due to high initial prices dictated by resellers. It would be beneficial for Dell to enhance outreach to new customers directly to prevent resellers from scaring them away with higher pricing.

I have been in the industry for close to 23 years, and I have been handling Dell PowerVault for close to 12 or 13 years.

The backend hardware is Dell PowerVault, but we do not rely on its native functionality for any backups. Dell PowerVault's job is to ensure that it has data stored with redundancy through the PowerVault manager, while we use separate layers of backup software such as Commvault and Veeam Backup for our primary backup interface. When I mention D2D and D2T, those are managed through the backup software layer. Dell PowerVault serves as backend hardware providing redundancy via disks and RAID controllers, but actual backups and restores are handled through the backup software level. I do not use Dell PowerVault for backup and restore purposes.

We keep proprietary data in the 70% of our on-premise data center and do not expose that data to AI or cloud due to concerns over data exfiltration. However, we do utilize analytics that technically involves original AI, where we input recorded calls to obtain sentiment analysis or text output, while still maintaining 30% of our infrastructure on private cloud.

On a scale of 1-10, I rate Dell PowerVault a nine out of ten.

My use case for Dell PowerVault is that it's our tier-two storage array for VMware. We also use it as a backup target for Veeam replication.

I would say my favorite features of Dell PowerVault are that it's pretty easy to use. It has been pretty stable. Firmware updates have been pretty easy to install and updates are pretty easy to do. Replacing a bad drive is fairly simple. It is just fairly easy to administer it.

There is room for improvement with Dell PowerVault as we did have some promises about dedupe and compression that did not turn out as promised, but Dell trued up and gave us more storage for no cost. We just recently upgraded some of our Dell PowerStores for more capacity.

I have been using it for probably a couple of years, approximately five years.

The initial deployment of Dell PowerVault was pretty easy. That was a couple of years ago when we did the install, but I don't think it took more than a day to get Dell PowerVault up and running and connected.

Dell PowerVault has been stable. We had maybe one outage a couple of years ago that was due to a bug, but they fixed it on our system fairly quickly.

Dell PowerVault's scalability is good. It scales up pretty effectively.

The technical support for Dell PowerVault is pretty good and they usually get back to us in a couple of hours with a technical engineer. We are pretty happy with Dell's support overall. I would give Dell PowerVault support an eight or nine.

Positive

We have used other storage vendors such as Pure as an example. We aren't only a Dell storage shop. We have other vendors.

The initial deployment of Dell PowerVault was pretty easy. That was a couple of years ago when we did the install, but I don't think it took more than a day to get Dell PowerVault up and running and connected.

We do updates and everything for Dell PowerVault. There is caring and feeding of it, but not that much.

I don't get involved in the negotiations for price for Dell PowerVault. We get a pretty good discount. I don't think it's terribly priced, but Pure Storage is cheaper.

They both have their good points and downfalls. I think I prefer Dell PowerVault more than Pure, but I have probably been using Dell for longer. The Pure user GUI is a bit goofy. It has some complicated steps that Dell doesn't have.

We use snaps quite a bit with Dell PowerVault. We use it as a backup target for some of our Veeam systems. It is pretty good. On a scale of 1-10, I rate Dell PowerVault an 8.

I usually recommend Dell PowerVault to banking companies that had large databases. Their database server was connected directly to Dell PowerVault to expand the database storage on the database server.

Unfortunately, I did not cover the initial setup for Dell PowerVault. Somebody else did the setup. I just came afterwards to do the maintenance.

From a technical point, the features I find most valuable in Dell PowerVault are that it is very easy to replace drives or to detect a failed drive in the expansion enclosure.

Overall, Dell PowerVault has helped my customers streamline workflows. Our customers were quite happy with the platform.

For them, Dell PowerVault is quite scalable. They were quite happy with the platform.

Regarding Dell PowerVault, the reliability of the drives is an area for improvement, and I would appreciate a little more silent cooling because with the platform, if it is open, the noise levels are quite high.

The noise levels for Dell PowerVault need to be addressed, and the acoustics need to be a little bit reduced. I am not sure how they can implement it, but the noise levels need to be reduced.

I have been supporting Dell PowerVault for some of our clients for about 10 years or so.

I would say a seven would be an accurate measurement for Dell PowerVault's stability.

The pricing for Dell PowerVault is reasonable, and so are the replacement drives. Even if the machine is out of warranty, you can always extend the warranty.

It has contributed to staying within budget for them.

There is always good competition because some of our customers were using Lenovo DS Storage, which I was also supporting. It usually came to the customer's preference and their familiarity with the support. Most customers, if they are familiar with Dell, would rather continue with Dell.

I am not using Dell PowerVault as such. I was just doing the technical support for the customers and fixing any issues with the platform.

Unfortunately, I did not work on the management side of Dell PowerVault. I was just providing technical support on the hardware platform. I did not work on the management platform for Dell PowerVault. I do not have experience with that.

My review rating for Dell PowerVault is 8.

We use Dell PowerVault for the storage consolidation of SMBs. 

Dell PowerVault offers valuable full flash storage. 

The product is generally stable, but there have been instances, to my knowledge, where we faced issues in the controller during software upgrades. The availability is not at the desired level during these upgrade processes, as we sometimes need to shut down both controllers. This could be an area for improvement.

I have been working with the product for 15 years. 

The product is sufficient for the SMB market. In terms of size, it caters well to SMB needs, providing full flash for production and backup storage with nearline SAS disk.

I haven't contacted technical support yet. However, my customers are less satisfied than before with support. 

I rate the solution's pricing a seven to eight out of ten. 

The product is mostly for small and medium businesses. I rate it an eight out of ten. 

The solution is suited for small companies. It has a simple setup. If you want to virtualize something, then you buy two hosts.

The solution is stable. It is a simple and better vault solution than Synology.

Many features are coming up for Dell PowerVault. Most of these features are available on the Dell cloud IO platform. They include reporting and monitoring capabilities. While some customers may not need all these features, the platform performs very well for a particular region. It is a good solution with many possibilities for every type of customer. Customers who need more features than PowerVault offers can scale up to the next model, such as PowerStore, PowerScale, vPlex, or Extreme IO. The possibilities are endless.

There could be a starting model where you have a central storage solution for a pretty good price.

I have been using Dell PowerVault for one year.

The solution is a fairly good solution with built-in high availability.

I rate the solution’s stability an eight out of ten.

The solution’s scalability is limited.

If you are limited in sizing, you can add four nodes to one PowerVault cluster. You will get around 82 to 100 terabytes of storage. If you are a company with five users, it would be fairly enough to work with. Still, if you are a company with 5000 users, you are making the wrong decision upfront by buying PowerVault, so don't buy it because it's not scalable for the solution.

The technical support could be better. The problem with Dell support is that you have to explain your case to multiple people, which can be frustrating and time-consuming.

The initial setup is simple. You have to plug into the power, connect to the control, and get started. The deployment of Dell PowerVault depends on the communication method. Different deployment approaches are employed for private channel communication, ISKG integration, or direct-attach storage scenarios.

We have to buy the box along with the support.

Dell PowerVault has an integration tool with Veeam Backup & Application. However, you can purchase Avamar from Dell if you want a more robust integration.

There are some good things about the Dell PowerVault. It is quick and easy to use. However, if you made the wrong decision in choosing your platform and have big expansions in your company, it may not be worth the money. It is reusable for other purposes, but you can combine it.

Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

We choose Power Vault when we need some basic storage, which would be deployed just behind the data call, for example, or just directly attached to a server. So it's regularly, it's not for a functional library. It's all basis needed process rate.

We like the simplicity of the environment and the stability of the platform.

The room for improvement lies in the responsiveness and real-time feedback of the web server setup. We could set up the installation through a web server, but it's not very reactive on the web server. For example, when you launch a task, and you don't know exactly if the task has begun or if the task is in progress, or if it's finished. You have to wait for three to five to ten minutes to be sure that the task is running or in progress or finished. So at that point, it's not very good. For the rest, we have a good organization for the platform. And it's working everywhere.

Another area of improvement is duplication. 

I have been working with this solution for 20 years.

The stability is quite good. Once you deploy all the equipment, it's very stable.

The stability also depends on the type of disk that is installed. But in general, this type of equipment is quite stable, and we have not had any problems with it.

You can extend your library. You can add some disks. But you have to rebuild your environment, so it's not very easy. And you can add some other libraries. You can add some cables to extend it, but it's not very easy to do. So it isn't very easy because the technique used to do that is not very easy. You have to work strictly to rebuild all the alignment. So, maybe this is an area of improvement.

There are around 10 to 15 customers using this solution.

The customer service and support are good.

The initial setup is quite easy. It is very intuitive. It is good.

The time taken for the deployment depends on the size of the storage. For a small storage, it could take half a day. For a large storage, the time to format and initialize the disks could take a while. So it could take one or two days.

We have a team of five engineers for the deployment and maintenance of the solution. 

The customers pay for the equipment, and it's not very expensive. There are no additional costs. 

You have to pay at the beginning for the equipment unless the equipment is not the right one. You have not chosen a good one, so you have to change, but you cannot improve some function of that equipment. You can improve the storage and the capacity, but you cannot improve the zone environment, the functional environment.

I would rate the pricing model a nine out of ten, with one being expensive and ten being cheap.

I would advise you to be sure that this type of equipment is the right one because if you want some advanced function, it's not a good one. So, to be sure that it's a good device for their environment. If not, you will not be very happy.

Overall, I would rate the solution a ten out of ten.

We have been utilizing Dell PowerVault mainly as a backup solution, for data storage and file-sharing purposes.

Dell PowerVault is a reliable solution that offers good performance and affordability. 

I find this solution to be cost-effective in providing data storage for clients.

There have been situations when our customers requested professional support and the price of that feature is quite high. I believe that customizing the pricing or offering some sort of flexibility regarding professional support would be of great benefit.

We have been using this solution for over seven years. 

PowerVault offers scalable storage capacity for their client's needs. I would rate it very high. 

We are satisfied with the customer support system. They offer a wide range of support models for customers such as basic support that is budget-friendly, but they also provide a professional support solution that is a bit costly.  

Positive

There are many solutions that are available on the market. We have been working with NetApp, QNet, and HPE solutions. All of the mentioned solutions are similar in terms of operating and pricing, so the choice usually depends on a client's request and their preferences. 

The initial setup is really facilitated for the users. 

There is no need for licensing.

I find this product to be a good fit when serving its purpose for our company's needs. But, I believe that HPE is a slightly better solution in terms of performance.

I would rate Dell PowerVault an eight out of ten.

PowerVault is a mid-range model geared toward small and medium-sized businesses, and it's used for billing systems. 

PowerVault comes with free software that performs functions like data deduplication and replication, which is cost-effective and delivers added value to the product.

PowerVault doesn't integrate with Active Directory. Other storage solutions offer SAN and NAS unified storage in a single appliance, but PowerVault is only SAN.

I have used PowerVault for nearly five years. 

I rate PowerVault nine out of 10 for stability. It's easy to deploy and manage. However, I don't give it 10 out of 10 because it doesn't have an active-active controller. It's active-passive. You need to buy two units to deploy it as active-active, but we always deploy one. You don't experience full controller failure every day, so it's stable enough.

PowerVault is scalable. 

Dell has 24/7 support for hardware replacement. In most regions, Dell EMC uses partners to deliver support. The partner will handle the tickets and the spare parts. Of course, the partner will not be the same quality as the vendor. The response times, hardware replacement, delivery, etc. are not as good as direct support from Dell. 

If you are investing in on-premise storage, it's best to keep some spare parts on hand to keep your system running. The general support for questions, concerns, and troubleshooting bugs or firmware issues is excellent. They respond quickly. 

Deploying PowerVault is straightforward and only takes a couple of hours.

I rate PowerVault eight out of 10 for affordability. It's a cost-effective storage solution with a lot of capabilities. You need to pay additional costs for the operating system license and servers to use some of PowerVault's features. At the same time, a small business doesn't need to invest in two sites for SAN and NAS storage or purchase an additional server. 

You can only compare PowerVault to products by other vendors with a similar product line. For example, it would be fair to compare it with HP's enterprise products, but you could look at other storage for small and medium-sized businesses. 

QNAP is another cost-effective solution for SMBs, but PowerVault has more features that customers want, such as tiering, data reduction, compression, and certification. If a customer doesn't need those features, they can go for cheaper options like QNAP.  

I rate Dell PowerVault eight out of 10. It's a good solution for small and medium-sized businesses, but it has performance limitations, and it's hard to integrate. Still, it's a cost-effective solution with great features. 

Dell PowerVault is cheap. 

The tool needs to improve its UI. 

I have been working with the solution for 10-15 years. 

I would rate the tool's stability around six to seven out of ten. 

I would rate Dell PowerVault's scalability a five out of ten. 

Dell PowerVault doesn't have much support since it is cheap and cheap. 

Dell PowerVault's setup was easy. 

We have seen ROI with the solution's use.

Dell PowerVault's price is the tool's main attraction. 

I would rate Dell PowerVault a seven out of ten.