Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) Reviews

We sell it. We are an MSP. Nutanix Unified Storage is for our customers who need storage outside of our environment that runs on Nutanix. 

The benefit that our clients see is the security of the whole Nutanix platform where they have simplified usage.

Nutanix has helped to reduce our customers' number of nodes because it has a larger storage capability. It definitely helps to save costs. 

The most valuable feature is the snapshots. 

I have heard that there have been latency problems. 

We have used it for two years. 

We haven't had any problems with stability. 

Technical support is superb. They're always there and give our engineer suggestions. They follow up. 

Positive

We use Rubrik and Cohesity to protect our unstructured data. These solutions are very critical because we store customer data.

We chose Nutanix ten years ago and have stuck with them.

The deployment is very easy. It can take one day to deploy and have it up and running. 

The main ways we see ROI is through management and storage space. 

The pricing and licensing could be hard. The customers have a problem with the pricing model. Customers don't understand the core licensing model. 

Most of our data analytics and AI functions are running on a separate system.

I would rate Nutanix Unified Storage a ten out of ten. 

We are mainly using it for VDI profile and business continuity for that area.

The HCI concept was relevant for us while going for Nutanix Unified Storage.

For DR and VCP purposes, we have two sides where the storage resides, and the replication feature is very nice for these kinds of scenarios.

It gives us the flexibility and the agility to work from both sides.

DR and the replication power are valuable.

We are using it in a very narrow area. I am not sure if there are a lot of enhancements for that. Pricing can always be better.

We have been using Nutanix Unified Storage for more than two years.

We did not use their technical support, so I guess its stability is okay.

It scales well.

We have not used their support a lot.

We are using another NAS solution for different use cases. We are using both solutions. We went for Nutanix Unified Storage because, for VDI purposes, everything is in the same box. There is a shorter distance for the IOs to go out from the nodes and everything. It is all in the same box.

We see an ROI, but that is not from using this particular solution because it is a very narrow use case. It is a combination of the UC solution.

It is not too high for what we are using.

We are currently utilizing some tools to protect unstructured data in our organization. These tools are very important because we are a regulated company and a bank.

I cannot assess Nutanix Unified Storage for detecting and blocking ransomware threats. It is only for the user profile. We are not using it as a fully blown NAS solution. We have other solutions for that.

Overall, I would rate Nutanix Unified Storage an eight out of ten.

The first use case, we mainly want to use it for our Citrix profiles. So that will be the main usage of files and maybe also other applications. 

Before, we had the classic Windows file server. Because Windows file server is just that, one alone, and we want to be able to replicate, recreate it, etcetera. So we tried to use Nutanix Files. Our use case is also that we can then fulfill files replicated on Rubrik.

We also use it for objects, because we can't back it up on a Rubrik, we have another cluster, which then functions as the backup for the object storage.

We haven't already seen the benefits because we're still in the engineering phase. The main focus is that we have failover in place. We always have access to the data, and we're not blocked in case of that.

The best feature is that it's on Nutanix itself. In comparison, if Windows file server gets killed, then all the data is gone but for Nutanix, it's on another layer. 

It gives more security that the data isn't going to get lost. 

The replication is better solved if we have Nutanix Unified Storage because one file site storage solution has at least three VMs. If one VM doesn't work, it gets replicated on the other two, which means we always have access to the data in comparison to Windows File Server.

It's a little bit slow because there's so much in the underlying layers that even after talking with Nutanix support, I couldn't really grasp it. 

There's still a little bit of a learning curve, but the support was really helpful.

We only started engineering with it this year. Our project is now in the phase where we engineer Nutanix Unified Storage, mainly files, but also a little bit of objects.

We have issues with stability sometimes. I found one specific issue kind of bizarre where in one of our clusters, the underlying inode was full.

I thought, for example, the inode, after some time, would delete all data so that it doesn't get full. But in that case, it was full. Then, the whole cluster shut down. It also deleted one of the other files that Nutanix needed to work. Even the support guys didn't under how it happened but they were able to fix it. 

The tech support is very good. One time, I didn't have the Zoom session on my computer. So the guy I talked with told me what I had to do, and I could also ask questions about the template, in terms of how it works or what it is exactly. 

It was really helpful to be able to show the person on the other side what exactly was happening when I asked questions. They were helpful.  

Positive

Initially, we deployed everything through Prism Element, where it functioned perfectly.

Our Nutanix partner told us to do it over Prism Central because if you do it over Prism Elements, then it's tough. You have problems managing it from Prism Central. 

Our focus is not on detecting and blocking ransomware because the Nutanix cluster we are building doesn't have access to the Internet. To be able to go to the server itself, they have to overcome a lot of clogs or boundaries.

I had to do with the licensing for Nutanix Objects Storage (NOS). While NOS comes with one terabyte of free space, if you actually want to use it, even just for development reasons, we have to buy some terras, or otherwise, it wouldn't work.

Overall, I would rate the solution a seven out of ten. With the migration from Prism Element to Prism Central, some things don't really work, but they are always trying to modify it and make changes.

We are a managed services provider, and we customize solutions for every use case. For example, we have a client who built up file servers on Azure and found it very cost prohibitive. Thus, they wanted to move back into Nutanix Unified Storage to reduce costs. Our clients have seen a 7% to 10% reduction in storage costs. We have been able to achieve a 4:1 compression using Nutanix Unified Storage.

We have one client who is currently doing a POC with Nutanix Data Lens.

We have been able to improve efficiency metrics such as performance, dedup, and energy savings by using Nutanix Unified Storage.

One of our clients has 14 different locations, and having a single pane of glass with Nutanix Unified Storage would be a great help for them. We would not have to create 14 different consoles.

Nutanix needs to improve their cybersecurity options at the storage level.

We've been working with this solution for a year.

We have not seen any issues with the stability of the solution.

The initial setup is pretty straightforward. With a few clicks, you can stand your storage up. It reduces the overall life cycle of deployment within the ecosystem.

We have seen an ROI. When we build a solution for a five or six-year contract, we factor in the total cost of ownership. The total cost of ownership for Nutanix is very competitive.

Compared to other solutions, Nutanix Unified Storage is cost-effective and efficient. It also has good performance.

I would recommend Nutanix Unified Storage and rate it a ten out of ten. You will be able to bring in scalability and flexibility. 

I use the solution for user home directories, profiles, and general file storage.

The product is very easy to manage. File Analytics allows us to track who's doing what. We can set up scenarios based on what the product alerts when somebody creates or deletes a bunch of files.

The solution's deployment and scalability are the most valuable features. The solution is simple and robust.

We originally deployed the file server VMs from Prism Element. So now we have to go back to Prism Element to manage them. Since then, Prism Central has gained the ability to manage file servers. It would be great if we could import older file servers into Prism Central to avoid having to manage things in two different places.

We have issues with software updates occasionally. The new features seem to be rolled out before they go through quality control.

I have been using the solution for three years.

The core infrastructure is rock solid. I don't ever have a problem with it.

The solution is extremely scalable.

The support is top-notch. I've never had a problem with the support. Whenever I have an issue, I typically get a federal person right away, and they work with me until the issue is solved.

Positive

Previously, we used Synology, QNAP, and NetApp. We switched to Nutanix Unified Storage because of its ease of management.

The initial setup was super easy.

The product is pricey. The pricing makes sense when running Nutanix Clusters just for files, but when running it to do everything, the per-terabyte limit gets a little pricey.

We use the solution mostly for SMB shares. Our environment was built using Nutanix. Since Nutanix Unified Storage was built into the platform, we decided to go with it.

By implementing the solution, we want to get rid of traditional NAS, consolidate everything into a single platform and alleviate having to run file shares based on regular Windows VMs. The product provides a single platform for file storage. We run our VMs and have our file shares on the same hardware. It's all protected at the same level of redundancy.

Nutanix Unified Storage has made it very intuitive for the administrators to have a simple console to log in and ensure everything's up and running. We have ransomware protection enabled within files. We also have backups. We are a lab, so we don't have any off-site storage.

The solution narrowed the gap between file administrators and Windows administrators. Typically, file shares are managed by Windows administrators. Now, the same admin can manage the virtual infrastructure and the Windows domain infrastructure in the same place.

Overall, I rate the product a ten out of ten.

The solution helps our organization to store very critical data.

Implementing Nutanix Unified Storage has resulted in a reduction in the number of storage nodes by 13%.

Nutanix Unified Storage is a stable solution that provides good storage and efficiency.

I have been using Nutanix Unified Storage for three years.

Nutanix Unified Storage is a very stable solution.

The solution's technical support is good. We opened some cases on the website, and the support team responded very quickly.

Positive

The solution’s initial setup is easy.

We implemented the solution through an integrator company, named Microdata.

The solution's pricing is better compared to other products.

Before choosing Nutanix Unified Storage, we evaluated other solutions. We chose Nutanix Unified Storage because of its quality.

Overall, I rate Nutanix Unified Storage a nine out of ten.

The primary use case is to offer a highly available Linux-based file server to eliminate the security vulnerabilities of a Windows-based file server and the pain point of having a single file server, which means you can reboot it during production hours. Besides the general performance and security improvements, it also adds analytics audit trails and, most importantly, ransomware protection. For example, it’s not uncommon for a client to migrate their Windows file shares to Nutanix Files and then File Analytics detects and blocks dormant ransomware files.

The most valuable feature is that it is highly available, solving the pain-point of delaying updates to Windows-based file servers during production hours. And then the second one would be ransomware protection and analytics. It gives you great visibility and protection on your file shares that are otherwise the most common sources of vulnerabilities.

We would love to see the analytics and ransomware protection extended beyond just file servers to virtual machines, but they have a different product that covers that.

I have been using it for a few years. 

As the solution is highly available, it's infinitely more stable than a single file

server.

It is a super scalable solution.

The customer service team is most excellent, and a primary factor when choosing Nutanix.

Positive

It requires a bit of understanding of how Nutanix works. If you're familiar with Nutanix or a Nutanix partner, integrating is fairly straightforward.

For clients running Nutanix, the licensing cost for Files is a small add-on cost.

It does not require extra maintenance than any other software product. One needs to patch it periodically. Every client we've migrated from Windows file server to Nutanix file servers has said, I wish I'd done this sooner. I recommend exploring this as soon as you read about it. It solves issues left out in the wild by Windows file servers that no one is addressing and does so in a super powerful way.
I rate it ten out of ten.

We have two major use cases for Nutanix Unified Storage. For the first use case, we use the solution to provision volume for our Kubernetes cluster, which is used for telecommunication. If you buy an iPhone 15, the eSIM is downloaded from a Nutanix Karbon AHV, and the volume is provisioned by Nutanix Unified Storage. The second use case I have is with volume, which is also part of the NUS. In some cases, we use Nutanix Volumes for a third volume.

The solution has helped our organization the most at an operational level. Before using Nutanix Unified Storage, we were manually provisioning volume for Kubernetes using heavy technology. We had to do a lot of tasks to provision one basic volume. Now, we are giving big volumes. The solution provides good stability and high availability, which is not the case in the previous version of my volume.

The console and volume management for Kubernetes are very nice and easy to use. The product is good, easy to upgrade, easy to use, and user-friendly.

The solution's monitoring and security features could be improved. Nutanix Unified Storage is not easily managed by the command line.

I have been using the solution since the beginning of Nutanix. We installed the first clusters in 2016 and have been using Nutanix Unified Storage since 2017.

Nutanix Unified Storage is a very stable solution. I have been using it for seven years and have never had a problem with stability.

Nutanix Unified Storage is very easy to scale. You just need to go into the tool's console, click on update, add some memory or CPU, and update. You can also use the solution's console to monitor your performance live.

The solution's customer support is very, very good. I am very satisfied with the support. Nutanix Unified Storage has very good customer support compared to the other tools I use.

Positive

Before Nutanix Unified Storage, we used different solutions. We used VMware volume for the Kubernetes clusters. We also used basic NFS on Linux machines, which did not provide resilience and high availability. That's why I was very happy to have Nutanix Unified Storage. It provided high availability, resilience, and performance, which was very good for me.

The solution's initial setup is very easy. First, you have to install Prism Central. Then, you get your file console with one click, deploy the volume, give a name, and give an endpoint.

The biggest return on investment has been the operational time for my team.

I'm very happy with the solution's pricing. I'm using iOS Pro licensing. I'm really happy because I have the benefit of getting one terabyte for free, which is sufficient for my use cases. I'm happy with the cost and licensing because I don't have big volumes. I have a little bit of volume to consume without added cost. So, it's perfect for me.

The throughput or latency of Nutanix Unified Storage for data-intensive workloads works well because we have good infrastructure and networking. Since the networking is recent, we have good bandwidth. We're using little volume, but we don't have a lot of traffic. I have never had issues or struggles.

I have 15 clusters, and I'm using only one terabyte free. I can't see the efficiency of data reduction because I don't have big volumes. Since I don't have a great volume, I can't say that I have ten terabytes, and deduplication has helped me to reduce one node.

I'm the infrastructure manager of our data center. We propose Nutanix Unified Storage. We deliver our volumes, and then the integration team consumes them. I don't know which kind of data is structured or unstructured. We use Cassandra databases for some purposes and Oracle for other use cases.

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