VxRail Reviews

We are implementers of this solution. We have deployed this product in many Middle East regions. We are also customers and an IT service.

The last time I installed the solution, we were using version 4.7 and we are planning to upgrade to version 7. The solution is deployed on-prem.

We installed the upgrade and migrated from a traditional solution to the virtual machine.

It's a good product based on the features. You can upgrade the solution with only one click.

You cannot install another operating system such as Microsoft or Hyperflex or Nutanix. We have also had a hardware problem.

Hopefully, it can be installed with another stable solution, but I doubt that because it's based on VMware.

I have been using this solution within the past year.

The solution is very stable.

The solution is scalable.

For deployment, we used a consultant. We needed auto recovery because we faced a hardware problem. It was a board problem. That's why we engaged DNC to replace the board, and it was very easy to discover the node and deploy the process.

An organization can get ROI because the solution is scalable. It's cheaper to expand and add more resources than the traditional solution.

I would rate this solution 9 out of 10.

Before proceeding with any configuration and implementing the solution, you should prepare the prerequisite. Prepare the VLAN, the prerequisites, and the IP requirements before proceeding with any installation.

It is used for consolidation, modernization of infrastructure, and simplification. That's what most customers are looking for with this solution.

I am using its latest release.

Our clients value being able to upgrade with one click or a few clicks. 

The ability to manage everything from a single console is one of the key advantages that our clients see. They don't have to worry about how to manage the storage, how to manage the servers, and how to manage the virtualization layer. Everything comes in a single platform. As a result, IT teams are shrinking, and very often, the budgets are no longer for people. They're more for automation.

They're getting better with their one-click upgrade. The success factor is now between 85% to 87% with the latest release. They should just continuously improve on that one-click factor and make it more seamless.

It has been about a year, but previously, I have worked on the Fujitsu equivalent for many years.

It is very reliable.

Scalability is a misunderstood notion in the hyper-converged environment. Very often, people misunderstand what and how things are being scaled within a hyper-converged environment, and this is applicable to every solution out there. So, from a scalability point of view, in terms of the technology itself, it is fairly easy, but in terms of dollars and what it means, very often, people are a little bit surprised about it. If you want to upgrade your storage, you don't necessarily upgrade just one hard drive. If you're in all-flash storage, every node has to be upgraded. There are rules around disk groups and things of that nature, so it becomes a bit of a challenge, and sometimes, it is at a price that customers do not expect. The pricing and how things are evolving over a period of time are very often misunderstood by customers.

I don't deal with them. I am more on the presales and delivery side. I'm sure there are challenges around that, but I'm not aware of any concerns at this point.

It is very straightforward.

It varies. It could be $100,000 at the smaller end and millions and millions of dollars at the higher end. 

It is a very reliable and simplified solution. If you're looking for simplification of operations, this is a great solution to implement.

I would rate it an eight out of 10.

The data conversion capabilities are very good.

Deduplication is excellent.

The initial setup is simple.

As of right now, I cannot think of any improvements, as it has been working very well.

It might help if there was more confidentiality between VxRail and the Data Domain for Backup. There are several issues with backup solutions. We'd like integration with Avamar.

We'd like to see more automation capabilities in the future. 

I've been using the solution for about one year.

The solution is like a rock. It's extremely stable. We've had no issues. It doesn't crash or freeze. There are no bugs or glitches. 

We haven't tested the scalability and therefore I cannot comment on its capabilities. 

Currently, we have more than 1,000 users on the solution. They are basically working with the database.

Next year, we have plans to increase usage. e plan on getting more customers and therefore will need to bill for more storage. 

For any phase-one issues, I would first go to the integrator. I can escalate straight to the vendor if I need to. So far, our experience with the integrator has been very good. We have no complaints. 

We didn't have any issues with the initial setup. It was very straightforward and not overly complex. 

Our contract partner handles any maintenance tasks. 

An integrator assisted us with the initial implementation process. They were very professional and the experience overall was positive. 

I can't speak to the licensing aspects of the solution. It's basically just a one-time purchase. 

There are very many competitors between the hyper-converged solutions, such as Nutanix and Dell, and so on. We also looked at VMware options. However, we are wanted to go with something that was more stable and we're generally attracted to Dell. 

We're just a customer and an end-user.

It's a very stable system. It's very easy to use. You just need one desktop for control over all the items of the system. As of now, it's been problem-free.

I would rate the solution at a ten out of ten.

VxRail is a simple, efficient solution. It's easy to upgrade and scale the solution. If we increase our user base, we can easily scale it out. We have several thousand using it now. 

When we have a vulnerability or we need to upgrade VxRail, it takes a long time. It takes eight hours each time we upgrade. 

I've been using VxRail for six or seven years.

VxRail is stable. However, it's not a central solution, so we can lose some information, logs, and data when we remove a node. The efficiencies must be improved. For example, in Nutanix, when you move or remove a node, you get any errors or warnings, and you can work as well. But removing nodes in VxRail could cause some issues. You have to put the node in maintenance mode then reboot the rest.

I haven't used Dell EMC support. My colleagues made a ticket with Dell EMC one year ago, but it's a strong solution. When we have an issue, it's usually not a problem with the hardware solution or the infrastructure. We more often have issues with the system close to the baseline solution, like the VMware app or Zoom. When we have trouble with those solutions, we make a support ticket with VMware support, etc., not Dell support.

You don't have to be an expert to install VxRail. To install the node, you just follow the steps from Dell EMC, and you can install the solution in one sitting. It only takes one person to install. We have 30 engineers on my team, but only three are responsible for maintaining VxRail. 

We have a three-year subscription.

I rate VxRail seven out of 10. Maybe when they put out the new version, I'll rate it eight. I would recommend it to others. 

The big portion of it is the VDIs, XenDesktop VDIs. I would say that our biggest deployment for VDI is approximately 15,000 users.

Our team actually maintains the solution and deploys the updates, etc. We have two people that handle all maintenance-related issues. Mostly me but I have support from another person.

VxRail does not require fiber switches or external storage. It's easy to replace and manage. It's centralized management through VxRail Manager.

The upgrade process is still not finished up. Sometimes during the upgrade process of VxRail, we experience errors that have nothing to do with reality and I cannot troubleshoot them without calling Dell and bringing in an engineer to figure it out.

If the VxRail upgrade fails on one of the particular nodes in the cluster, it doesn't stop, It pauses. When a problem's fixed and you retry it, it starts from the beginning.

For example, If I have 32 nodes in a cluster and I have a problem with the 31st node, I have to start from node 1 to check everything. To get to node 31, it takes up to three hours.

I have been using VxRail for three and a half years.

Stability is not related to VxRail. It's related to vSAN. Because VxRail has nothing to do with vSAN. VxRail's just aiding automation and the orchestration processes to vSAN, the VMware vSAN. Overall, the stability is pretty good if the hardware is stable.

The scalability is 10 out of 10. I can add or remove hosts at any time. I have no problem with that.

I'm really pleased with the technical support because it's centralized. It's not just VxRail support, it's hardware support and vSAN support, VMware support. If I call Dell for any problems relating to VxRail, I don't have to call anybody else.

In any case, if we need VMware engineers, it's just a matter of internally bringing somebody on the call, and then we figure it out together.

The initial setup is straightforward. As soon as I prepare a JSON file I have no problem.

Usually deployment depends on the number of nodes — it's taken up to two hours.

I was not involved in the licensing of this solution.

If you're interested in using VxRail, use your judgment. There are multiple solutions and all of them are geared toward different use cases. Some people will prefer HyperFlex, others will prefer to go with Nutanix, VxRail, or, for god's sake, vSAN ReadyNodes.

VxRail has some limitations. For me, it's limited from doing what it's supposed to do because it's provided by VxRail — it's automated and orchestrated by VxRail. For example, I cannot use VMware Update Manager. I have to use a bundle, which is produced by Dell, and usually, they are at least a month to a month and a half behind VMware.

Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I would give VxRail a rating of eight.

We have our internal servers allocated to the solution.

The tool's price is competitive and it is easy to use.

The tool needs to improve its price.

I have been using the solution for two years.

The tool is scalable and I would rate it a nine out of ten.

We used VMware before. We switched to the solution because we needed a system with more performance and scalability.

I would rate the tool's setup an eight out of ten. The tool's deployment got completed in a few hours.

I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. The tool fulfills our needs.

We like the design and that it meets data storage needs.

My customers want more storage for university databases.

We've been using this solution for approximately one year.

The technical support needs to be improved, and I would give them a six out of ten. They could assign more digital architects to the support team.

Neutral

We used a reseller for the implementation. It took about two months to deploy the solution.

VxRail is deployed in one location, and we have about 22 people who use the solution.

The price is good.

I tell customers that VxRail solves a lot of storage problems, and I would rate it a five on a scale from one to ten.

Our customers who have the old infrastructure and are looking for high-performance and modern infrastructure, use VxRail. 

VxRail has improved our organization by providing our admin team with an easy-to-use interface. 

The upgrade packages require a lot of bandwidth. This could be reduced for an improved experience.

I have been using this solution for four years. 

This is a stable solution. 

The technical support for this solution is great. I would rate it a ten out of ten. 

Positive

We used a different open-source product but it was not easy to manage which is why we switched.

The initial setup is straightforward. The time it takes to set up depends on the size of the cluster. For a mid-size cluster of 12 nodes, it usually takes one to two days.

We have seen a return on the investment due to how easy this solution is to use and the time it frees up for our staff. 

Its pricing is reasonable compared to other products.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.