Nimble Storage is our primary production storage vendor. We use this with VMware on a daily basis including a new AFA5000 all-flash array for our DMS system.
These arrays perform very well and have allowed us to move many physical servers to virtual and run them from the Nimble arrays without any performance impact and there is actual performance improvement.
The most valuable features are -
1. Ease of setup
2. Ease of Management with Web UI
3. InfoSight - analytics sight that collects data for all Nimble arrays deployed
InfoSight has been very valuable in determining upgrade requirements, bottlenecks, etc. The latest update to the site now allows Per-VM monitoring within the Virtual Infrastructure now too.
No areas require improvement at this time. The arrays run very well and updates are flawless when completed.
I have been using this solution for more than five years.
We have had some stability issues with one array which has happened twice during subsequent software updates but is due to a bad Postgres database. Nimble has been very helpful and are even replacing the array with a brand new one for our troubles.
There are no scalability issues and the arrays can be upgraded with ease.
Customer Service:
Customer service has been top notch with Nimble and would be 10/10. They even worked with use to replace a faulty array.
Technical Support:
Technical Support is one of the best and is 10/10. The autosupport system they have in place that creates tickets for you automatically is great. You can even specify on the InfoSight webpage which ones you want to Auto-Close, etc.
Previously used Dell EqualLogic arrays but they were end of life.
The initial setup is straightforward. You connect the array to the network and power it up. You then run the Nimble Setup Manager which will detect the array on the network and allow you to complete an initial configuration. Once that is done you can then use the Web UI to finalize the configuration.
It was completed in-house with the assistance from Nimble when required.
Nimble has allowed us to run without much down time giving us a great ROI on our investment.
No other options for storage were evaluated.
Given the chance to evaluate Nimble it is highly recommended. Their CASL architecture is very fast and being able to get the performance from the spinning disk that you see on some flash arrays is great. They are always improving the product and software including the recent changes to the InfoSight web page that allows Per-VM monitoring now. There is also excellent support and customer service when you need it.