VxRail Report From PeerSpot 2022-07-23 16mf

VxRail
Reviews, Tips
and Advice from
Real Users
July 2022
VxRail
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2
VxRail
Contents
Advice From Real Users 4-6
Overview 7-9
Reviews From Real Users 10-17
Answers From the Community 18-33
Top HCI Vendors 34-35
Top HCI Solutions 36
About This Report and PeerSpot 37
© 2022 PeerSpot
3
VxRail
Advice From Real Users
VxRail
PROS
"We like the design and that it meets data storage needs." [Full Review]
Adalberto
Ortiz
Gonxalez
"VxRail has improved our organization by providing our admin team with an easy-to-use interface." [Full Review]
reviewer185
2092
"The ease of deployment and management of the solution are the most valuable aspects of the product." [Full Review]
Dian Dabek
"What I like the most in terms of features is the fact that the VxRail update can be done in one week." "It takes much less time
to do a whole server upgrade and an infrastructure update as well." [Full Review]
Andreas
Eberhard
"We have seen ROI using this solution." "It has simplified the work of the staff that we have which allows us to do more work
with the same number of people, without having to incrementally grow the staff." "The reliability of the product has been
exceptional." [Full Review]
Daniel Bruce
"The major advantage is the blueprint." "You do not need to separately manage the sand or network part because it all gets
virtualized." [Full Review]
SunilNaraya
nan
"It improved from an operations standpoint as we have reduced failures compared to a previous vendor." "The hardware that
we previously used had a lot of issues with components failing regularly." [Full Review]
reviewer185
1963
© 2022 PeerSpot
4
VxRail
VxRail
CONS
"My customers want more storage for university databases." [Full Review]
Adalberto
Ortiz
Gonxalez
"The upgrade packages require a lot of bandwidth." "This could be reduced for an improved experience." [Full Review]
reviewer185
2092
"I would like to see more solutions for satellite capabilities where we can put it into smaller locations and still have the
redundancy that we have with a larger cluster." [Full Review]
Dian Dabek
"The update for the graphics integration and the media drivers isn't included in the VxRail update." [Full Review]
Andreas
Eberhard
"Supply chain capabilities are certainly hurting us." "We're in the process of placing a large order for more VxRail nodes right
now." [Full Review]
Daniel Bruce
"The SCL database sends out a warning and you have to download the adjacent file from the Dell website." "You have to
upload it and retest it." "We cannot always connect our systems to the internet which means we sometimes miss these
important updates." [Full Review]
SunilNaraya
nan
"What I find very valuable is VxRail's life cycle management." "The life cycle management takes care of everything from
firmware to the actual upgrading of the hypervisor and keeps everything up to level." [Full Review]
Enrique-
Rodriguez
© 2022 PeerSpot
5
VxRail
VxRail
PRICING AND LICENSING ADVICE
"The price is good." [Full Review]
Adalberto
Ortiz
Gonxalez
"The pricing is very accurate, and we haven't had any problems with the licensing costs." [Full Review]
Andreas
Eberhard
"Licensing and price for this solution is reasonable." [Full Review]
Daniel Bruce
"Pricing is competitive." [Full Review]
Enrique-
Rodriguez
"The pricing for this solution is on the high end but we do get good value for money based on performance." [Full Review]
reviewer185
1963
"The price of VxRail highly depends on your design and your configuration." "For example, if I connect Pure Storage directly to
ESXi hosts and bypass Fiber Channel switches and I will save on money." "However, it reduces my redundancy and makes it
not as robust of deployment and easy to manage." "An HCI environment, it's more cost-effective than utilizing a traditional
reviewer181 SAN." "With storage and computing altogether, you don't necessarily have to involve the networking team as much." "I don't
8243
necessarily need somebody that understands Brocade's or Cisc... [Full Review]
"We pay for annual support from VxRail." [Full Review]
Edgar Orare
© 2022 PeerSpot
6
VxRail
VxRail See 82 reviews >>
Overview
VxRail is a hyper-converged appliance based on VMware virtual SAN Software and is jointly engineered and built with
VMware, for VMware, to enhance Vmware. VxRail software-defined architecture simplifies compute, storage, virtualization,
and management. It will safeguard performance, reliability, and flexibility across your organization with a broad range of
workloads and applications from business-critical to next-gen. With VxRail, you are covered.
VxRail is a single turn-key appliance that is a validated, fully integrated, pre-configured, pre-tested solution and offers non-
disruptive scaling. Every node includes compute storage and IO. All-flash configurations can contain between 12-28 cores per
node. The storage capacity options run fro... [Read More]
SAMPLE CUSTOMERS
World Wide Technology Inc, Renault Sport Formula One Team, 8x8 Inc, Brownes, Canadian Pacific, Canopy,
Denton, EDF, Unilin, Xerox
TOP COMPARISONS
Nutanix Acropolis AOS vs. VxRail … Compared 29% of the time [See comparison]
VMware vSAN vs. VxRail … Compared 19% of the time [See comparison]
HPE SimpliVity vs. VxRail … Compared 14% of the time [See comparison]
REVIEWERS * VISITORS READING REVIEWS *
TOP INDUSTRIES TOP INDUSTRIES

Computer Software Company … 16% Computer Software Company … 25%
Financial Services Firm … 11% Comms Service Provider … 19%
Energy/Utilities Company … 7% Government … 7%
Insurance Company … 7% Manufacturing Company … 6%
COMPANY SIZE COMPANY SIZE

1-200 Employees … 27% 1-200 Employees … 21%
201-1000 Employees … 34% 201-1000 Employees … 16%
1001+ Employees … 39% 1001+ Employees … 63%
* Data is based on the aggregate profiles of PeerSpot Users reviewing and researching this solution.
7
VxRail
VxRail Continued from previous page
Top Reviews by Topic
VALUABLE FEATURES See more Valuable Features >>
The feature that I have found most valuable with VxRail is its upgrade. Because if you talk about the normal ESX process you
have to upgrade the firmware, the bios, and you have to manage the compatibility. You have to do a lot of things. But in the
case of VxRail, it's a single upgrade, end to end. You simply upload the bundle, click next, it will do some pre-checks, if those
Alok Ranjan pre-checks pass, it will update everything one by one. It will put one ESX in the maintenance and move other VM's to another
mode. There is no downtime to the VM's. It will up... [Full Review]
The VxRail is built on two specific platforms that have been in the industry for the last 15 to 20 years: the 1-U socket and the 2-
U socket platforms from Dell. They're in their sixteenth generation of those platforms, I believe, so they're very stable. [Full
Review]
reviewer175
4808
There's user integration with VMware so you don't have to load VMware on top of it and it works right out of the box. There's
good integration between VMware as my hypervisor and the hardware and it is specifically to size. You don't have to worry too
much about the hardware and you don't have to work on integrating a storage device. We instead have this as an all-in-one
Vasanth_Ku solution and everything is available as a box. [Full Review]
mar
The cover points feature in VxRail is remarkable. It's unique. It has an intervention failover system as well as an automatic
failover system, reaching clusters existing in VxRail. This makes all files act as a single file with a large and huge resource, and,
of course, with customized administration, configuration, and resources. It provides automatic failover for redundancy and data
Mina Magdy recovery. [Full Review]
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT See more Room For Improvement >>
As I said, one place for improvement would be the automated update for VMware Tools. Additionally, better integration with
ServiceNow because if there are some issues, we could directly get the notification through IPS and Tools, so that integration
is missing. Somehow they did it, but it was not a very smooth integration because we have to use email features since they are
Alok Ranjan sending emails. We contacted someone at ServiceNow at our end and we sent emails to ServiceNow and they converted it to
some incidents or something. If we could have some out of ... [Full Review]
VxRail is in its third generation, I think, and I know there are consistent updates to that material on nearly a monthly basis. Most
of my customers are federally focused, which means some of this material comes into an environment where few people will
have access to that environment. I would like to see Dell take a crack at simplifying the process of moving from a node to a
reviewer175 cluster and assembling everything into the appliance. It would be great if Dell could provide a pathway where a customer could
4808
actually install it without the certifications. O... [Full Review]
They could make something like an actual catalog where you could just put your weblogs and then you cold can get the
recommended specs along with the utilities like which processor to get. That would be an economical way to figure out the
specs of the solution in relation to your requirements. Right now, it's difficult for a non-technical person to participate in using
Vasanth_Ku the product. It could be made more consumer-friendly. It should give output or recommend orders and dissolve effects. They
mar
could be more clear in terms of which options to choose. For... [Full Review]
8
VxRail
VxRail Continued from previous page
If they can provide deduplication compression through the traditional hard drives, as Cisco does in the HyperFlex system, it will
be very cost-effective, especially when it comes to archiving workload. VxRail doesn't allow the mixing of old flash clusters and
hyper clusters. When I'm starting with an old flash cluster and it comes to archiving workload, I will also need to attend the new
Mina Magdy cluster. So, I either manage two different clusters, or I pay and upload my work with the archiving mobile hard drive, which is
not cost-effective at all. The main ... [Full Review]
PRICING, SETUP COST AND LICENSING See more Pricing, Setup Cost And Licensing >>
In terms of pricing, I would say it's reasonable, not cheap and not too costly. If you compare it with some other HCI solutions,
for example, there were a lot of discussions around Cisco UCS for one of the manufacturing sites. The local ITP had a
preference for Cisco UCS because they had some prior experience working on it. We had already successfully deployed
Alok Ranjan VxRail in some of the manufacturing sites and we found that Cisco UCS is much too costly. In the deployment, all the softwares
were included, only the vCenterv was excluded because we were usi... [Full Review]
The pricing varies. We were able to negotiate a pretty good position In India, they gave us something like three years without
interest. However, there are various categories in terms of getting the correct payment options on the pricing, they have a lot
of options. They gave us 40% off of this year in the Philippines whereas in India they gave a monthly payment option without
Vasanth_Ku interest. A company can negotiate a price. At my organization, we've always managed very good pricing. Therefore, we have
mar
no regrets when it comes to the pricing we have to pa... [Full Review]
VxRail is very cost-effective and affordable in the long term. It is more recommended when it comes to financial life, but it may
depend upon the license. VxRail comes with VMware licensing, which may not be that cost-effective as compared to others.
With VMware, it's an auto check competition. VMware is an expensive solution, especially for Nutanix. Nutanix have their own
Mina Magdy hypervisor called Acronis, which is very cost-effective against the VMware. Nutanix is cheaper for the hardware but not for the
software. If you ask the Nutanix partners to deploy... [Full Review]
My advice about cost and setup is that it is just as cheap to have the HCI solution as to stay with legacy solutions. If you
convert the value of HCI versus the traditional, legacy solution you gain more than you spend. It comes out to an even trade as
far as budget. [Full Review]
reviewer130
8753
9
VxRail
VxRail review by a real user
Good automation makes this solution practical
Technical Lead at a comms service provider

with 5,001-10,000 employees
Alok Ranjan
WHAT IS OUR PRIMARY USE CASE?
The general use case for VxRail was to deal with the obsolescence because the current infra was not adequate to deal with
the licensing and the support as we were running on the older hardware and the ESX version, and being a manufacturing site
we didn't have a good level of redundancy.
We have two server rooms there. But if we lose one server room, we will not be able to run all our workload from the existing
server room. So we deployed the V Service cluster during this deployment, wherein we have four modes in total in each room,
and in the corporate data center.
We also deployed a backup solution with the Data Domain application. Then even if we lose one server room we have all the
backup data in the other server room. So now at least we have local redundancy.
So the main use case is redundancy, obsolescence, better architecture, better throughput, and better back up time. Pfizer was
not very responsive after we did the VxRail with the vCenter architecture with the upgraded styles. So we got feedback that
Pfizer was responding well. Their help was good.
Also the backup time is good. Pfizer has the 1.5 PV. It used to take five to six hours on the back up but now it takes almost half
of the time. So we are saving back up time and throughput is good. After deploying we have been getting some good
benefits. Even the local businesses are happy with this solution.
So we are now deploying VxRail to more manufacturing sites.
WHAT IS MOST VALUABLE?
The feature that I have found most valuable with VxRail is its upgrade. Because if you talk about the normal ESX process you
have to upgrade the firmware, the bios, and you have to manage the compatibility. You have to do a lot of things. But in the
case of VxRail, it's a single upgrade, end to end. You simply upload the bundle, click next, it will do some pre-checks, if those
pre-checks pass, it will update everything one by one. It will put one ESX in the maintenance and move other VM's to another
mode. There is no downtime to the VM's.
It will upgrade end to end infra, including bios from there, your ESX host, everything. So this is a really good feature. Then in
new mode feature, they only have to configure it from the network standpoint and it can listen on a second mode. If they see a
new mode in the network, the cluster will automatically have that mode as a new member.
VxRail has helped us with the automation. So we are happy with that.
10
VxRail
Continued from previous page
WHAT NEEDS IMPROVEMENT?
As I said, one place for improvement would be the automated update for VMware Tools. Additionally, better integration with
ServiceNow because if there are some issues, we could directly get the notification through IPS and Tools, so that integration
is missing.
Somehow they did it, but it was not a very smooth integration because we have to use email features since they are sending
emails. We contacted someone at ServiceNow at our end and we sent emails to ServiceNow and they converted it to some
incidents or something. If we could have some out of the box ideas in integration, I think that would be a great feature.
VxRail provides more automation. For example, the process going from VMware to Tools is still a manual process where we
have to manually update the VMware Tools. There should might be an option to upgrade VMware Tools automatically. We
know that we need some downtime, but still, there should be a possibility to do this as an automated process.
FOR HOW LONG HAVE I USED THE SOLUTION?
I have been using VxRail for about six months. We deployed it back in September and did the migration, so it's been three or
four months in the company.
I think we're using version 4.7 because we had some limitations with respect to vCenter and Vserver costing because ESX
was the older version. So we went with VxRail 4.7 rather than going with VxRail 7, which is the latest.
WHAT DO I THINK ABOUT THE STABILITY OF THE SOLUTION?
We are maintaining this solution ourselves. We have some level of support from Dell, as well, but they are not directly
responsible for the support. We are the ones who are supporting it.
Initially, it had some issues. As I said, the version we deployed had some known issues. But the stability is pretty good. There
were some issues here and there, but that was not due to ESX, but due to some network fluctuation we had.
WHAT DO I THINK ABOUT THE SCALABILITY OF THE SOLUTION?
VxRail is especially useful for a manufacturing site. I can't really know many end users are there, but I know that they are
participating in the manufacturing process. This is a pharma company and for us, VxRail is critical in our process.
So far, looking at its specifications, it looks good. It's scalable.
11
VxRail
HOW ARE CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT?
In general cases, technical support is good. They're pretty responsive. But besides that, there have been some issues with the
cluster. For example, the version that we deployed had some bug which was a known bug. Later on we were advised to get
this upgraded. But that advice came to us after two or three reassignments within their own IT section because one person
evaluated it and they collected multiple logs. Then he transferred the case to somebody else, then she then collected some
further logs and did some analysis. I'm not saying they were not good. They were pretty good. They had some good technical
skills. They did all the analysis. Then they assigned it back to the IT guy. But as soon as the IT guy came in, he saw the version.
He immediately said we have to update it because this version is having some known issues.
I would say they are pretty good. I'm not complaining about them, but this is the feedback that I personally have - that
technician should have come in the very first place by just looking into the VxRail version and told us there is a known bug in
this version and we should upgrade it. But that took almost two or three weeks to identify.
But still, I'm happy with the Dell services. No complaints. But just constructive feedback. The rest are good.
They are always helpful. If we join the call, they are very polite and knowledgeable. They bring more people as required, so
overall, it's good.
WHICH SOLUTION DID I USE PREVIOUSLY AND WHY DID I SWITCH?
We did not have a complete HCI product, but we had storage-defined software, like Datacode and EqualLogic. Now we are
replacing Datacode and EqualLogic with this VxRail because we are using it in vCenter.
HOW WAS THE INITIAL SETUP?
In terms of the initial setup, only the network part was a little complex for us. Maybe because we were doing it for the very first
time because there is a very strict firewall applied there, being a manufacturing site. We had multiple firewalls there, so we had
to open each and everything one by one. That was the only thing.
Once the network part was done, everything was smooth and we had a product life support from Dell. It was Dell who
basically deployed it from a remote session with our presence. We only give them some input around the infra set up and they
actually did the end to end deployment.
It took one day for rack and stacks and then two days for its set up, installation, and configuration as per our department. Later
on we did the migration on our own based on the downtime that we received because we had to update the VMware Tools.
We had to configure the backup, et cetera. We did it slowly, one by one, three, four servers a day.
12
VxRail
WHAT'S MY EXPERIENCE WITH PRICING, SETUP COST, AND LICENSING?
In terms of pricing, I would say it's reasonable, not cheap and not too costly. If you compare it with some other HCI solutions,
for example, there were a lot of discussions around Cisco UCS for one of the manufacturing sites. The local ITP had a
preference for Cisco UCS because they had some prior experience working on it. We had already successfully deployed
VxRail in some of the manufacturing sites and we found that Cisco UCS is much too costly.
In the deployment, all the softwares were included, only the vCenterv was excluded because we were using an external
vCenter, so we had to manage an external vCenter license. All the rest was included.
Some licensing, like vRealize was not included, so we have not taken it.
WHAT OTHER ADVICE DO I HAVE?
I would definitely recommend VxRail. But again, it depends upon the use cases. If they have a big data center, then you have
to look for some other version of VxRail, maybe VxBlock, but for normal sites, for a small manufacturing R&D site, or for remote
sites, they may go with VxRail.
On a scale of one to ten, I would give VxRail a nine out of 10.
WHICH DEPLOYMENT MODEL ARE YOU USING FOR THIS SOLUTION?
On-premises
© 2022 PeerSpot
13
VxRail
VxRail review by a real user
Stable with good technical support and good integration

capabilities
Director Of Information Technology at a

outsourcing company with 10,001+
employees
Vasanth_Kumar
WHAT IS OUR PRIMARY USE CASE?
We primarily use the solution to run the loudmouth to host our virtual server's core courses.
WHAT IS MOST VALUABLE?
There's user integration with VMware so you don't have to load VMware on top of it and it works right out of the box.
There's good integration between VMware as my hypervisor and the hardware and it is specifically to size.
You don't have to worry too much about the hardware and you don't have to work on integrating a storage device. We
instead have this as an all-in-one solution and everything is available as a box.
WHAT NEEDS IMPROVEMENT?
They could make something like an actual catalog where you could just put your weblogs and then you cold can get the
recommended specs along with the utilities like which processor to get. That would be an economical way to figure out the
specs of the solution in relation to your requirements.
Right now, it's difficult for a non-technical person to participate in using the product. It could be made more consumer-friendly.
It should give output or recommend orders and dissolve effects.
They could be more clear in terms of which options to choose. For example, they could say, "We recommend, if you want high
performance, to go with this pack." Or "if you want an economical option, try this".
The solution could improve on some existing features, especially experience-based access or something like that.
The product could benefit from more tightly integrated management.
14
VxRail
FOR HOW LONG HAVE I USED THE SOLUTION?
I've only been using the solution for the past six months or so.
WHAT DO I THINK ABOUT THE STABILITY OF THE SOLUTION?
This generation, the third generation, seems to be the most stable compared to the initial bracket in the market. Of course,
after learning from our myriad mistakes through the initial implementation allowed us to make changes and choose more
stable options compared to a few years ago.
Especially in the Philippines, we are the number one matching reseller for business-critical items. We utilize multiple units to
ensure we have a failover in place. If repairs are delayed for hours, we're covered.
Generally, Dell has a very good presence here. Therefore, we are very stable. The quality of the algorithm is better. You can
see the quality of components inside the hardware. They manufacture everything in their own plants in Malaysia. Therefore,
they already have hardware components inside the region that are easily accesible.Failure rates are low compared to Cisco
hardware.
WHAT DO I THINK ABOUT THE SCALABILITY OF THE SOLUTION?
The solution is pretty scalable. There are a lot of items that keep adding onto the computing power and storage. It's not like
other platforms where you have to plan far ahead if you plan to scale.
HOW ARE CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT?
We've dealt with technical support in the past. We dealt with HP, IBM, and Cisco a long time ago, and we find Dell works hard
for us. Their service levels are very good in comparison to other organizations. We're quite satisfied with their level of service.
WHICH SOLUTION DID I USE PREVIOUSLY AND WHY DID I SWITCH?
I've used Cisco in the past. I find this solution is easier to implement and offers good hardware and software integrations.
We've also worked with IBM and HP a very long time ago. Dell has better customer services than all of them.
15
VxRail
HOW WAS THE INITIAL SETUP?
In terms of the initial setup, compared to any other platform, it pretty simple. I've used Cisco UCS in the past, and have
experience with that solution, and compared to that, this implementation is easy.
It's got a very good integration between hardware and software specific configurations. You just need to watch out for
technical inputs.
The maintenance we negotiated as a bundle over years of use. Our partner handles the maintenance of the solution.
WHAT ABOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION TEAM?
We actually had that alteration done through our Dell partner. We chose a partner based on input from Dell about our
limitations, what sort of skill set they had, how many engineers were verified, etc., and then we chose our partners. 90% of the
population was done by the partner and 10% wherever delegation was needed, they would assist as necessary.
WHAT'S MY EXPERIENCE WITH PRICING, SETUP COST, AND LICENSING?
The pricing varies. We were able to negotiate a pretty good positionIn India, they gave us something like three years without
interest. However, there are various categories in terms of getting the correct payment options on the pricing, they have a lot
of options.They gave us 40% off of this year in the Philippines whereas in India they gave a monthly payment option without
interest.
A company can negotiate a price. At my organization, we've always managed very good pricing. Therefore, we have no
regrets when it comes to the pricing we have to pay. If you have a good relationship with them, they'll try to take care of you.
WHAT OTHER ADVICE DO I HAVE?
We're just a customer. We don't have a relationship with Dell.
We just procured the latest version of the solution.
When we decided on our requirements, we had multiple calls with Dell and the attorneys to ensure that we received what we
needed. Apart from choosing various generations or various models on VxRail boxes, we also took to deep dive into the
actual configuration on each processor to understand how much memory to use.
It's easier if you have a technical professional on your side when you're dealing with Dell. I'm a technical person, so I could get
into the weeds with them. If you are a company without the technical expertise, you're going to run into a bit of trouble as you
won't necessarily understand the product or the technical aspects that are being discussed.
I would advise organizations considering implementing the solution to choose your partner really carefully. Ask questions like
how many engineers do they have and find out how transparent they are about how they handle the process. I'd look at at
least two potential partners and compare their capability and expertise.
Overall, I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

16
VxRail
WHICH DEPLOYMENT MODEL ARE YOU USING FOR THIS SOLUTION?
On-premises
© 2022 PeerSpot
17
VxRail
Answers from the Community
What Is The Biggest Difference Between Nutanix And VxRail?
One of the most popular comparisons on IT Central Station is Nutanix vs VxRail.
What is the biggest difference between Nutanix and VxRail? Which of these two solutions would you recommend
to a colleague evaluating Hyper-Converged solutions and why?Thanks for helping your peers make the best
decision!
The main difference between the two solutions is the hypervisor. VxRail is effectively a vmWare appliance that's performance built to
run vSAN and most of the other associated features. It's a solid hyperconverged system and is perfect for organizations that are
already familiar with vmWare. Nutanix, on the other hand, runs multiple hypervisors INCLUDING vmWare, but also Hyper-V and their
Shu own product - Acropolis. The Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV) has its own set of performance and application characteristics and is
Mookerjee
competitively positioned to go against vmWare. In addition, vxRail runs on specific Dell/EMC server hardware whereas Nutanix is able
to run on multiple hardware platforms (Cisco, SuperMicro, IBM Power, Lenovo).
Both products work but have their own characteristics, I wouldn't even call them pro's or con's. Nutanix does a great job in a multi-
hypervisor environment and even offers their own "good enough" hypervisor. If you are accustomed to enterprise class features and
functionality, and your running mission critical revenue generating applications, vSphere obviously owns 85% of the market so they
Sami certainly exceed expectations here. In performance testing, it's more of a question of "which product will allow me to take full
Ventriglia
advantage of hardware capabilities?" to which I've seen more customers choose VxRail (or vSAN software on OEM of choice) over
Nutanix. The management console for Nutanix is sleek but not as feature rich or capable of integrating with ecosystem vendors
(backup vendors, application vendors, external storage systems, etc). VMware definitely has a leg up from an ecosystem standpoint
but if the 3rd parties you leverage are supported w/ Nutanix,...
The biggest difference between Nutanix and VxRail that I've noticed in my brief research other than the obvious which is cost (Nutanix
is much more expensive) is that their Hypervisor is different. Nutanix Leverages their in-house built hypervisor called Acropolis. VxRail
leverages VMware's ESXi for it's hypervisor. To take that perspective a step further the software defined storage architecture for VxRail
SamuelMc utilized VMware vSAN which is built into the ESXi kernel. where as which Nutanix it would be something different than vSAN which I'm
Koy
not exactly sure what it's called. I would imagine whatever software defined storage they're utilized is kernel based or leveraging some
3rd party virtual appliance. Off the top of my head these are the significant key differences I've noticed in comparing VxRail to Nutanix.
See all 12 answers >>
© 2022 PeerSpot
18
VxRail
What Is The Biggest Difference Between vSAN And VxRail?
One of the most popular comparisons on IT Central Station is VMware vSAN vs Dell EMC VxRail.
People like you are trying to decide which one is best for their company. Can you help them out?
What is the biggest difference between vSAN And VxRail? Which of these two solutions would you recommend
to a colleague evaluating hyper-converged solutions and why?
Thanks for helping your peers make the best decision!
Quite simply, VxRail is a vSAN appliance. It's a Dell based server node fully integrated with a pre-loaded VMware vSphere and vSAN
software stack. Since it's integrated, the hardware is optimized to take full advantage of all the features and functions associated with
vSAN.This is the best choice for someone who is interested in deploying hyper-converged infrastructure but doesn't currently have
Shu one in place. The VxRail nodes can be simply slid into the racks, connected and zoned. vSAN, on the other hand, is purely a software
Mookerjee
solution. It's best for a data center that's already using VMware and would like to introduce storage management elements into their
infrastructure. The benefit of this approach is that the configuration is customizable and feature elements can be added as needed.
In case of Dell EMC nodes, the only difference is setting up vSAN by yourself or pay someone else to set it up for you. In VxRail, you
get licenses which are OEM locked that means you can not use those licenses on any other hardware. In VMware vSAN ready nodes,
you can pick the hardware of your choice (from VMware HCL) and start building your vSAN cluster and all of the servers from different
ShivendraJ vendors work in the same cluster. In VxRail, you pay for the solution plus vSphere licenses based on your requirement. In VMware
ha
vSAN ready nodes, you pay for all the licenses separate from the hardware cost like, vCenter Server, vSphere, vSAN. for remote sites
or very small setups you can use ROBO licenses in VMware vSAN ready nodes where this multi vendor thing can be very useful. From
my experience, if the customer has 2-3...
VxRAIL is a pre buid HCI solution, with optimised configuration ready to deploy also Vmware software VSAN and Vcenter are bundled
with better prices and other bundled software
MEHDI
MASMOU
DI
© 2022 PeerSpot
19
VxRail
What Is The Biggest Difference Between SimpliVity and VxRail?
One of the most popular comparisons on IT Central Station is SimpliVity vs VxRail.

What is the biggest difference between SimpliVity and VxRail? Which of these two solutions would you
recommend to a colleague evaluating hyper-converged solutions and why?Thanks for helping your peers make
the best decision!
Last year we looked at VxRail, SimpliVity and several other HCI solutions. We ruled out VxRail very early in the evaluation because it
required 7 servers to achieve the stretched cluster architecture we wanted while SimpliVity only required 2 servers. Consequently, the
VxRail cost was approximately 2.5 times the SimpliVity cost. We ended up deploying SimpliVity and we've been extremely happy with
Doug it. Full backups and restores complete in under a minute and we're achieving a data reduction ratio of > 250:1 (2.5PB reduced to
Collette
8.6TB).
VXrail is a HW and SW based solution EMC/Dell/VMware will try to sell you. Simplivity can be either from HPE.
Mark
Boland
They are both HCI and serve the same purpose as HCI. The biggest difference for me is: 1. Simplivity using a special hardware put into
HPE Proliant servers to make it HCI, meanwhile VxRail using vSAN as their base on their PowerEdge servers. 2. I haven't heard of any
update from Simplivity for years. Meanwhile for VxRail, they always launch new version every 3 to 6 months. There are continuous
Hendrik improvement on my point of view for VxRail. 3. both are great. Now, every business is unique and they have unique application and
Wijaya
data stored inside their storage. So, if you look for the best your your organization, I would suggest to do POC before make a purchase
decision. Cheers
© 2022 PeerSpot
20
VxRail
What is the biggest difference between Cisco HyperFlex and VxRail?
One of the most popular comparisons on IT Central Station is Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series vs VxRail.
What is the biggest difference between Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series and VxRail? Which of these two solutions
would you recommend to a colleague evaluating HCI solutions and why?Thanks for helping your peers make the
best decision!
VxRail integration with VMware is the key differentiator. VxRail comes with vSAN, management through vCenter, All flash and hybrid
nodes, recover point for VM, and vSphere replication. It also has a feature of Smart fabric services, supported with Dell switches, VCF
supports with SDDC and VxRail manager as core components. One click full stack automated and patch deployment is the wornderul
Manish feature which again differnciate it from all other HCI vendors.
Bhatia
- HyperFlex has encryption over expensive SED disks, however, VxRail has it enabled over the normal disks. - HyperFlex has virtual
storage appliance which is a VM managing the storage access, however, VxRail is based on built-in vSAN technology where no VMs or
appliances are required to manage the storage.
Muhamma
d Khaled
One biggest change is the Future Proof Loyalty Program from VxRail with the following terms: - 3-year Satisfaction Guarantee -
Hardware Investment Protection - Predictable Support Prices - All-Inclusive Software - Never-Worry Data Migrations - Cloud-enabled
This is for free, and no other competitors are providing the same. This below URL contains more details about the program offering:
Muhamma https://www.dellemc.com/en-us/products/future-proof-program.htm
d Khaled
© 2022 PeerSpot
21
VxRail
What do you like most about VxRail?
Hi Everyone, What do you like most about VxRail? Thanks for sharing your thoughts with the community!
© 2022 PeerSpot
22
VxRail
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VxRail?
Hi, We all know it's really hard to get good pricing and cost information. Please share what you can so you can
help your peers.
© 2022 PeerSpot
23
VxRail
What needs improvement with VxRail?
Please share with the community what you think needs improvement with VxRail. What are its weaknesses? What
would you like to see changed in a future version?
© 2022 PeerSpot
24
VxRail
What is your primary use case for VxRail?
How do you or your organization use this solution? Please share with us so that your peers can learn from your
experiences. Thank you!
© 2022 PeerSpot
25
VxRail
What advice do you have for others considering VxRail?
If you were talking to someone whose organization is considering VxRail, what would you say? How would you
rate it and why? Any other tips or advice?
© 2022 PeerSpot
26
VxRail
Looking for feedback on Cisco HyperFlex vs. VxRail
I'm looking for feedback on Cisco hyperflex vs. VxRail. I'm running 2 active data centers and am
evaluating which would be better. VxRail seems better but much more expensive.
What are the pros and cons of each?
I'm also looking for a technical comparison of the two solutions.
Thanks!
Look for vSAN Ready Nodes from CIsco or Dell and you will find it better!
ShivendraJ
ha
VXRail is a turn-key solution, saying that it's still based on vSAN. From a cost perspective, I suggest you opt for vSAN Ready Node. You
have options from Dell EMC, Cisco, HPE, Lenovo plus a few others. There are a few VMware HCI Kit options which you may opt for.
Ritesh
Chandra
Hi @Spencer Pinney, I know both brands well and their virtualization environments. My preference is VxRail because everything is
supported on ReadyNodes.The advanced functions of vSAN allow you to exploit the Hyper-convergence capabilities in a VxRail
environment in a natural and simple way. The management of hardware updates, its firmware and drivers directly by the manufacturer,
Mario with remote support and advice, allows you to keep the environment updated and its operation in optimal state. Regards.
Tabuada
© 2022 PeerSpot
27
VxRail
What is best for use with vSphere 7: VxRail or Nutanix nodes?
Hey peers,
The purpose is academic - we want to install GPU cards to test automation with access to vGPU.
Thank you!
"Nutanix node you will be running vSphere on top on the underlining Nutanix software" This description is incorrect. There is no "layer"
between the hardware and the OS which is ESXI hypervisor on both cases.
systemen5
19357
While both systems do a very good job within the nodal limits for scaling a compute environment - it is the networking layer that has
the most impact on GPU sharing across a cluster. From a practical perspective, VxRail nodes will typically offer a discount over native
Nutanix nodes. With Nutanix you also need servers, disk, networking and GPU's. VxRail will be more integrated with sized nodes, Dell,
BobWhitco Cisco or other networking and often the VSphere 7 licenses can be integrated - achieving a lower net cost. Testing for optimizations
mbe
on either VSAN or Nutanix to see which favors a vGPU system would be something I would like to see quantified. My guess is they are
network constrained and differences between VxRail and a build your own Nutanix environment will be negligible for the same
network. Would be good to confirm if there is an optimal point - say 40Gbps vs 10Gbps or 100Gbps for...
Best option for vSphere 7 is the VxRail as it designed on VMware technology and built in integrates with vSphere, on a Nutanix node
you will be running vSphere on top on the underlining Nutanix software.
UnitManae
381
© 2022 PeerSpot
28
VxRail
Is VxrRail a good alternative to an Oracle environment?
Hi community,
I´d like to know if it's possible to build an environment with VxRail that would be comparable to Oracle Exadata, in
terms of productivity and license optimization.
Although the VxRail is considered as the #1 HCI solution for its reliability & performance, yet unfortunate when it comes to an Oracle
solution ... it won't be considered as the best infrastructure choice ... and it's not due to the performance or the architecture, but in fact,
the whole blame goes to Oracle license base (core base), as you may see ... VxRail is based on VMWare license, where Oracle
MinaMagd condition when you are going to deploy it over VMWare, you will need to license the whole host cores (not only the assigned Virtual
y
cores to the VM), so if you have a VxRail cluster that consists of 4 nodes for example, and each node have dual sockets 16 cores, then
although you are assigning only 8 Cores for the Oracle VM, yet you will need to pay for the whole host cores (32 core) which a huge
amount of...
First off I am biased I work for Oracle. What I am sharing is my own perception and not the views of Oracle. I don't sell Exadata, but
have worked with more than a hundred Exadata customers over the years. My answer - Not really. The not so secret sauce in Exadata
is the DB binaries are running in storage server and in the DB server, when SQL executes it only returns the part of the DB needed for
Regan processing by the DB server, saving a lot on IO and gaining processing speed. I haven't seen a POC where Exadata wasn't 3-4x faster,
Inkster
even one where it was 15x faster for batch/DWH workload at a large bank. Also Exadata has optimized memory and flash utilization
within the binaries of the DB, making it tough to duplicate without access to source code by other HW developers. In terms of licensing
best to talk...
© 2022 PeerSpot
29
VxRail
How does HPE Nimble Storage compare to VxRail?
Which one would you recommend?
HPE Nimble Storage dHCI Vs. VxRail One of the best things about the HPE Nimble Storage dHCI is the three, two, one, zero rule. That
means I need three copies of my data on two different types of media and I need one of them to be protected from ransomware. I
need it to be immutable. The zero stands for zero errors; I need to know that my backup was successful and I've actually tested it and
reviewer16 can say that I can restore from it. A lot of people miss that point, and it’s extremely valuable. The in-line compression is awesome,
50858
saving lots of valuable capacity and time. HPE Nimble integrates easily to the cloud and is very user-friendly. The VxRail offers
simplicity and minimizes operational costs by bundling solutions such as storage, computing, and networking, all on one platform. This
also makes it easier to maintain and minimizes operational...
© 2022 PeerSpot
30
VxRail
Is VxRail better than HPE SimpliVity?
Which would you choose?
© 2022 PeerSpot
31
VxRail
What are the major differences between VxRail and Dell EMC PowerFlex?
Which would you choose?
© 2022 PeerSpot
32
VxRail
How does VxRail compare with Cisco HyperFlex HX Series?
Which would you prefer and why?
© 2022 PeerSpot
VxRail
33
Top HCI Vendors
Over professionals have used PeerSpot research. Here are the top vendors based on product reviews, ratings, and comparisons. All
reviews and ratings are from real users, validated by our triple authentication process.
Chart Key
Views Comparisons Reviews Words/Review Average Rating
Number of views Number of times compared Total number of reviews on Average words per review Average rating based on
to another product PeerSpot on PeerSpot reviews
Bar length
The total ranking of a product, represented by the bar length, is based on a weighted aggregate score. The score is calculated as follows:
For each ranking factor of Reviews, Views, and Comparisons, the product with the highest count in each ranking factor gets a maximum 18
points. Every other product gets assigned points based on its total in proportion to the #1 product in that ranking factor. For example, if a
product has 80% of the number of reviews compared to the product with the most reviews then the product's points for reviews would be 18
* 80% = 14.4.
Both Rating and Words/Review are awarded on a fixed linear scale. For Rating, the maximum score is 28 points awarded linearly between 6-
10 (e.g. 6 or below=0 points; 7.5=10.5 points; 9.0=21 points; 10=28 points). For Words/Review, the maximum score is 18 points awarded
linearly between 0-900 words (e.g. 600 words = 12 points; 750 words = 15 points; 900 or more words = 18 points). If a product has fewer than
ten reviews, the point contribution for Rating and Words/Review is reduced: 1/3 reduction in points for products with 5-9 reviews, two-thirds
reduction for products with fewer than five reviews.
Reviews that are more than 24 months old, as well as those written by resellers, are completely excluded from the ranking algorithm.
All products with 50+ points are designated as a Leader in their category.
1 Nutanix Acropolis AOS
55,662 views 35,941 comparisons 85 reviews 527 words/review 8.7 average rating
2 VMware vSAN
3 VxRail
© 2022 PeerSpot
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VxRail
4 HPE SimpliVity
5 StarWind Virtual SAN
6 StarWind HyperConverged Appliance
3,872 views 877 comparisons 33 reviews 659 words/review 9.8 average rating
7 DataCore SANsymphony
8 Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series
9 HPE Nimble Storage dHCI
10 Sangfor HCI
© 2022 PeerSpot
35
VxRail
Top 5 Solutions by Ranking Factor

Views
VIEWS
1 Nutanix Acropolis AOS 55,662
2 VMware vSAN 48,278
3 VxRail 47,690
4 HPE SimpliVity 25,408
5 Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series 15,841
Reviews
REVIEWS
1 Nutanix Acropolis AOS 85
2 VMware vSAN 85
3 VxRail 78
4 HPE SimpliVity 56
5 StarWind Virtual SAN 46
Words / Review
WORDS /
REVIEW
1 DataCore SANsymphony 661
2 StarWind HyperConverged Appliance 659
3 StarWind Virtual Tape Library 609
4 StarWind Virtual SAN 589
5 Scale Computing HC3 542
© 2022 PeerSpot
36
VxRail
About this report

This report is comprised of a list of enterprise level vendors. We have also included several real user reviews posted on peerspot.com. The
reviewers of these products have been validated as real users based on their LinkedIn profiles to ensure that they provide reliable opinions
and not those of product vendors.
About PeerSpot
The Internet has completely changed the way we make buying decisions. We now use ratings and review sites to see what other real users
think before we buy electronics, book a hotel, visit a doctor or choose a restaurant. But in the world of enterprise technology, most of the
information online and in your inbox comes from vendors but what you really want is objective information from other users.
We created PeerSpot to provide technology professionals like you with a community platform to share information about enterprise software,
applications, hardware and services.
We commit to offering user-contributed information that is valuable, objective and relevant. We protect your privacy by providing an
environment where you can post anonymously and freely express your views. As a result, the community becomes a valuable resource,
ensuring you get access to the right information and connect to the right people, whenever you need it.
PeerSpot helps tech professionals by providing:
• A list of enterprise level vendors

• A sample of real user reviews from tech professionals
• Speciﬁc information to help you choose the best vendor for your needs
Use PeerSpot to:
• Read and post reviews of vendors and products

• Request or share information about functionality, quality, and pricing
• Contact real users with relevant product experience
• Get immediate answers to questions
• Validate vendor claims
• Exchange tips for getting the best deals with vendors
PeerSpot
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reports@peerspot.com
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Advice From Real Users 4-6

Reviews From Real Users 10-17

Answers From the Community 18-33

Top HCI Vendors 34-35

Top HCI Solutions 36

About This Report and PeerSpot 37

Advice From Real Users

Advice From Real Users

Advice From Real Users

PRICING AND LICENSING ADVICE

"The price is good." [Full Review]

"Licensing and price for this solution is reasonable." [Full Review]

"Pricing is competitive." [Full Review]

"We pay for annual support from VxRail." [Full Review]

VxRail See 82 reviews >>

REVIEWERS * VISITORS READING REVIEWS *

TOP INDUSTRIES TOP INDUSTRIES

COMPANY SIZE COMPANY SIZE

VxRail Continued from previous page

Top Reviews by Topic

VALUABLE FEATURES See more Valuable Features >>

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT See more Room For Improvement >>

VxRail Continued from previous page

VxRail review by a real user

Good automation makes this solution practical

Technical Lead at a comms service provider

WHAT IS OUR PRIMARY USE CASE?

So we are now deploying VxRail to more manufacturing sites.

WHAT IS MOST VALUABLE?

Continued from previous page

WHAT NEEDS IMPROVEMENT?

FOR HOW LONG HAVE I USED THE SOLUTION?

WHAT DO I THINK ABOUT THE STABILITY OF THE SOLUTION?

WHAT DO I THINK ABOUT THE SCALABILITY OF THE SOLUTION?

So far, looking at its specifications, it looks good. It's scalable.

Continued from previous page

HOW ARE CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT?

WHICH SOLUTION DID I USE PREVIOUSLY AND WHY DID I SWITCH?

HOW WAS THE INITIAL SETUP?

Continued from previous page

WHAT'S MY EXPERIENCE WITH PRICING, SETUP COST, AND LICENSING?

WHAT OTHER ADVICE DO I HAVE?

On a scale of one to ten, I would give VxRail a nine out of 10.

WHICH DEPLOYMENT MODEL ARE YOU USING FOR THIS SOLUTION?

VxRail review by a real user

Stable with good technical support and good integration

Director Of Information Technology at a

WHAT IS OUR PRIMARY USE CASE?

WHAT IS MOST VALUABLE?

WHAT NEEDS IMPROVEMENT?

It should give output or recommend orders and dissolve effects.

The product could benefit from more tightly integrated management.

Continued from previous page

FOR HOW LONG HAVE I USED THE SOLUTION?

WHAT DO I THINK ABOUT THE STABILITY OF THE SOLUTION?

WHAT DO I THINK ABOUT THE SCALABILITY OF THE SOLUTION?

HOW ARE CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT?

WHICH SOLUTION DID I USE PREVIOUSLY AND WHY DID I SWITCH?

Continued from previous page

HOW WAS THE INITIAL SETUP?