Cohesity DataProtect Reviews

We needed a more powerful solution for ransomware and anomaly detection. We enforced it with strong technology, and our needs are based on such functionality.

It works well with backup virtual machines and SQL services we have been using.

We have two big clusters for 16 nodes for each one, and we are trying to develop the IPAM technology for a new cluster on a vault site where we can store a third copy of our data.

The software can improve upon reports because, nowadays, reports are easy to understand. We have a set of reports on Cohesity, but we wish to use them on-premises. We want a feature with a set of reports embedded with the software.

I would rate the solution an eight out of ten.

We have been using the solution since 2020, it has been three years now.

It is a stable solution. However, we had some hardware trouble because when nodes get broken, or the disc is not good, it becomes a problem for us.

It is a scalable solution. 

There are 10-15 users in the web user console, and the workload is about 1,000 databases and 1,000 digital machines. We use a yearly subscription model.

The workload is covered optimally. I don’t think we are going to increase the usage.

The tech support team is good. We only have international support, so the timetable is not easy for us, and we have to wait for the response from the support team.

The initial setup is not complex. It takes several months to install from zero because we have to define the logistical points to find space through all the network interfaces and technologies available, and it took us around four to five months.

Our deployment method was on-premises.

I would rate it an eight out of ten.

Most customers use the solution for file backups, particularly for NAS file sharing. They back up files from Microsoft Windows OS to ensure they can restore data when needed. They also perform periodic temporary restores to verify the functionality of their backups.

The platform is highly customizable and adapts well to changing conditions. The snapshot features are the most valuable because they allow rapid restoration and provide dedicated space for longer snapshot retention.

I would like security improvements, such as enhanced backup immutability and better tape storage connectivity. Reducing storage capacity requirements and improving security features are also areas that could be enhanced.

I have been working with Cohesity DataProtect for one year.

The solution is stable, with regular updates and patching. 

I rate the stability an eight. 

I rate the product's scalability as an eight.

The product's technical support is quite good. It is available 24/7 and has a high response rate, although it sometimes requires multiple communications to resolve issues fully.

Positive

The initial setup is relatively easy and involves configuration, integration with backup targets, and virtualization management. The deployment process usually takes about two weeks from the initial setup to installation, depending on the availability of hardware. It typically involves preparing the server, configuring it with either Linux or Windows, integrating it with the backup solution, connecting it to source storage, and managing the backup targets.

I rate the process a nine out of ten. 

Integrating the platform with the Acropolis Nutanix management solution is particularly valuable. It simplifies management by providing a unified interface for backup solutions.

Overall, I rate the solution a seven.

Cohesity DataProtect is a reliable solution for performing backups within a suitable timeframe, and its forever incremental model is particularly effective for the customer's needs. Additionally, the solution handles instant recovery and file-level recovery from a VMware image backup seamlessly.

The platform has certain limitations, mostly stemming from the restrictions imposed by the VMware API and some other factors. One area where there is room for improvement is the tracking of replicated copies, especially in the context of remote archive duplication.

Although there are certain interfaces and reports within the solution that provide detailed information about features like duplication to archive, they are not well-documented. In my experience, I have used some of these interfaces and reports in the past to gain additional insight. However, it would be helpful if these interfaces were properly documented and made readily available, instead of relying on support calls and breaking down URLs to access them. This would make it easier for users to leverage the full functionality of the solution.

I have been using Cohesity DataProtect for two and a half years.

Our primary use of Cohesity DataProtect is for backing up VMware, with some Microsoft Windows workloads also included. At present, our usage is limited to Microsoft Windows and VMware only.

Generally, the solution is stable.

I have observed some stability issues when scaling the Pure Storage solution, and one of our customers who used it experienced some problems. However, I believe these issues were due to the solution being relatively new and possibly oversold in an environment without adequate hardware to support it. Overall, these issues were rare and isolated, and I have not seen similar problems with other customers.

The solution scales well up to a certain point. When dealing with larger environments, it's crucial to exercise caution while distributing IO and managing the number of nodes in use. However, for small to mid-sized environments, it is perfectly scalable. In scenarios involving massive enterprises, it may be worth considering the Pure Storage solution or Cohesity DataProtect with a peer back end, rather than Cohesity DataProtect with their standard nodes.

I have had a positive experience with the tech support provided by the vendor. Their ability to access the system remotely and provide insights or fix issues has been particularly helpful. It is beneficial to be involved in the support process and to observe how they resolve issues, so I can replicate the solution in the future. Fortunately, the support team is usually willing to share their expertise and help me learn, which is greatly appreciated.

The initial setup of the solution is simple.

From my last assessment, the pricing for Cohesity DataProtect was reasonable. Compared to its closest competitor, Rubrik, I found Rubrik's pricing to be somewhat high-end. While Rubrik may have more advanced security features than Cohesity DataProtect currently, Cohesity DataProtect is releasing a new solution in the near future that will compete directly with Rubrik.

I have evaluated other solutions, such as Rubrik.

I have recommended the solution to multiple customers, and it has been well-received. While we do not currently use it internally, we have successfully recommended it to new customers who have implemented it based on our suggestion.

I would recommend that others give Cohesity DataProtect a try, provided that their environment can support it. It is important to note that like any other solution if it is deployed in a poorly designed environment, it may not perform well. However, in a well-architected environment, Cohesity DataProtect is a reliable and robust solution.

I rate Cohesity DataProtect an eight out of ten.

We are using Cohesity DataProtect for ensuring the safety of our entire system by creating backups. This includes backing up our virtual VMware environment, as well as some standalone servers that we use.

Cohesity DataProtect is user-friendly and straightforward. The setup process was effortless, and both the backup and restore operations are speedy.

When a new release is launched, there may be some bugs that need to be addressed by the developers. However, they promptly resolve these issues, and the software runs smoothly once again.

I have used Cohesity DataProtect within the past 12 months.

The solution has been stable overall. There has been some issue with updates causing issues but they are resolved quickly.

The solution is scalable, but it requires purchasing of hardware.

I rate the scalability of Cohesity DataProtect a seven out of ten.

I did not use the support from the vendor.

The initial setup required some assistance to complete. However, it was not a long drawn-out process.

I rate the initial setup of Cohesity DataProtect a seven out of ten.

We have one systems engineer for the maintenance of the solution.

It's important to obtain an accurate count of the number and size of servers that require backup. By gaining insight into potential future growth, you can correctly size your environment and prepare for the upcoming expansion. This way, you can avoid the need for additional investments in the future.

I rate Cohesity DataProtect an eight out of ten.

We basically have standard use cases such as backing up our virtual machines on VMware and restoring them if we need to.

The most valuable aspects of the solution include being able to select sources and set a schedule, set up a backup time, and be able to restore.

It's stable. 

I can't identify a specific area that needs improvement. 

They could always keep up with continuous interface refinements.

I've used the solution for almost a year.

The stability is good. I'd rate it nine out of ten. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable. 

It's very scalable as a solution. I'd rate it nine out of ten.

We have five users on the solution.

I personally haven't dealt with technical support in the past, however, one of my colleagues has. My understanding is the experience was positive. We were able to close the ticket.

I wasn't too involved with the initial setup. Some other team members were.

The deployment took a few months. We had a team of four people in place to deploy the solution. One was a network engineer. The other one was a systems analyst. There were also a couple of network analysts.

I don't have any details about the pricing.

We evaluated a couple of other products. Rubrik was one of them, and obviously, we selected Cohesity.

I'd advise potential new users to just compare it to something else, and maybe you'll arrive at the same conclusion that we did - that it's a good product.

It's a good product. It integrates pretty tightly with our VMware infrastructure.

I'd rate it nine out of ten.

I'm a consultant, so my clients use it, and I assist them.

It is used as a backup solution.

It gives my clients an enterprise-wide solution for managing backups.

Standardization across the enterprise and ease of use are the most valuable features. 

There is room for improvement in terms of price. 

In future releases, I would like to see a more comprehensive cyber resilience capability.

I have experience from an architectural standpoint.

I would rate the stability a ten out of ten. 

I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten. 

I've used NetBackup and TSM.

It was already deployed when I started engaging with the client.

I would recommend using it. Overall, I would rate it a nine out of ten. 

We use it for both local VM recovery, exchange, SQL recovery, and disaster recovery.

We have an on-premise exchange environment and it is really large and sensitive to backup impact, where it'll actually slow down the mailbox servers due to the stunning effect of trying to snapshot the VM. We previously had to do dedicated backup servers, which was an  additional consumption of on-premise resources of storage and compute. When we moved to Cohesity, we were able to target the passive copies of those databases so we no longer needed to have dedicated backup servers for the exchange environment, thereby reducing both the footprint of exchange and the resources consumed to support of the backup server.

I found value in the instant recovery with DataMove. I found value in the protection group model for applying policies to VMs. And in the overall UI navigation and the way that the application is laid out in the web browser.

In terms of what could be improved, their UI requires a manual refresh. It doesn't seem like it updates itself sometimes when you're moving from screens or waiting for a change to take effect, so you have to manually refresh. I would say that is an area for improvement, and I would also say that they have room for improvement for being able to roll back to previous versions after you've upgraded. They don't have a good rollback methodology to go back to previous versions if there is a problem with the new version.

I have been using Cohesity DataProtect for two months.

I feel like it's very stable.

We are running with a full no-redundancy, so we can lose an entire node in the clustering and it will operate without any downtime.

Cohesity DataProtect is very scalable. You can add resources just by adding additional nodes to the cluster and it seems to be able to scale out as large as you need it to.

It is used primarily by engineering and by a couple people in the app team on the SQL side. I'd say maybe half a dozen people total use it in our organization and they're in a combination of apps and engineering.

Deployment and maintenance are all done by me and my counterpart for the most part, just senior engineers on the engineering team. There are just two of us that are primarily handling that.

It is being used extensively in both of our data centers for all virtual workloads, as well as the SQL Server and exchange application level workloads. Those are our use cases primarily for those applications and the VM.

They have excellent technical support. I give them high marks for that. They all seem to know the product well and be willing to assist with things and have experiences all around with the support team.

We previously used Rubrik and we switched due to Rubrik tending to focus more on public cloud solutions over the past couple years and also the overall price of the solution - Rubrik was very expensive. We wanted to have more of a competitive product up against it.

Initial setup is straightforward.

It took one day for each site. We have two sites. We deployed each site in one day for a two day deployment total, and then our overall deployment strategy was to begin ingesting at the VM level and then start focusing on the agent-based deployments to equal an exchange.

In terms of ROI, the time of management is lower than what we were previously using so we are getting some cycles back from an engineering perspective. Also, we were able to reclaim our exchange environment in terms of resources, so there was some return there that we were able to recoup immediately, and then just the overall cost across the duration of the licensing and the hardware is expected to be lower than what we previously had.

It is on a yearly license. It actually includes the cost of the hardware, as well. So the cost of the hardware and the licensing is all rolled into a single bundle with the support.

Before going with Cohesity, we spoke with Pure, Commvault, and with Rubrik and Cohesity and Rubrik were identified as the two finalists and we did a proof of concept for both of those.

My advice to anyone considering Cohesity DataProtect is to try it out because the performance seems to exceed the competitors in the market. If it fits well in your organization or your use cases, then give it a shot.

On a scale of one to ten, I would rate Cohesity DataProtect a nine. I did a lot of research into the different products and found this one to be pretty much top across the board and after using it, we are very happy with the performance and the results that we are getting.

We are using it to back up virtual machines, VMware level, SQL server, Oracle Domain Controllers, Linux.

We're currently using hundred percent of it to back up 80% of our data.

It has absolutely improved our ROI. We moved from Microsoft DPM to Cohesity. Now, our incident tickets for backup have dropped by around a thousand per month.

DPM is a load of crap. It's horrible, absolutely horrible.

Its most valuable feature is its ransomware protection, so it has immutable backups.

In terms of what could be improved, it just needs some maturity. But, it gets better with every release.

I have been using Cohesity DataProtect for about a year.

We are using version 6.5.1E. We're about to go to 6.6.

It is on-prem today and it'll go to Azure public cloud soon.

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The stability is good.

The scalability is very good.

We probably have about 20 people using it and we have backup administrators and database administrators.

Main deployment and maintenance requires three people.

Their technical support team program is good.

We previously used Microsoft DPM and it is a horrendous solution. It's horrible. From from one to 10, I would give it a minus 10. It is that bad.

The initial setup was straightforward. Initial deployment took two months.

Our deployment strategy was to do it quickly as we can.

We did an initial POC, then a full POC, and then migrated everything as quick as we could.

We used TGS and they were good.

We saw ROI was after about nine months.

I believe we pay yearly. Additionally, there is the cost of the hardware. 

I also evaluated Rubrik and Commvault. The main difference between Cohesity, Rubrik and Commvault is price. It came down to price. Cohesity is more affordable.

My advice to anyone using Cohesity is to use vSphere tags.

On a scale of one to ten, I would give Cohesity DataProtect an eight and it's still maturing.

It will get better.