Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] vs FlexPod XCS comparison

"On the VDI side, because the storage is local to the HyperFlex, it was very easy and convenient. The performance is exceptional."

"It increases efficiency, decreases the cost, and manages the network in one single way. That's the most important thing."

"It is very scalable. It is also easy to scan."

"Great integration with backup software."

"The most valuable features of this solution are scalability, performance, and reliability. It scales well inside of a large data center."

"It is scalable and easy to use."

"The compute storage and virtualization come all in one box."

"The possibility to share the workload is one of its most valuable features. We have many applications which have need of workloads only a few times in a month, so we share HyperFlex with them."

"With FlexPod, it is about the synergy of the server, the storage, and the whole management layer. Together, it is really about minimizing staff. You don't have to hire more people. You can work with the minimum level of resources and the availability is really good. We have had very little downtime."

"It's a new architecture, really scalable and programmable. When you look at SDN propositions it fits very well in a next-gen data center."

"FlexPod has affected the workload of our network admin team awesomely. We have fewer employees. It's good."

"I like the combination of the brands that they decided to include, in terms of its compatibility, e.g., they integrated UCS into this solution."

"Centralized administration with Cisco UCS Director allows you to perform all administrative functions from a single interface, as well as automate tasks."

"It's less resource-intensive, given that it comes in a package."

"All of our main applications run on this solution, and it has done a stellar job."

"It simplifies everything. It gives you a single place to go if you need support or if you need to expand."

"We would like to have the ability to not have to reboot while doing updates. Being able to work through updates with as minimal amount of impact to users."

"Some of our customers do not want to adopt the Cisco ACI solution. They want to manage Cisco HyperFlex by integrating it with their own management solution."

"The pricing is pretty expensive."

"If we compare it with VMware, the VMware product is basically very open, and it can be easily integrated with any platform. VMware product is also available on the cloud and is not an appliance-based product, whereas Cisco HyperFlex is an appliance-based product. Companies that want to use HCI as a platform or as a service would prefer something without an appliance. A SaaS-based product is better for a customer who is using the cloud and has multiple resources, workflows, and devices on the cloud and wants to go for a hyper-converged solution. This is where improvement is needed. In addition to an appliance-based product, Cisco should provide a SaaS-based product. Its price should be lower. Cisco needs to work on the pricing model for this product. Its price is a big road blocker when competing against Nutanix and VMware, which are its main competitors."

"Stability is really poor, especially the storage stability. We lost data. There were disruptions of clusters and that's one big pain point of the solution. It's not stable enough, the documentation is not good, there's not much documentation available. For every call we need a tech engineer."

"The scalability could use improvement."

"The initial setup can be a bit complex."

"Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series could improve by having the documents be more readily available and the support could be more flexible."

"I would like to see increased performance."

"Unified management would be really nice, having one a single pane of glass to manage everything do with the solution."

"FlexPod will do very well on the average app, but there's room for improvement in performance and the data center side."

"It takes a very sophisticated group of people to run and maintain NetApp and Cisco products."

"We would like more integration with some other HCI solutions so we can take advantage of other opportunities."

"There have been issues upgrading the firmware."

"With the UCS X-Series, I would like to see the fabric interconnects in the chassis. Instead of hanging out so the chassis is 7U, you are increasing your footprint to 9U with the fabric enhancer, where some of the competing solutions are 7U and have collapsed that network fabric into the chassis. This is another thing that I would like to see from Cisco, though not really on the NetApp side since that is pretty solid."

"The only support call that we have had in six years was related to an ONTAP upgrade, where one of the controllers didn't patch properly."

"There is a 30 percent additional premium that all the companies are charging for Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series because of the lack of chips and bottlenecks in the market. The cost of the solution is high right now."

"HyperFlex is relatively expensive, but you get good value for money."

"It is relatively expensive, but it can easily return value by freeing up other resources."

"Our licensing costs are large, but it is combined between all of the Cisco products that we have."

"Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series is a bit pricier compared to other brands in the market...There is a need to make additional payments towards the maintenance and support of the solution."

"It's roughly $30,000 per Hyperflex license, so that would be about $60,000 a year."

"The product is expensive. Other solutions are cheaper."

"It's much more expensive than rack servers. It was an issue, but when you compare it to the number of people who were administrative assistants before, it's on the positive ROI side. It's much cheaper."

"It is not cheap, but there is a return on investment in time saved and efficiency."

"We purchased the solution through CDW. They are a partner and knowledgeable."

"The pricing is not cheaper, but stability is more important for us now. We focus on business gains, not static numbers."

"It has saved us hundreds of man-hours by using this converged infrastructure."

"Make sure that you engage as much with whom you are buying from as a partnership, not just as a purchase."

"We have saved time and money for new service deployments. Without FlexPod, it probably takes about ten hours. With FlexPod, within two hours, we are up and running. So, we have seen about an 80 percent time decrease."

"We have seen a five to ten percent savings on new service deployments."

"The scalability is very good. I wish it was a more cost-effective, but you get what you pay for."