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Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Rackspace OpenStack comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructur...
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
200
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Storage (SDS) (5th), HCI (2nd), Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) (1st), Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms (5th)
Rackspace OpenStack
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.2
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Converged Infrastructure (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Storage Solutions solutions, they serve different purposes. Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) is designed for HCI and holds a mindshare of 9.1%, up 8.9% compared to last year.
Rackspace OpenStack, on the other hand, focuses on Converged Infrastructure, holds 7.4% mindshare, up 4.2% since last year.
HCI Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)9.1%
VxRail10.4%
VMware vSAN8.5%
Other72.0%
HCI
Converged Infrastructure Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Rackspace OpenStack7.4%
FlexPod XCS12.5%
HPE ConvergedSystem11.1%
Other69.0%
Converged Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

JD
Dsi at OFFICE PUBLIC DE L HABITAT DE ROUEN
Hyper-converged storage has improved performance and now supports high redundancy for our VMs
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) was transparent because we were on a regular infrastructure before. We went on NCI and were able to improve performance, but it did not really change how things worked. The performance was really better for applications and access times to the data. I regularly looked at the analytics to see what was going on in my servers and what it was saying to optimize performance. It was pretty interesting because it could analyze and give insights on how to get things working better. In the latest versions, the Prism interface has been replaced by Prism Central. This requires another machine to be deployed to manage the servers.
Bilal Inamdar - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Linux Administrator at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Flexible virtual infrastructure has supported complex KVM workloads and accelerated SAP-ready hosting
For Rackspace OpenStack security features, we currently opted for ShapeBlue one, which will be installing CloudStack. ShapeBlue is helping us in training. So, we are moving away from Rackspace OpenStack to CloudStack because CloudStack has most of the features that we require, and it is also lightweight. Rackspace OpenStack does not provide that thing. The product has all the things included, you can say like that. But the thing is, if you are a company, if you are a hosting company, you will require at least three to four people with higher expertise to install and get going with Rackspace OpenStack. It is very hard; you have to understand bits and many things about it, how it works. It is not something you just tinker around with. The second thing is we are moving to CloudStack because it comes as just a single package that I can install in a VM and I am done with it. I just need to configure it the first time, and everything, the experience out-of-the-box is very good with CloudStack. But Rackspace OpenStack is very assembled parts, you can say. Would you prefer an assembled PC or would you prefer an HP-provided PC, a branded PC? It depends on you. The main thing about Rackspace OpenStack is that it is totally built on many modules. It is approximately 30 to 40 modules, you can say. You have to learn and understand that, which there is a very steep learning curve. If I am not wrong, there is a very steep learning curve. There is not one way to install Rackspace OpenStack; there are several ways, approximately three to four ways. But it depends on who deployed it. Suppose a person deployed it in a different style; after one or two years, he got changed, and another person comes. He does not know about that style, then it will be very hard to navigate. Currently, Kolla-ansible, which we have, is very hard to navigate for me. Although it is very easy to install, it is very hard to operate because it works on Docker. So, there are too many moving parts. If you say to me, there are too many moving parts, and the visibility is low on that. It is very hard to have any issue with it. It is a very stable product.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The dashboard of Nutanix Acropolis AOS allows for simple management. The dashboard has all the information online about what's going on at any given time."
"Nutanix has helped us with a system that has high performance in a small footprint."
"If you are looking for flexibility, space-saving, power-saving, and the best ROI, this is the solution to use."
"Prism Central allows managing the cluster from a single pane of glass, and it allows a deeper dive into the solution."
"Ability to create multiple VMs."
"The most valuable features are the user-friendly dashboard and that we don't need to move resources manually when adding new nodes into running clusters."
"In my opinion, Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) is the future of Private and Hybrid Cloud infrastructure."
"This is a complete, very user-friendly product."
"It was a very flexible and scalable solution. It was very useful because we were not dependent on a single vendor's solution. Increasing the number of machines or changing the hardware configuration was very easy."
"Administrators are very comfortable with the functionality and services OpenStack offers."
"The initial setup isn't too difficult."
"The most useful opinion about Rackspace OpenStack is that it is very flexible, first of all, and the most important feature is that it is feature-rich."
"Rackspace OpenStack positively impacts my organization by making processes easier since I do not need to manage all servers manually because it efficiently manages server operations and maintains proper data, which saves time."
"Rackspace OpenStack is stable and reliable, often compared favorably against other solutions."
"Customer Service: Top. Technical Support: Top"
"The most valuable feature is the customization, and with the customization you can really give the customers what they want."
 

Cons

"I would like to see improvements in monitoring parameters, RTO, and access control."
"Some clients find the solution's cost to be too high."
"The patch updates of Nutanix Acropolis could be improved."
"Nutanix licensing and pricing is premium compared to other hyperconverged infrastructure vendors."
"Nutanix now supports four hypervisors but they are not all at feature parity."
"Nutanix should improve AHV to support migration VMs between clusters and storage containers. Migration between containers is possible, but it requires shutting down the VM. The procedure is long and there is no migration between clusters at all."
"I think some of the tasks that must be done using CLI could be added to the web interface."
"The price of the solution is high."
"VMware has a side-to-side replication feature, which is still more mature than Rackspace OpenStack's which can't be used in a production environment."
"As a beginner, I find some difficulties in understanding Rackspace OpenStack, as it can be complex without a foundational grasp of cloud and networking concepts."
"It should have a single dashboard for cloud management and on-premises systems"
"In terms of what needs to be improved, I would say the support. Rackspace might have some good support but the open source OpenStack doesn't have support because there are too many versions coming and too many people are customizing it."
"The pricing of Rackspace is quite high in the Vietnam market."
"The line migration is a problem."
"OpenStack's UI, while user-friendly, could be improved to offer a more intuitive experience."
"The seamless integration between MySQL services and the rabbitMQ database can be revised during the debugging phase."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We just have a support license for Nutanix."
"This product is expensive, but they do have discounts. At one point, I saw that they were giving a 70% or 80% discount, which is a good thing, but maybe they should have a more realistic price and then a 5% to 10% discount."
"The product’s licensing fee is moderately expensive."
"They should lower the price. If they did they would fall into a more competitive market because the price does scare a lot of potential customers away when they get the quote."
"Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure's pricing is higher now."
"Reconsidering the licensing packages could reduce the price, especially for companies that may not need all the bells and whistles. Many of the features are based on open-source software, so there's potential to offer more flexible pricing options. Additionally, with the right expertise, companies could potentially create similar environments themselves, reducing the need for extensive support and licensing costs. I rate its pricing a six out of ten. The tool costs around 300,000 dollars per year."
"This product is less expensive than some of the competing HCI solutions."
"The setup cost, pricing, and licensing are very competitive and TCO is very low compared to three-tier solutions."
"The pricing is low."
"I use it as an open-source tool."
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Comparison Review

it_user244362 - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Consultant with 51-200 employees
Aug 30, 2015
Nutanix vs. VMware EVO:RAIL vs. FlexPod
Originally posted at www.storagegaga.com/dont-get-too-drunk-on-hyper-converged/ I hate the fact that I am bursting the big bubble brewing about Hyper Convergence (HC). I urge all to look past the hot air and hype frenzy that are going on, because in the end, the HC platforms have to be aligned…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Construction Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business93
Midsize Enterprise76
Large Enterprise88
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

How do I choose between Cisco Hyperflex HX Series and Nutanix Acropolis AOS?
Cisco HyperFlex HS series vs Nutanix Acropolis AOS Cisco HyperFlex gives extended hyper-convergence functions from core to edge and multi-cloud environments. It helps IT and OT teams deploy hyper...
What makes Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) worth using?
NCI is a product with many tools and services but the one that, in my opinion, makes it better than similar products and worth using, is the full-stack lifecycle management. This capacity allows u...
Have you received reliable help from Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure's support when you contacted them?
NCI is one of the best out there. For any software, no matter how good it is, technical support makes it or breaks it for me. You may have an amazing product but if there is not anyone to help you ...
What needs improvement with Rackspace OpenStack?
For Rackspace OpenStack security features, we currently opted for ShapeBlue one, which will be installing CloudStack. ShapeBlue is helping us in training. So, we are moving away from Rackspace Open...
What is your primary use case for Rackspace OpenStack?
I mainly use Rackspace OpenStack for my virtual environment, for the KVM environment, such as hosting VMs. That is what we use it mainly for. You can say it is just like VMware; we are using Racksp...
What advice do you have for others considering Rackspace OpenStack?
I help my clients with Rackspace OpenStack as a consultant. I work with my clients as a consultant with Rackspace OpenStack. I am not involved in the purchase process of the platform. The pricing f...
 

Also Known As

Nutanix Acropolis AOS, Nutanix AOS, Nutanix Acropolis
OpenStack
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

St. Lukes Health System, the City of Seattle, Yahoo! Japan, Sligro, Empire Life, Hyundai AUS, and many others.
X.commerce
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