Dell NetWorker Reviews

I use the solution in my company for data protection, backup, and system restoration.

The tool's most valuable feature is its ability to recover the data.

The tool should be more streamlined and have the possibility to set up a backup for a bunch of clients who are different in nature. You have a few SQL servers with different credentials for backup, but you have to specify a single object for each of them because you have different credentials. The tool should have something similar to IAM tools and allow integrations with fiber channels and some IAM solutions so that it can be streamlined, resolving the problems with the management of the access to databases and backup.

The features of the tool meet my requirements. I have no such new requirements in the tool, so I cannot say what needs to be added to the product for me at the moment.

The tool should be more streamlined and simplified to create a backup to receive objects.

I have been using Dell NetWorker for twenty-five years. I recommend the tool to my company's customers.

It is a stable solution.

It is a scalable solution. You can use the tool on one computer, but at the same time, you can use the same binaries to make a system that will protect thousands of them.

Everybody wants the response time to be less or zero, but no support team can meet such expectations. I rate the technical support an eight and a half out of ten.

Positive

I have experience with Tivoli Storage Manager, HPE, NetBackup, and Dell Avamar. Dell NetWorker is the best option in the market if you know how to implement and use it. If you know how to use it, the tool is very good.

Considering my twenty-five years of working experience with the tool, implementing it is easy. The implementation phase of the tool can be easy for beginners because the product has an interface that is quite okay. There are a lot of wizards now, so it is more streamlined from the point of view of how to create the protection policies and so on, making it an easy process.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

I am not a customer of the tool, so I never paid the price for the tool. My customers or end users use the tool because they pay for it.

The tool's automation is very good because you can automate all the traffic to run the backups. We don't want to run the backup but prefer to restore the copies of the backups to the client's systems. You can use the system easily and customize things to meet all the requirements from the point of view of automation. The tool is a very flexible system for both automation and protection.

I think there is no integration with any AI-driven management tasks. AI is more or less very popular nowadays, but I think there is nothing like it in the tool.

I recommend the tool to others, especially to those who use Dell Data Domain. If you plan to use the tool on one computer and then go to thousands of them, then I won't recommend it to you.

The integration of the tool with third-party products is fine.

I rate the tool a seven out of ten.

We run a software-based service. You need a network of software, and for that, you need one physical server with the connectivity of fiber cables and fiber cords. The server configuration has to be high.

I like that it's stable and scalable. 

It could be more user-friendly. 

I have been handling Dell NetWorker for about a year and a half. 

Dell NetWorker is a stable product. 

On a scale from one to ten, I would rate its stability at seven.

Dell NetWorker is a scalable product.

On a scale from one to ten, I would rate its scalability at seven.

I have a capacity-based license, but I don't know the exact cost of that license.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Dell NetWorker a seven.

I primarily use NetWorker to back up over 1,200 virtual machines and over fifty databases. 

NetWorker's most valuable feature is recovery, including the policy-based backups that can be configured.

Currently, the NetWorker server only supports the Windows server bare-metal recovery, so an improvement would be built-in support for Linux and UNIX BMR. In the next release, NetWorker should include support for container backups and Kubernetes.

I've been using NetWorker for over ten years.

NetWorker's stability and reliability are very good, but it still needs monitoring by external software solutions to be maintained properly. NetWorker requires monitoring by the backup administrator to check for failed backups, and it also sometimes has issues pop up that require patching.

NetWorker isn't scalable - you can't add more nodes to it, although you can add some data zones. If you want to add environments to NetWorker, you have to deploy more standalone solutions. 

I'm very satisfied with Dell's technical support. It's very easy to open an SR and get support from them, and whenever we open a request, we get a response, and they ensure our issue is resolved.

The initial setup is a little complex as you have to deploy a virtual machine or  NetWorker on a physical server, depending on your architecture and environment. However, once that operating system is deployed, the NetWorker installation is quite simple. The deployment takes about half an hour, but the integration with the virtual machines and the environment takes two to three weeks.

We used a partner team.

I'd advise anybody thinking of implementing NetWorker to look at their environment, virtualization solutions, and infrastructure requirements and then decide how their environment should be designed. They should also consult with the EMC architect who will be designing the data zones and will be responsible for migrating their environments. I would give NetWorker a rating of seven out of ten.

We have used the solution largely for backups, including all our databases and UX machines.

The solution offers very good backups and has all of the basic features any other solution would have on offer. 

There's tight integration between Data Domain and NetWorker as well. Data Domain is an EMC product. They have very good integration between the two.

The initial setup is simple. 

Its stability is very good. 

The solution can scale. 

The web console could be a lot better. All the customers are dependent on a separate console server. If they want to access NetWorker, they need to have a separate console server to access the management window. I know they've come up with a browser-based management site in order to monitor day-to-day backups and to perform the administration or the setup within the web console. Yet, for the web-based console, they still need to do some improvements.

The documentation could be better. I find the solution is not properly documented. If you want to set up a SharePoint, there are certain steps to be followed, which I have to discover myself, I have to find out myself, which was not found in those installation setup guides. That's something I would suggest. We have already passed this suggestion to Dell EMC, letting them know that there are a few steps missing. The documentation was not properly maintained or properly updated. Previously, the older documentation was good. However, it seems that now, when they update and move forward it's not properly documented.

I've been using the solution for ten years. 

It's stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable and the performance is good.

The solution can scale. We only need to get an additional license if we want to do a scaling of our infrastructure. We just need to buy the capacity we need. We can just upgrade the RAM in case it needs additional resources also. We can even deploy another NetWorker server. 

Scaling is purely based on capacity. You don't have to buy it per server either as most of the servers are virtualized. As you have the socket license and the capacity license, then you can actually deploy a new server.

We have more than 1,000 users on the solution right now. 

We've used EMC, Veeam, and Rubrik.

We do have Rubrik and I set up Rubrik a few months back, and it's working fine. 

EMC, in terms of cost, is more expansive. I would definitely go for NetWorker instead as, when you compare it with the Veritas NetBackup, NetWorker is cheaper. Rubrik is cheaper than NetWorker, however, with  Rubrik, we're only using it to back up our VMs. For the other kinds of workloads, such as Exchange or SharePoint, we are still using NetWorker.

The initial setup is not complex. It's straightforward. Once you have all your prerequisites ready, then you are good to go.

As integrators, we are able to handle the initial setup. We handled the setup ourselves mostly in-house. 

I don't have any information on the ROI.

We'll have the solution for about five years. I can't say how much it will cost in total. 

We are users and integrators as well. 

My advice would be to have, once you have started to use it, something more on the Windows-based tools. If you see the commands, all those commands are as if you're running a query. The underlying structure of NetWorker is a skill database, so it's actually running on a skill database. Mostly you'll be running some queries, or querying commands to get the reports using the command prompt. For someone who is familiar with Windows, they'll find it very easy to use.

I'd rate the solution a nine out of ten. 

The primary use cases are file system backup, endpoint backup, and virtualization backups.

We are using it with Quantum and Dell Data Domain.

The GUI is user-friendly.

The performance is improving. It used to be that NetWorker's performance was not very good but after integration with Data Domain, and after they switched to a quality-based network solution, the performance increased.

Over the past five to six years, the speed that NetWorker connects between networks and servers has improved. It used to take a long time.

We are using DD Boost and it is helpful.

The integration of the web API should be improved. There has been new functionality added to the API but it should be easier to understand.

The Backup module should be improved, especially the functionality for SharePoint and SQL Server. We are having issues when we are trying to backup up Microsoft applications, and it happens when the data is very large. For example, our database is 19 terabytes and this is very large for NetWorker, so it runs slowly. We are not able to tune it and segment it. If it were a file system, then we could split it into smaller pieces. In cases like this, it is very fast. However, because we are not able to divide it, the backup is slow. This is one area that can be improved because often, people don't need to take a full backup. Sometimes, then just want a snapshot of some data.

The capability of incremental backups should be included. As it is now, when DD Boost tries to compare the current backup with the previous one, it has trouble with the large versions and it can take three to four days. They cannot perform an incremental backup using VSS technology for SharePoint or MS SQL Server. Definitely, backup for Microsoft applications needs to be improved.

They should improve the support for backing up containers.

The process of upgrading versions should be improved because as it is now, you have to completely uninstall the old version first, and then install the new version. If we compare this to another product, like Veritas NetBackup, it also has good features but when you upgrade to the latest version, everything is automatic.

I would like to see better cloud integration, such as with AWS or Azure.

I have been using Dell EMC NetWorker since 2007.

I am not in the operations team right now, but my impression is that it's stable.

It is easy to scale and I have not found any issue in doing so. However, there can be issues when a proper sizing tool hasn't been used. We have had trouble with giving requirements based on what the sizing tool reports.

We have approximately 100 people user NetWorker and supporting the customers.

The technical support from Dell is very good and very fast. We have a very good collaboration with Dell, and we are one of the valued partners.

I have been dealing with issues related to one of the solutions that we have provided. One of the ones in the past two months is that the SharePoint Backup was supposed to be done using the Microsoft SQL Server writer. They do not support the third-party's product, which is fine, but it's an accountability issue. Ultimately, I don't think that they do all of the investigations properly.

We are currently using EMC Avamar in addition to NetWorker.

I have also worked with Commvault and Veeam, and the integration with virtualization is better with these products. They also support backup using VPN, which is something that NetWorker lacks.

I cannot name a feature that NetWorker has that you don't find in other products. There are, however, features lacking in NetWorker that do exist in other products. They need to keep pace with the ongoing requirements that are in the market.

I have been working with this product for a long time, so I find the installation very easy. This is also an area that has improved over time, as it has because easier than it used to be.

The length of time required for deployment varies between environments. Recently, I deployed it and it took approximately 20 minutes end-to-end, with configuration.

We deploy with our in-house team. Our operations team is responsible for maintenance.

The pricing for NetWorker is in the mid-range. It is not very expensive and not very cheap. There are some extra features that required an additional license. For example, we save a separate data protection suite (DPS) license.

I have been evaluating EMC PowerProtect to compare the performance of it with EMC NetWorker.

For a file system backup or one that is on disk or in a tape library, or for virtualization, I recommend using NetWorker. I say this because of ease of deployment, ease of use, and the user-friendly GUI. 

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

We use Dell NetWorker in the banking sector.

It optimizes Backup and Recovery procedures, making them exceptionally swift.

The types of data and systems we predominantly safeguard with Dell NetWorker include VMs. It enables us to protect infrastructure, bare metal clients, databases, and applications.

Dell NetWorker itself cannot replicate, hence relying on Data Domain for replicating data and backup configurations. 

Integrating Dell NetWorker with other Dell products can bring significant advantages to both our organization and our clients. Utilizing NetWorker enhances our understanding of the backup environment and workload.

The feature that offers the greatest benefits in ensuring data integrity is its backup capability. This feature significantly enhances speed and efficiency, which is crucial for our operations. Additionally, NetWorker can be installed on Linux systems, and it offers a virtual appliance option, which enhances security measures.

There's an issue with the management environment. Regarding improvements for NetWorker, I believe implementing cross-platform restore functionality is essential. This feature would allow for compatibility with various backup software solutions, similar to Veeam. Additionally, enhancing features related to virtualization infrastructure would be beneficial.

I have been working with it for four years.

It exhibits remarkable stability. One of our clients has utilized it for over a decade, encountering only a single issue during that time. I would rate it eight out of ten.

I would rate its scalability capabilities seven out of ten. Our clients are mostly large enterprise organizations.

I would rate the customer service and support nine out of ten.

Positive

I would rate the initial setup six out of ten because technical expertise is required for the process.

Deployment typically takes approximately thirty minutes if you are familiar with the required steps.

The pricing for the telecom, government, and banking sectors is relatively affordable. Dell offers bundled packages, making it cost-effective, especially when considering the inclusion of DTS data protection.

Before implementation, I recommend investigating to determine the types and sizes of workloads, as well as the expectations of their usage. Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten.

I am using Dell NetWorker for backing up mission-critical business databases.

The most valuable feature of Dell NetWorker is its quick configuration and handling of large databases.

Dell NetWorker could improve the GUI to include rack recovery.

I have been using Dell NetWorker for a few months.

The solution is highly stable.

We have four engineers using this solution in my company and we plan to increase our usage.

Dell NetWorker is a scalable solution.

The support from the vendor was quick.

I used IBM Spectrum Protect prior to Dell NetWorker. We choose to use Dell NetWorker because it has quicker recovery time objectives and the integration into DD is a lot better.

The initial setup of Dell NetWorker is straightforward. The process took a few days to complete.

We had some assistance when we did the implementation. However, after a while, we can do it ourselves.

We have observed a return on investment by utilizing Dell NetWorker, and we deem it a worthwhile expenditure compared to not having the solution.

The solution follows a subscription model for licensing. We pay annually to use the solution and the price is high.

I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate Dell NetWorker an eight out of ten.

The management of Dell Networker is quite cumbersome because we have to operate on a separate interface for reporting backup jobs. In addition, we have different interfaces, so we recommend it be consolidated into a single interface for all its operations. For example, my team and I have to hop on other interfaces and different applications to manage Dell Networker. Hence, it becomes pretty cumbersome for operations.

We have been using the solution for six years.

The solution is scalable, and approximately 1,000 users utilize the solution in our organization.

We have had a good experience with customer service and support. I rate them an eight out of ten.

Positive

A partner did the initial setup, and we shared the venue. The setup was not difficult because we outsourced it to a consultant. So that consultant came in and deployed the solution for us.

The pricing could be more economical for organizations, so organizations like ours can adopt and utilize it to its full potential. However, at the moment, we have challenges with the pricing as it is quite costly.

I rate the solution an eight out of ten. The solution is good, but it can be improved by consolidating multiple interfaces into one.