Dell NetWorker Reviews

We use Dell EMC NetWorker as our backup application and everything backs up to Dell EMC Data Domain, where we replicate it to another EMC Data Domain. The two solutions work combined to meet our use case. Both solutions are from the same vendor and work very well together.

I started off as a storage engineer and ended up owning Dell EMC Data Domain and Dell EMC NetWorker. I've not used any other backup solutions at this scale. Dell EMC NetWorker does what I need it to do, it's efficient.

The front end of the solution could improve. The user-friendliness is lacking.

I have been using Dell EMC NetWorker for approximately eight years.

We have had limited downtime, the solution is highly reliable.

Dell EMC NetWorker is scalable.

When I need Dell EMC NetWorker support and there's a Dell EMC Data Domain issue, it's really easy to have support for both of them from one location. Support has always been there when we needed them.

We have a team of two that does the management of Dell EMC NetWorker and Dell EMC Data Domain.

I rate Dell EMC NetWorker a ten out of ten.

Dell EMC should be more aggressive with its marketing; such as is done by Commvault.

There should be total integration of the replication and cloud logistic back up on cloud.

The stability has been fine thus far. 

The solution is definitely scalable.

Technical support is good. 

The initial setup is completely easy, not hard at all. 

The pricing is okay.

Commvault does more aggressive marketing than Dell EMC. 

Features are constantly evolving. Initially, I dealt with ERP backup, but we have since moved to the environment. Nowadays, there are cloud-related features. We position ourselves to meet the customer's needs, not just concerning any one given feature. 

My advice is that a person who designs a solution for the backup or backup management, ensure that, in respect of the application, all agents take care not to encounter problems once the solution has been deployed. 

I rate Dell EMC Networker as an eight out of ten. 

We use Dell EMC NetWorker for backing up VMs, files, and databases.

The user interface is hard to use, it should be simplified. There are a lot of web-based management interfaces which they should consider.

I have been using Dell EMC NetWorker for approximately eight years.

I have found Dell EMC NetWorker to be stable.

Dell EMC NetWorker is scalable.

The support of Dell EMC NetWorker is very good.

The initial setup is complicated. It is difficult to implement for clients.

The price of the solution could be lower, it is expensive.

We have evaluated Veeam.

I would not recommend this solution, we are switching to Veeam, and I would recommend it.

I rate Dell EMC NetWorker a seven out of ten.

I use Dell EMC NetWorker for system backups.

The solution is very user-friendly. After setting up five machines for our customers we teach them how to set up the agent and start doing their backups. It is very easy for them once they see how to do it, they like to do it on their own.

Dell EMC NetWorker is a complete solution, providing end-to-end, disk to disk to tape backup features, which makes it more suitable for customers here in Oman.

I have used Dell EMC NetWorker within the last 12 months.

The solution is stable.

The customer support is very good.

I have used Avamar.

The major differentiator between Dell EMC NetWorker Avamar is the Tape Out function, we recommend mostly NetWorker because customers here in Oman have compliance policies to keep the tapes out. Most of my installations are NetWorker and we only have a few on Avamar.

The price of the license could be cheaper and it would be a benefit if they came up with a new pricing model. The competitors here in Oman sell universal licensing where a number of virtual machines are hosted at the customer place which can be licensed, or you can license the CPU sockets in those servers. However, NetWorker offers only CPU sockets or overall storage capacity to backup, but there is no universal licensing where you can provide a number of VMs. They should offer more options to stay competitive with other solutions, such as Veeam.

I have evaluated Veeam solutions.

I would recommend Dell EMC NetWorker to any large enterprise. For entry and mid-size customers, I would recommend it only if it falls within their budget requirements. If they do not have the budget, they can purchase a solution that works with normal storage while purchasing NetWorker or Avamar requires a storage solution also, such as  Dell Data Domain. It works in combination and delivers the best solution, but it is a little expensive. This is why it is best suited for enterprise customers who can afford it.

I rate Dell EMC NetWorker a nine out of ten.

Dell EMC NetWorker is used for backing up and restoring data.

Dell EMC NetWorker integrates well with our domain and the performance is quite good on-premise. We receive approximately 1 terabyte within one hour.

The solution could improve by having more integration.

I have been using Dell EMC NetWorker for approximately 10 years.

The solution is stable.

Dell EMC NetWorker is scalable but it has some limitations.

We have approximately five people using this solution in my organization.

I have been satisfied with the technical support.

I have previously used Commvault.

The installation is straightforward.

We can do the implementation with two engineers and one manager.

There is a license required to use the solution and it is on an annual basis.

I would recommend the on-premise deployment of the solution but not the cloud version.

I rate Dell EMC NetWorker a seven out of ten.

Our primary use case for the solution is for backup and recovery in all environments, such as physical and virtual ones.

The solution offers compatibility with many types of database systems. It is one of the largest backup solutions. Additionally, it gives important information about data domain systems with deduplication. 

I have been using the solution for approximately three years. 

The solution is stable.

We have more the five customers using Dell EMC NetWorker.

The technical support was slightly impolite in my experience.

The deployment of the solution is easy when integrated with the data domain systems. Additionally, the documentation is available and it is simple to follow. It took approximately one week to deploy it. 

The implementation of the solution took approximately one week and we used two engineers. 

The pricing of the solution is not the cheapest compared to other similar solutions. The Networker is available as a component of the Dell EMC Data Protection Suite package and it should have the ability to be purchased separately. 

The solution requires a perpetual license. We can upgrade the solution without the need to be renewed at an additional cost. 

I would recommend the solution to others, especially due to the data domain system, as the target of the backup.

I rate Dell EMC NetWorker a nine out of ten. 

We use NetWorker for login support for SAP and VMware. I handle all maintenance-related issues on my own.

There's a lot of room for improvement. The user interface has to be improved.

Sometimes it duplicates jobs. Overall, it's a strong legacy product but there's still a lot of room for improvement.

We have to perform the very basic client registration process twice. We have to do it on the client-side and the NetWorker server-side. Sometimes just re-installing a client can be a nightmare. 

Also, the layout can be a bit scattered. It's difficult to learn for a new newcomer. If you work with Linux clients, if you've got another non-Windows system, it's a little bit tough — a little complex.

When it comes to the monitoring of backups, or if you want to grab a certain log, it's not as intuitive as other solutions. For example, if you want to find a backup for a certain client, it's not straightforward. With other solutions, like Avamar, this process is much easier.

Scheduling is complicated. If you use the GUI to create a schedule and you auto mark all your backups SQL, it's simply not there. You have to change the view of the schedule from a calendar view to what they call a non-calendar view. Then you have to modify the attributes. You have to operate in a non-conventional way. Typically, when using the GUI, the expectation is to use the GUI for everything. With this solution, you have to go online to check the logs. You have to do some manipulations here and there — it's complex.

Recovery is also complex. You have to build what we call 'a proper workflow' for recovery. 

It's quite a stable product. 

I would recommend this solution. If it's set up the right way, it's a stable product. So, my advice is to make sure you set it up right the first time. As long as you've done that, it will run for ages.

Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of six.

We use this solution for backing up our systems.

It can support many different versions, both newer and older.

The interface is the same, so when we are trying to troubleshoot the logs, it doesn't display properly.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of development with this solution. You don't see any updates with the features, or any development with the features. In general, Dell EMC doesn't seem to be investing much in the R&D of this product. They are selling it off.

I would like to see an improvement with the features in terms of troubleshooting and ease of use.

The documentation is very poor. It takes quite a bit of experience to understand the documentation. A new person who is going through the documentation will not be able to understand. There is no detailed documentation.

The product itself is good, but it takes a lot of time to troubleshoot.

I would like to see the user interface improved, more documentation, faster support, and it could be easier to configure.

I have been using this solution for five to six years.

We are using the latest version.

The stability is okay. When it works, it works perfectly, but when we run into issues it requires a lot of effort to fix it. 

You can't rate it as good or bad, because this is how it works.

It's a scalable solution. We have 10 customers and we plan to continue using it.

Technical support should be a lot better.

It takes a few hours for a smaller implementation. I can plan and implement it.

It takes more time for a larger implementation.

We have one engineer to deploy and maintain this solution.

I completed the implementation myself.

There is a licensing fee.

Recommending this solution would depend on the customer. Certain customers will require this it.

Deployment is easy, but managing is more difficult when you run into issues.

I would rate Dell EMC NetWorker a seven out of ten.