Dell PowerMax NVMe Reviews

The primary use case is data storage consolidation for mission-critical applications, like billing, the charging system, mobile payment, and intelligent network. Virtualization and cloud infrastructure are where the customer is using many solutions for virtualization, like Hyper-V, Oracle Virtual Machine, OpenStack, VMware, Solaris, Linux, Kubernetes, and Docker. Disaster recovery was also the main focus of the customer to guarantee RPO and RTO. The last use case was a NAS solution through the eNAS provided by PowerMax. The previous eNAS hosted by VMAX 10K has its limits in term of size limit for a file system.

Helped our organization by improving performance on the I/O side. Before migrating to PowerMax, customers were faced with many performance issues due to high latency from the back-end and front-end side. Our previous storage was VMAX 10K, and with the evolution of business applications, it became more exigent in term of performance, intelligent data placement with FAST VP, resilience, replication, data protection with snapshot, and no more tasks for provisioning servers and applications. E.g., at the end of month, when the financial department ran the script to produce reports for the BI solution, these scripts generated many performance issues and the storage was struggling. With PowerMax, this is very transparent at the end user level.

1. The optimization of the cache memory of each engine and the use of persistent memory. 
2. I/O density with predictable performance when we grab the I/O to host, as the storage level supported by the PowerMax is too far to be reached regardless of workload and storage capacity utilization. 
   

The main feature that I personally want to see is the possibility to upgrade to the next generation without changing all the components and just change the engine, relying on the compatibility matrices between two different generations. Meaning that we could just keep the enclosure and upgrade the engine, integrating the enclosure to the existing pool, then adding automation tools for orchestration. When you move from VMAX 200K to PowerMax you swap Array. Or DELL EMC must give to the customer the ability to reuse component to the new Array. For example with IBM Storage like Storwize you can reuse enclosure from Gen2,2+ on Gen 3

One year.

Good.

Good.

Proactive.

Yes, we previously used Dell EMC VMAX 10K. We switched just for tech refresh.

Straightforward.

Very good expertise.

No access yet.

We hope that with the combination of both NVMe and SCM the next PowerMax will be much cheaper that the one which we acquired.

Grab performance I/O, and analyze it for better sizing and costing. 

Yes, Huawei. 

We use it for all entitled storage on back-end hospital systems, VMware, and Citrix.

We will be putting the hospital HR system on it, because we need it to be fast, efficient, and always up. PowerMax will provide this solution for us.

We are able to provide storage at the right service levels without overmanaging it.

Data is helping us have the performance, so they can do their reporting in the hospitals every day. They are able to maintain with the compression longer.

• Its uptime
• Dedupe
• Compression
• Reliability

It would be nice if there was a training course offered by Dell EMC. It would help us use the product.

It is very stable. We have no concerns.

The brick scalability solution is very nice. It allows us to add smaller quantities and still get quality performance.

The technical support is lacking. We are working with Dell EMC to get some better understanding of this.

Currently, we have a VPLEX with multiple storage arrays behind it. Now, we will be moving to one storage array and getting rid of the rest.

The performance requirements for the Diamond Levels on certain areas, we wanted submillisecond response times. We are still working with our buyer to get this to fruition based on some of our workloads.

The initial setup is very straightforward because it is All-Flash. We are now looking at maximizing the performance features.

We are still working with our integrator on the deployment since the VMAX is relatively new in the industry that I am working in. We are still working on improving our experience, as they lacked experience in the PowerMax.

The migration process of the VMAX to PowerMax is ongoing. Because we have a VPLEX, it is causing more complexity than if it had been just VMAX to VMAX.

Ensure whomever you work with knows the solution and you get feedback from other customers.

It has good performance and speed, but it is still lacking in training and knowledge.

We are only using Unisphere of the performance management and monitoring tools, as we are not that familiar with the other ones available.

Our primary use case is data storage, compression, encryption, all in one device. So we need all those things.

We're consolidating two to three arrays down to one which means that our data center footprint has decreased by like 90%. So we're saving 90% of our space, and it also is much better on power and everything else in our data center. And on top of that, the performance is much, much better than our older arrays.

The most valuable feature is the performance and compression. The most useful tool is CloudIQ.

Stability of the new PowerMax from what I've found is a lot better than the older version of the VMAX or EMC Dell array. That's one of the reasons why we've purchased more of them going forward. I think it's going to be a pretty prevalent storage array in our environment.

All of our applications are running on mission-critical applications. We've always been a Dell EMC shop, we've always run all our critical applications on there, and this is just a better and more improved product, so we're just continuing with the cycle that we've had for 20 years.

It's very scalable. It can grow much larger than I probably would utilize, but I don't like to put all my data in one box. The scalability is enormous in the PowerMax.

We haven't had to use tech support customer service. We've had a couple of little things come up, but for the most part, they've been pretty stable, so we haven't had any issues.

We don't have a vast I/O performance database or application suite, so the old arrays were taking care of that part. But we see the milliseconds to microseconds response time in the new variety.

We have purchased some professional services to do NDM migrations. We haven't done any yet, but we will be doing that in the next quarter. From everything I've seen and looked at, and I'm going to take a few more sessions on it. I think it's going to be much easier to migrate data from the old to the new.

We knew we needed to invest in a new solution based on a compression standpoint and the overall cost by reducing our footprint and fitting more data into a single file, it just made sense, and it's been working great for us so far. And MVME had a considerable influence on my decision to go with PowerMax as well the ability to encrypt and compress at the same time.

The initial setup was straightforward. From a hardware stand-up getting ready to go perspective, it was very straightforward. Our internal processes held it up. It wasn't anything that Dell held it up with. It went well.

The new Unisphere for PowerMax is beneficial in collecting that data although I have not started using the app IQ or, I don't remember what it's called. The alerting, they gather all the data, and I can use my phone and look at an app, and it can tell me right there that my environment is good that day or whatever and it sends me alerts. So, I haven't started using that, but I plan to when I get back, so it just makes the management a little bit easier looking at the whole environment.

No, we didn't implement through a vendor we go direct through Dell. And the experience was excellent. We have a great relationship with our Dell sales team as well as their support and customer service organization.

Our ROI on this is much higher than it was previously with the arrays that we had. Being able to consolidate three arrays into a single footprint has made it much easier and cost-efficient.

From a TCO perspective, we saved a lot of money by getting the over rate consolidating two into one or three into one, so we saved a ton of money on the total cost of ownership over the next four years.

We have multiple solutions, but we're mostly an HDS F-Series company as well as Dell EMC.

From what I've heard people seem to think that the cost of the array is prohibitive. And I would tell them to look at the ROI and do their cost analysis on it because from what I've found, cost per gigabyte is much lower than what it was for previous arrays as well as the overall cost of ownership in the reduction of the footprint in the data center is enormous.

On a scale from one to ten, one being the worst and ten being the best, I would rate the product an eight or nine. So far it's been great.

Our primary use case is blocked storage.

The smaller footprint of the device has been really nice. We have gone from eight bays to one bay. Having one floor tile in our data center has been pretty awesome. A lot less power and HVAC cooling is being consumed.

We have all of our large Oracle databases along with a lot of order processing for our warehouses, which ship out clothing, currently on PowerMax.

The data reduction has been very impressive.

There are definitely some improvements that can be made to the CloudIQ.

CLI and Solutions Enabler need improvement. While it's been around forever and it's proven that it works, it can be cumbersome to operate and train some storage admins on it. Also, if you haven't been using it for a while, it can be complicated.

The stability is extremely simple. 

From a Unisphere standpoint, it has gotten a lot easier to manage. I can train some of our admins quickly on how to utilize and provision storage. The complicated aspects of Solution Enabler are still there for guys, like myself, who like to utilize the old school way.

It's as scalable as any other legacy array.

We were previously using VMAX, and it was the end of their lifecycle.

Our performance requirements were that it was an all-flash array multicontroller, and it has been great. We always go for multicontroller architecture. 

The initial setup was very easy. We set it on the floor and powered it in and up. The BIN file was already written, so we didn't have to wait on our local customer engineers to write the BIN for us. 

We have upgraded and already added disks, which was pretty easy to do. The BIN files were quickly modified to accept those disks, which is pretty awesome.

I deployed it myself.

We used post-base migration, which was pretty straightforward, which is not too complicated. I wanted to use the new SRDF-integrated migration method which is integrated with PowerMax, but we didn't get a chance to use it.

It beats the Unities and XtremIOs. Compared with those products, it's been good.

We're integrated pretty tightly with Dell EMC, so there was really no exploring outside of Dell EMC.

The new version of the Unisphere Solution Enabler is really good.

It is a very straightforward workhorse of our block storage portfolio. It is one of the best block storage arrays out there. It is a very solid machine that has been around. 

The primary use case is for Tier 0 applications.

We have no performance related issues due to hardware.

This solution has helped to consolidate islands-of-storage in our data center due to a reduced footprint. This is because of single pane of glass management.

Applications require zero downtime. The high availability and the configuration of the current Symmetrix provide all of that.

We get amazing IOPS and workload with VMware, SAP, and Oracle.

The stability is the most valuable feature.

It has a simple GUI, but still has a CLI-like interface for managing and monitoring.

I find Unisphere and REST API valuable.

We would like easier DR setup. We require DR operations, and we wish it was a lot easier to do that configuration.

It could use additional features and easier integration.

The stability is amazing. Zero downtime reported over the last years.

I would like the scalability to improve, as it requires additional footprints.

It's been always stable, so we haven't really required much support.

We had an opportunity to transform our environment. From experience with previous hardware, we selected this solution.

Our performance requirements were high IOPS, as well as stability. It is meeting those requirements and exceeding our previous infrastructure.

The initial setup was complex. The initial implementation team was not familiar with the Symmetrix architecture.

This was all new implementations for us.

We used a reseller for the deployment, who we are no longer working with.

Our costs are on a yearly basis.

IBM was the competitor. Ultimately, it came down to price.

The product is good. Test it yourself. Assess it against other solutions, and you'll be impressed.

Data plays a role in digital transformation, automation, and database decision-making.

I am looking into CloudIQ.

We're not at the NVMe architecture mode yet.

Our mission-critical environment is on the PowerMax.

It does what it's supposed to.

• The All-Flash array
• Performance
• Reliability

Our operations team would say that the GUI needs improvement.

You taking an island-of-storage and just creating another.

The scalability is acceptable and what we expected.

The technical support has been A plus.

We chose this solution because we wanted to go with the All-Flash array.

The initial setup was complex, and we had experienced people working on it.

For the migration process from the older VMAX arrays to PowerMax, we VMotioned everything. It was easy.

We considered Dell EMC and NetApp.

There is nothing that is not there.

We are a partner installer.

It significantly simplifies storage.

• The ease of install
• The ease of maintenance
• Expandability

There is some room to grow, especially with some of the installation quirks.

As an installer, I've seen a lot of different things. It's mostly stable. It's had its fair share of quirks, but support has always been there to help us get around those quirks.

The scalability is incredible. It's great.

I use technical support frequently. Support has been relatively great across the board. There have been some language barrier issues in the early morning hours. They transfer calls to China, and there are some translation issues, but they know their stuff. You just have to let them go and type because you don't understand what they are saying.

The build process is relatively straightforward.

Talk to other people who have the people. It has been a great experience for most of my customers.

It's pretty much where it needs to be. For the most part, it is solid.

• Performance
• Replication time
• It's become easier to use
• Dedup and compression

I'd like to see the dedup and compression improve. Two to one is not very good. We should be getting something like three, four, or five to one.

The setup was pretty straightforward. It wasn't that hard.

We bought it from a reseller and we used some services from Dell EMC. Our experience with them was pretty good. They showed us the basics and got us started.