HPE Nimble Storage Reviews

We have type of a private cloud-hosted solution in our data center. Nimble allows incredibly, fast data access for our SAN to our hypervisors and cluster. Nimble is just so good at what they do as far as the adaptive and hybrid flash stuff. We have two arrays: We have an adaptive and hybrid. 

We have a lot of healthcare clients. We have some who are in surgery at five in the morning. We are running these pretty heavy, intensive databases and SQL servers on the Nimble (or which are pulling off the Nimble). Having that type of server pinned to a specific volume, then having that volume accessible and prioritized over the other data which is on there, that is super helpful. This is why we like Nimble and what they do.

We want rock solid stability, making sure all of our customers have complete 100 percent uptime, which is our goal. Nimble achieves that pretty well.

InfoSight is a regular part of our weekly routine. We don't use it every single day, but we do check in on things every once in a while. Luckily, with Nimble, you can forget it and you don't really have to worry about it. However, if we do need to look into an issue, we definitely use InfoSight.

InfoSight has increased the availability of analytics and our ability to quickly get to them. We can migrate things faster. We can pull stuff out of production. We can restore from backups more quickly with the Nimble system than anything else.

We have had a couple of networking issues, temperature alarms, and a few things in our data center going on where InfoSight will scale back our utilization (or whatever) in order to keep us productive and up.

InfoSight has enabled us to get our servers back up faster, especially on the back-end. We have instant recovery. We are able to access that fast storage within seconds, which is very helpful. It enabled us to get service back up in a minute and a half.

The solution has improved our throughput tremendously. It has been on-demand access with 10 gig fiber. The disks, even though some of them are spinning discs, are rated, or in Nimble's little custom config in the way that it hits the cache first, then throws it off to the cold later. This is perfect, and it is great. It has improved everything.

The way that it optimizes the hot data versus cold data is really what Nimble does super well. 

I would like deduplication by default on all the volumes. I still don't understand (or know why) dedupe isn't enabled for the templates out-of-the-box. We have to go in and manually enable it each and every time. It might help to have a software revision for something like this, or even a more intuitive local dashboard, not InfoSight, but Nimble's local dash. That would be great.

The UI and local dash need improvement. They have changed it around a little bit between firmware upgrades. When you do that, things are out of place and not where they used to be. There is also some granular nitty-gritty analytics that we would like to get down into deeper, like when you view volumes, you have percent-free space, and the ability to sort those volumes by the percentage or sort by the amount of data: the megabytes, gigabytes, etc. That is no longer available in the new UI. I would love to see that improved, where you can sort down the list. 

While InfoSight is very useful, if you widen your scope of range when you're trying to look at a month of reports, the averaging that it does sort of skews things a bit. If you drill down further into a day or hour, it looks a lot better. I wish they would have a chart or GUI that didn't average as heavily, just giving you minute spikes and things that you could see on a wider view.

The stability is awesome. The product has always been reliable. It has been 100 percent up. We have never had any downtime with it. Even if a controller fails due to our firmware or whatever, it rolls over to the second one and keeps us running.

Outside of the outages which are beyond Nimble, such as power issues in the data center or heat. Nothing has been an issue with the Nimble product.

The scalability is awesome. We have the potential for multiple petabytes moving forward. While we don't take advantage of that right now, as we only have maybe 400 to 500 terabytes, the scalability (and the ability to add a shelf dynamically by just throwing it in there and adding it to the pool) is simple and easy. We already did this with our CS300, and it turned out real well.

Nimble's support is awesome and one of the best. You sort of get a Tier 3 plus guy every time that you call, no matter if it is a Tier 0 issue. This is super helpful in case we ever have problems.

The technical support never has anything that they can't solve for us. I have thrown everything at them that I could, and they are always on top of it.

We were running out of space. The ability to compress and dedupe stuff with Nimble is unmatched.

Coming off old Dell EMC PowerVaults and our own custom SAN solution that that we had running with storage, it has changed our entire ecosystem dramatically with the fast access times and the 10 gig fiber coming off of it. There is just nothing like it. The access times are less than two milliseconds. 

We keep our latency super low, even with 200 plus servers on it, which has really changed the ball game. Access to that data used to be a lot slower. Now, it's not, which is great.

The initial setup is very straightforward. I set up one last week, and you plug in your basic information for the array: The name and IPs, then you add it to your group, defining where you want it to point to. It's simple. It took me about 10 minutes to get everything up and rolling with the new HF.

We used a reseller, Flair Data Systems, out of Colorado Springs for our deployment. Flair has been awesome. They are partners for a lot of other things, as well as Nimble products.

We have seen tremendous ROI. It pays for itself 10 times over in the matter of four years.

The solution has increased our performance. We have about 20 times the IOPS that we use to, which was a huge selling point for us. We don't even use close to the amount that it is capable of handling, but it is certainly 20 times faster than what we had before.

We looked at Dell EMC, Nimbus, and Nimble.

Nimble just stuck out of the pack. The demo that they gave us years ago was really what sold it. We have a reseller who we work with, and we are a partner with them for other things. We do networks for them, and they do other system switching for us. The reseller had a Nimble and demonstrate it to us, which made the deal right there. It wasn't Nimble who did the demo, it was the reseller, and the reseller really came through.

Try it out. Demo it. Just have somebody put it in front of you, so you can poke around and demonstrate how it works with a real environment. Check out a Hyper-V or VMware. VMware is a lot more integrated with Nimble than Hyper-V. Live migrate your stuff. Move your stuff. Send backups to it. Send it over across the wire to a DR. Everything just works, and that is what we want.

It has been rock solid, 100 percent on time, and we have never had any issues with it.

We receive about a 2.4x compression rate, even on our old HPE CS300. With the new HF-Series, we will probably achieve a lot more than that because they have a lot of deduplication, etc. Unfortunately, we just deployed that last week. So, we are still in the trial process with it.

All-flash is coming down the pipeline. We don't have all-flash yet. We have all hybrid arrays. We are moving in that direction probably within the next two years or so.

We don't utilize any public cloud or HPE cloud stuff yet.

Biggest lesson learnt: Always go with a great vendor that has a great product.

Nimble Storage is our primary production storage vendor.  We use this with VMware on a daily basis including a new AFA5000 all-flash array for our DMS system.

These arrays perform very well and have allowed us to move many physical servers to virtual and run them from the Nimble arrays without any performance impact and there is actual performance improvement.

The most valuable features are -

1. Ease of setup

2. Ease of Management with Web UI

3. InfoSight - analytics sight that collects data for all Nimble arrays deployed

InfoSight has been very valuable in determining upgrade requirements, bottlenecks, etc. The latest update to the site now allows Per-VM monitoring within the Virtual Infrastructure now too.

No areas require improvement at this time. The arrays run very well and updates are flawless when completed.

I have been using this solution for more than five years.

We have had some stability issues with one array which has happened twice during subsequent software updates but is due to a bad Postgres database. Nimble has been very helpful and are even replacing the array with a brand new one for our troubles.

There are no scalability issues and the arrays can be upgraded with ease.

Customer Service:

Customer service has been top notch with Nimble and would be 10/10. They even worked with use to replace a faulty array.

Technical Support:

Technical Support is one of the best and is 10/10. The autosupport system they have in place that creates tickets for you automatically is great. You can even specify on the InfoSight webpage which ones you want to Auto-Close, etc.

Positive

Previously used Dell EqualLogic arrays but they were end of life.

The initial setup is straightforward. You connect the array to the network and power it up. You then run the Nimble Setup Manager which will detect the array on the network and allow you to complete an initial configuration. Once that is done you can then use the Web UI to finalize the configuration.

It was completed in-house with the assistance from Nimble when required.

Nimble has allowed us to run without much down time giving us a great ROI on our investment.

No other options for storage were evaluated.

Given the chance to evaluate Nimble it is highly recommended. Their CASL architecture is very fast and being able to get the performance from the spinning disk that you see on some flash arrays is great. They are always improving the product and software including the recent changes to the InfoSight web page that allows Per-VM monitoring now. There is also excellent support and customer service when you need it.

The AF5000 array is the primary storage for our iManage DMS 10 document management systems. It allows the best performance for users using the system.

It has allowed us to upgrade our DMS to the latest version and reuse the older array as the DR storage for VMware SRM.  The entire DMS system performance has improved compared to the old which was on a previous generation CS260G.

Having all-flash with two banks of disk for population is great for expansion. InfoSight is always one of the best out there for array reporting and troubleshooting.

The product is great.  When sizing the array based on requirements the option to add more network cards for throughput would be something to help clients.  Product Support is best in class as always.

We have been using this solution for three to five years.

No stability issues.

No issues here and we have a full bank for disk expansion.

Customer Service:

Customer service is great and they go above and beyond to help.

Technical Support:

Technical support is second to none out there combined with Infosight. Also having technicians assigned directly to you when needed is great!

Positive

No, we are a Nimble shop with nine arrays now.

Straightforward and very easy, as always.

Implementation was in-house, done by myself.

ROI will be determined over the next year, after we go-live.

When selecting a vendor make sure to validate with the vendor that the throughput is enough. With the AF5000, it is 2GB/s write and 4GB/s read, which we are maxing out. Also, ensure to get the right amount of network cards.

Also, make sure that the specifications meet the application domain and ensure the right amount of network cards are in the array.

Nothing else was evaluated.

Nimble AF is a great platform and is only getting better. On top of that, InfoSight's great technical support makes it an easy choice.

HPE Nimble Storage's best features are that it's stable and user-friendly.

HPE Nimble Storage could be improved with some critical application or servers. Currently, we have to compensate for this by using flash storage. In the next release, HPE Nimble Storage should include active clusters and a hybrid file service. 

I've been using HPE Nimble Storage for two years.

HPE Nimble Storage is very stable and performs well.

HPE's technical support could be improved, but their response time is quite good, and their remote troubleshooting is quite helpful.

Previously, we used Compellent, but HPE Nimble Storage's performance is far better and faster. We also use Pure Storage in addition to HPE Nimble Storage as it provides more stable, faster performance and active storage on two different sides.

The initial setup was straightforward and took about two weeks to complete.

We used an SI to implement HPE Nimble Storage.

HPE Nimble Storage's price is moderate - I would rate it at three out of five.

I would give HPE Nimble Storage a rating of seven out of ten.

We primarily use Nimble Storage for our production system.

We have a three-tier infrastructure.

The most useful features are high availability and the storage snapshot backup functionality.

The cost of this storage solution should be lower.

In the future, I would like to see a lower-end model that has Peer Persistence functionality.

We have been using HPE Nimble Storage for approximately three years.

Nimble is a stable storage solution.

This is a highly scalable product.

The technical support is very good. I can get expert support from an HPE engineer or instead, receive support online.

The initial setup is easy.

The pricing is expensive, although we do not pay anything in addition to the standard licensing fees.

My advice to anybody who is interested in HPE Nimble Storage is that I recommend it for high availability applications. I also suggest that they purchase spare parts for it.

Overall, this product is okay, and my only real complaint is about the cost.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Production Storage, all of our 200 virtual servers use this storage.

HPE Nimble Storage reach 4:1 compression/deduplicate rate, optimizing used space.

I have found the convergence rate and deduplication the most valuable features.

I have been using HPE Nimble Storage for approximately two years.

The solution is stable.

The scalability of HPE Nimble Storage has been good.

We have approximately 1,000 users using this solution and we do not plan to increase usage at this time.

The technical support is knowledgeable.

Previous solution had many licenses for each feature, with high OPEX and manage complexity.

The initial setup is simple compared to other solutions and it took approximately one month.

The resellers did the implementation of the solution, we did not do it ourselves. We have ten people for the deployment of the solution.

There is a monthly fee to use the solution.

Yes, Lenovo and DELL/EMC storages.

I rate HPE Nimble Storage a ten out of ten.

We primarily use the solution to connect to the HCI. We try to connect to HCI and share the storage space to a VM farm.

The solution is very fast. It has a replication from Nimble A to Nimble B, which is a high-speed connection.

The solution is quite scalable.

The stability is very good.

It's quite easy to use and the performance is quite good.

The solution should allow for easier configurations.

I've been using the solution for around two years or so at this point. 

The stability is very good. We don't have to deal with bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable and the performance is good. 

The scalability is there if a company needs to expand. It's not a problem to grow it out.

We have three or four users on the product right now.

We might increase usage in the future.

I haven't really connected with technical support for issues with the product.

I remember one time I requested help from HPE for their info site. They did help and I was satisfied with the level of service I got. 

Previous to this product we just used normal three-tier storage, for example, HPE, MSA, Lenovo, and so on.

In terms of the initial setup, while it is quite easy for the fiber connection, I recall for the ISS connection it was quite complex.

The initial setup itself only took about one day. It didn't take too long. 

The first time we implemented it, we had the help of the HPE team. the second time we did it, we were able to handle the process internally on our own.

We pay a monthly licensing fee.

We are on the latest version of the solution. I can't speak to the exact version number.

I'd recommend it to others as it is quite easy to use and does offer very good performance. However, if you do not have experience with the product, you'll find the configuration process difficult. 

I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. We've been pretty happy with its capabilities.

We primarily use the solution for ERP.

The performance of the solution is excellent. It's the most valuable aspect of the product. The stability is great.

The scalability of the solution is great.

The deployment is fast.

Technical support is helpful. 

It would be ideal if all these enterprise-class high-performance products would come at a cheaper price.

The initial setup could be simplified a bit. 

I've been dealing with the solution for a few years. 

The solution is stable and reliable. The performance is great. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.

Scalability is good with this product. If a company wants to expand it, it's not a problem.

We have two or three clients on the product right now. 

I've had no issues with technical support. They are helpful and responsive. 

The initial setup is always complex, however, it is manageable. Of course, it could always be a bit easier in the future. 

The initial deployment is pretty fast and takes less than a week.

A company would typically need one or two engineers for deployment and maintenance tasks. 

The solution is quite expensive. We'd like them to lower the cost of the product.

You can buy the solution outright to avoid ongoing licensing costs.

We are resellers of the solution.

As resellers, sometimes how easy or hard the solution is to deal with and set up depends on the customer requirements. It's really subject to what a customer wants in their environment.

I'd rate the solution at a six out of ten.