Chief Executive Officer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
MSP
Scalable. easy to install, and simple to use
Pros and Cons
  • "I have found the solution to be stable."
  • "It would be ideal if it was more secure."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for our hyper-converged infrastructure.

What is most valuable?

The solution is easy to use.

The product is quite scalable.

I have found the solution to be stable. 

The product is very easy to install.

What needs improvement?

I haven't used the solution for that long and therefore don't really have any deep knowledge about it.

It would be ideal if it was more secure. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've worked with the solution for six months.

Buyer's Guide
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)
May 2024
Learn what your peers think about Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2024.
771,346 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of the product is excellent. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of the product is very good. If a company wants to expand it, it can do so.

We only have two teams that use the solution in general. 

How are customer service and support?

I've never contacted technical support. I cannot speak to how helpful or responsive they are, having never worked with them directly.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I did not previously use a different hyper-converged solution before Nutanix.

How was the initial setup?

In terms of the implementation process, the process is pretty simple and straightforward. It's not overly complex or difficult. A company shouldn't have any issues with it. 

I didn't have too much exposure to the setup, however, my understanding was that the deployment didn't take long, and it only takes less than half an hour for a single node.

For us, it required two managers and eight engineers in one team to handle the deployment.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I can't speak to the pricing aspect of the solution. I was not exposed to that part of the product.

What other advice do I have?

We are an end-user of the product.

I'm not sure which version of the solution we're using currently.

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

It is great. Some of my colleagues have been permanently glued to Nutanix. I would recommend the solution to people who are interested in networking-related products.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Manager, Operations at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Great for scaling, and good value in terms of services provided, however difficult to set up
Pros and Cons
  • "One of the most valuable features is that it can be applied at any scale."
  • "Some clients find the solution's cost to be too high."

What is our primary use case?

I won't be able to disclose anything with regards to our client's contractual agreements in terms of what we have done or not, at their premises, or even if it's on the hybrid model. I'm not even allowed to disclose the name of our clients without their prior approval, so I can't really get into primary use cases.

What is most valuable?

One of the most valuable features is that it can be applied at any scale. 

The value you get for the price is quite good.

What needs improvement?

It's difficult to discuss what is lacking on the solution. We would have to do a proper analysis because not every client has the same requirements. 

Based on our experience up until now, even the clients, when they are looking for a proper platform, have already identified Nutanix as being the one solution that would be the most relevant to them. We would need to get into a more detailed analysis in terms of what features or benefits the clients are looking for to see if there is something lacking. 

We would need to look at scalability, or reduced latency, and stuff like that. There are so many elements that are implemented for each client. As well, there may be specific areas that the client wanted to be improved. However, from our perspective, we don't see any glaring holes in the product.

The initial setup does need a team with experience with it in order to execute it correctly. It's not easy.

Some clients find the solution's cost to be too high.

For how long have I used the solution?

I haven't been using the solution for too long. I've only been using it for 18 months, so just over a year or so.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I can't speak to the stability of the solution. I'd have to discuss this aspect with my team. We do provide support and may have some recommendations in relation to that, however, at this moment, I can't really comment.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of the solution is great. If you are a large company or an enterprise, you should be able to scale it well.

How are customer service and technical support?

We actually provide technical support to our clients. Our technical team has the training, and we're able to provide guidance and clarification on our end in terms of problems or issue son the solution.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not straightforward. On our team, for example, we had to get to know Nutanix extremely well before we could master it. Only then would we be able to prepare the solution for different clients. If you have knowledge of the solution, the setup will be much easier. Still, it's complex.

I'm not sure how long the average deployment takes.

However, the project may not just include Nutanix. There may be other interventions that have to happen simultaneously. Typically, a project from end to end may take about three months to complete.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Some clients think the solution is quite expensive.

What other advice do I have?

In terms of advice I could give to those considering the solution, I'll say this: it all depends on what they're looking for and what their ultimate objectives are. They need to clarify that internally before landing on Nutanix.  

At the same time, anyone going for hyper-converged should do so, as it's the future. Once a company decides on a solution like Nutanix, they expect to reap the benefits. Even before going with their decision, they need to know what it offers and how it will work to help them achieve their goals.

At the end of the day, it's all about our clients being more effective and efficient in their daily work or with their end clients. 

I'd rate the solution seven out of ten.

They're still evolving and we are not yet in a situation where we must interact fully. Some people will definitely come and tell you Nutanix is very, very expensive. However, expensive with regards to what? Or expensive compared to what? It's all about what you get out of it, and what kind of returns you're expecting. This is where Nutanix can make a difference.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
PeerSpot user
Steffen Hornung - PeerSpot reviewer
Steffen HornungAdministrator at Neuberger Gebäudeautomation GmbH
Top 5LeaderboardReal User

You should know the product at least to some extent before sharing a review. It seems to me you haven't taken a closer look prior your review. Instead of writing what and why you can't share this and that simply write what you know but I doubt that would reach the required character limit here.

Buyer's Guide
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)
May 2024
Learn what your peers think about Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2024.
771,346 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Senior Information Technology System Engineer at State Informatics Limited
Real User
Market leader that is cheaper than VMware
Pros and Cons
  • "The cloud features in-site offering, which I found to be very interesting."
  • "There could be better support for high power ESX and other cross platform applications."

What is our primary use case?

We are looking at Acropolis only as a comparison to VMware. We want to determine what it offers better than VMware, in terms of features, as well as how we can position it to integrate to a VMware environment.

What is most valuable?

I haven't been there to test everything, but I have been to the Nutanix presentation two weeks back on Nutanix cloud. The cloud features an in-site offering, which I found to be very interesting.

What needs improvement?

There could be better support for high power ESX and other cross-platform applications. A major feature in Nutanix is that it should be able to move from AHV to BFX.

I would like to see an improved interface. I think Dell EMC is going to launch ClarityNow to address this.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using Acropolis for maybe two to three months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

In terms of stability, Nutanix is a good product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In terms of scalability, I think that it is good that it works with many clusters, which is not the same as other vendors, for which there is a limitation in terms of the clusters.

For the time being, we don't have many users. We're still in development; we did not put it on the production environment yet. We are still busy in the testing phase. Once they are all done with the test, they will be concerned with what the stakeholders want in any condition. The process will be quick and we'll have about 100 people using it for internal purposes first. Then we will back up our server to the cloud. At that point, we can expand to 1,000 or so users.

We only need one or two people to deploy and maintain this solution.

How are customer service and technical support?

I didn't contact technical support much, but what I hear is good.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward, not complex. We followed all their guides, and you just have to go through them and install them. The initial deployment took less than half a day.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I don't think I know. I think it's cheaper than VMware in terms of cost.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

VMware is already in the market and we have been using VMware first. Now Nutanix just emerged as the leader. That's why we are comparing them.

What other advice do I have?

My advice is to go for Nutanix because it is the way the market is going. Nutanix is becoming the leader in the market. Also, Nutanix offers far more software features than other products. You will not need much effort to understand the product. It's very simple to work with.

I would rate this solution as nine out of ten. I can't give it a full ten yet since we are not fully inside.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
PeerSpot user
YaganadenNaicken - PeerSpot reviewer
YaganadenNaickenSenior Information Technology System Engineer at State Informatics Limited
Real User

Nutanix, One-stop shop for all solutions, don't think too much, just go for it, end-to-end solution with one vendor, from hardware to software

it_user1104888 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr IT Consultant at Vision Insurence
Consultant
Helps us to install hardware and taught us how to deploy with a reset
Pros and Cons
  • "We are suggesting Nutanix to the management because of scalability and time efficiency."
  • "The storage and back-up facilities could be improved. We need day-to-day encrypting of the database."

What is our primary use case?

We started using Nutanix recently. I'm working here in Muscat, Oman and I take care of a complete data center, the managing, security, and maintenance. We deployed Nutanix recently with the help of Entech. Entech is the main vendor here in Muscat. In that setup, we are using the VMA 6.5 as well as 6. The primary use is for node clusters. We are reviewing the Nutanix servers now.

How has it helped my organization?

We use Nutanix Acropolis to look after the cluster, the migration, etc. and run the data center. We have around 300 users here using it. 

We deployed a basic setup, then afterward one-by-one, we re-migrated the servers. 

Only four people are needed to deploy Nutanix Acropolis and maintain it. I'm the main keeper for maintaining the original deployment and everything I must do. 

At a cost level, it compared well with the other vendors. Nutanix is very costly compared to others, even HP but, it works very well. 

We recommend Nutanix to the management because of scalability and time efficiency. These advantages aim at the next level of relationship for our current management, then we'll decide on future deployments.

What is most valuable?

Nutanix helped us to install hardware and taught us how to deploy with a reset. We learned how to install the Nutanix OS, and run a network.

What needs improvement?

The storage and back-up facilities could be improved. The storage and recording back-up for updates where we can maintain the data server and handle an insurance company. 

We need day-to-day encrypting of the database. We're purchasing Acropolis and Veritas. That is a big headache. We are using Nutanix for backup and storage purposes. That is now going well in terms of storage and backup.

The cloud base is an extra feature. It should be the standard. Nutanix Cloud is not that helpful for us.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Nutanix Acropolis around two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is good. It's time efficient compared to Dell and HP servers. Compared to those companies the stability is very good. 

Once you start the server, use the boot manual for very user-friendly options.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The main scalability is time-efficiency. If you are conserving your data, this kind of scalability and performance is very good.

How are customer service and technical support?

For technical support, we're not in contact with them. We get the information online. You can search to get to the solution.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Before we were using Mascot. Then we started with Nutanix.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward and not complex. It is easy. It's the firewall only. Initial deployment takes less time. We have around four data centers here. 

Starting up takes around two days, plan for an extra day per data center.

What about the implementation team?

The vendors, Entech, gave very good training to us. I did that one myself.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated many solutions but finally went with this one. We went with Dell. That is a portable device. We found this one to be better.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend Nutanix Acropolis. We are a national insurance company here. We require scalability. Nutanix is very good at whatever the scale is. There are no headaches. You can boot-up other servers, all in one.

On a scale from one to ten, I would rate Nutanix Acropolis a nine. I would go to 10, but many features are not perfect. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Enterprise Systems & IT Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Has a compact size that reduces the HW/Datacenter footprint.
Pros and Cons
  • "Management is simple"
  • "The product needs improvement in the areas of SAN attachment for high capacity and high I/O profile workloads."

How has it helped my organization?

There was a 30% reduction in CAPEX spending when we moved towards the Nutanix platform and we had a high ROI.

What is most valuable?

  • Management is simple
  • There is easy configuration
  • The solution is scalable
  • The product has a compact size that greatly reduces the HW/Datacenter footprint.

What needs improvement?

The product needs improvement in the areas of SAN attachment for high capacity and high I/O profile workloads.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have not yet encountered any issues with stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I did not encounter any issues with scalability.

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical team was instrumental in resolving issues to our satisfaction.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We did not previously use a different solution on the hyper-converged platform. Apart from this solution, we converged infrastructures from EMC/HDS vendors.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was very easy.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Pricing and licensing are easy if:

  • You know which solution you are choosing the product for
  • You provide the correct sizing

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I did not evaluate other options.

What other advice do I have?

I recommend this product for its easy implementation and its elimination of the silo approach.

We have a bunch of data warehousing servers that we have planned to migrate to the Nutanix environment, but the limitation is on the amount of capacity that is currently in the DW environment and its all traditional SAN attached. We couldn’t put the amount of data that is currently in our existing production (instead need to rework on the 10G copper connections with additional funding). That is the huge drawback, considering the infrastructure we have.

Most of the authentication processors/servers have a minimum transaction of 15k requests per second. For these types of workloads, we realized the solution doesn’t seem to fit well, leaving many of the requests either being dropped or transmission lost.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user234747 - PeerSpot reviewer
Practice Manager - Cloud, Automation & DevOps at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
To get started with this hyper-converged infrastructure solution, the documentation is well-written, but they need to update their policies on who can access them.

Originally posted at http://vcdx133.com/

If you have just heard about Hyper-Converged infrastructure and Nutanix, read my Tech101 – Nutanix Virtual Computing Platform article.

First point, Nutanix has just announced the name change of their Virtual Computing Platform (VCP) to Xtreme Computing Platform (XCP) with the release of Acropolis and their new “Invisible Infrastructure” paradigm during the Miami .Next 2015 conference.

If you are not a Nutanix Customer, Partner or Employee, it is going to be very challenging getting your hands on their technology, KB articles and documentation. They have released the Nutanix Community Edition to get you started, but it will provide limited value for their Enterprise platform.

Nutanix need to update their policies on who can access their binaries, KB articles and documentation. Particularly if they want non-customers to investigate and become familiar with their technology. I have been informed they are trying to fix this. For example:

  • If you take the Nutanix Virtual Computing Platform Administration 4.1.1 course for NPP, some of the training material links to Nutanix documents that require a valid support contract.
  • You must be a Nutanix Partner or Employee to download the Foundation and Phoenix binaries.

The Nutanix documentation (HTML, EPUB or PDF) you want to get your hands on for NOS 4.1:

  • Setup Guide (publicly available)
  • Advanced Setup Guide
  • Field Installation Guide
  • Hardware Administration and Reference
  • Upgrade Guide
  • Web Console Guide (publicly available)
  • vSphere Administration Guide (publicly available)
  • Acropolis Virtualisation Administration Guide (publicly available – previously “KVM Administration Guide”)
  • Hyper-V Administration Guide (publicly available)
  • NOS Advanced Administration Guide
  • Nutanix Cluster Check (NCC) Guide
  • Command Reference (publicly available)
  • API Reference (HTML only – publicly available)

General observation, Nutanix documentation is very well written with an elegant font and format; very easy to read and understand.

The Nutanix Portal areas (HTML, EPUB or PDF) you want to checkout (if you have access):

  • Knowledge Base Articles
  • End of Life Bulletins (& Policy)
  • Field Advisories
  • Security Advisories
  • Support (for Support Request creation and management)

General observation, Nutanix support is very prompt and helpful, even for low priority requests.

The Nutanix hardware, software, binaries and licences you will need to start your journey:

  • Nutanix XCP block (any model), even as a PoC for a few months
  • Foundation (2.1 at time of writing) with the embedded Phoenix images for ESXi, KVM and Hyper-V
  • Nutanix Installer Package (2.1.3 at time of writing)
  • Prism Central (4.1.3 at time of writing – separate Hyper-V and ESXi versions)
  • Professional/Ultimate Edition Licences for your Cluster (for advanced features)
  • Nutanix Cluster Check (NCC – 1.4.1 at time of writing)
  • Nutanix Community Edition (with whitebox hardware or nested virtual)
  • Nutanix supported version of ESXi ISO image from my.vmware.com
  • Nutanix supported version of Hyper-V ISO image from microsoft.com
  • Nutanix KVM Hypervisor upgrade bundle
  • Various Tools and Firmware (eg. SCVMM Clone AddIn, SCOM Management Pack etc.)

What can you do to get started:

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user298428 - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems Engineer at a government with 501-1,000 employees
Vendor
It eliminates the need to have a "storage team" when using virtualization, but it would be nice to be able to converge the network switch required to connect the Nutanix nodes together.

What is most valuable?

The reduced complexity of the overall system is a major plus, especially for smaller IT teams. Nutanix eliminates the need to have a “storage team” when using virtualization.

How has it helped my organization?

Beside the reduction in cost, we have been able to use Virtual Desktops for all our users. The Nutanix Hardware is capable of delivering the performance needed for Virtual desktop deployment.

What needs improvement?

Nutanix has made huge improvements over the past years and the product is very good at the moment. It would be nice to be able to converge the network switch required to connect the Nutanix nodes together. This can then be managed via the Nutanix Admin console.

For how long have I used the solution?

We were the first in New Zealand to implement the Nutanix converged infrastructure during December 2012.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have recently scaled up on our infrastructure without any issues. It takes longer to get the kit out of the box and in to the rack than what it takes to set it up.

How are customer service and technical support?

They have excellent customer service and has a few support contract options available to customers.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used to use an HP SAN but there is no way SAN’s can compete on performance with Nutanix.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was more about migrating between hardware than actually having complexity problems. Almost any systems engineer would be able to understand and administer Nutanix infrastructure in just a few days.
I’m confident that there is no infrastructure on the market now that is as simple to implement and configure as Nutanix.

What about the implementation team?

The initial configuration was done with assistance from Nutanix support. The guys there offer a great service and know the product well. During upgrades and such, we contact support to talk us through the process just because we can and it gives management a safe feeling.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Nutanix is very competitively priced and the reduced cost compared to a traditional SAN, and the increased performance and scalability sits well with the finance department. I suggest you talk to the Nutanix engineers and get a solution that is right for your workload and needs. Licensing is simple and easy to understand.

What other advice do I have?

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user234747 - PeerSpot reviewer
Practice Manager - Cloud, Automation & DevOps at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
I like the linear scaling of performance.

Originally posted at vcdx133.com.

This post provides a Tech101 breakdown of the Nutanix Virtual Computing Platform. If you have heard the buzz-words “Nutanix”, “Web-Scale” and “Hyper-Convergence” and want to learn more about it, this post is for you.

The Nutanix Virtual Computing Platform (VCP) is a Hyper-Converged Infrastructure solution. Termed the “iPhone” of infrastructure, what is the big deal?

Short answer: Ease of use, fast deployment, linear scaling of performance with capacity and richness of product features.

Why should you care? If you live in the world of monolithic and vertically scaled storage, you may have experienced the initial, massive cost of purchasing your storage solution with a 5 year ROI. Then comes the honey-moon period where you experience amazing performance as workloads are moved to the new array. Well before the 5 year ROI mark, you will probably experience performance degradation as the capacity of the array is consumed. Which then initiates discussions with your storage vendor about how you need to spend another boatload of money adding additional controllers, SSDs and disks to the array.

Furthermore, think about how long it takes for the storage team, the server team and the network team to agree on a particular design for a project and the time it takes to order, deliver, install, configure and test that solution. Have you ever asked yourself, “There must be an easier way to do this?”

Enter Hyper-Convergence, where you can now buy individual blocks of infrastructure at an entry price and quickly scale-out your solution (performance and capacity) one unit at a time as you grow.

What is it? Nutanix has taken the “Web-Scale” infrastructure model of Google and Facebook and made it available to the Enterprise. You buy a Nutanix Block (rack mounted chassis) that contains Nutanix Nodes (hosts), storage, power and cooling. This creates a Nutanix Cluster (Software-Defined Storage), which are comprised of Controller Virtual Machines (CVM).

How does it work? The Controller Virtual Machines connect directly to the physical SCSI Controllers on each node (Pass-Through mode) and the CVMs are configured to create a “Nutanix Distributed File System (NDFS) Cluster” (storage pool) via the 10GbE network. All of the pooled storage is classified as local or remote from the point of view of each CVM and VM data is protected based upon a Replication Factor (RF) policy of two or three, which replaces the concept of RAID. RF-2 means a local and remote copy is maintained and RF-3, a local and two remote copies of said data.

Where is the magic? Since each node has its own Controller VM, SSDs and HDDs, NDFS can provide linear scaling of capacity and performance for locally stored data. When a CVM goes down, a remote CVM will takeover serving data I/O to the local hypervisor. When the local CVM comes online, it resumes service. This fundamental concept is what allows Nutanix to provide a “rolling upgrade” of the Nutanix Operating System (NOS). What is the caveat? During periods of CVM failure, local workloads that access remotely stored data will experience degraded performance until the local CVM is restored.

The major components of the Nutanix VCP solution are:

  • Nutanix Node – a single host with CPU, RAM, SCSI Controller and Network that resides in a Nutanix Block
  • Nutanix Block – rack mounted chassis that contains nodes, storage, power and fans
  • Prism – User Interface and APIs
  • Prism Central – aggregator of separate Prism Clusters to a single UI
  • Cluster Virtual Machine – Software-Defined Storage that supports NFS, iSCSI or SMB3
  • CVM operating system is known as “NOS” – Nutanix Operating System
  • CVM file system is known as “NDFS” – Nutanix Distributed File System
  • Hypervisor – VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V and KVM supported
  • OEM Hardware – Supermicro and Dell with PCIe SSD and HDD
  • Licencing – Starter, Pro & Ultimate

It comes in a number of OEM Hardware flavours (Dell and Supermicro) with the following uses:

  • ROBO, Test & Development – NX-1000, Dell XC 720xd A5
  • EUC/VDI – NX-3000, NX-7000 (GPU & PCoIP Offload), Dell XC 720xd B5/B7
  • Compute Intensive – NX-3000, Dell XC 720xd B7
  • Data Intensive – NX-8000, Dell XC 720xd C5/C7
  • Business Critical & Mission Critical Apps – NX-9000 (All Flash)

The major features of the Nutanix Operating System (current version NOS 4.1):

  • One-Click Upgrades of NOS and Hypervisor (rolling upgrade)
  • Data Protection Cloud Connect (to AWS)
  • Data At Rest Encryption
  • Metro Availability (<5ms RTT)
  • Deduplication
  • Compression
  • Data Tiering
  • Snapshots and Clones
  • Advanced Data Protection

Alternatives

  • Server-Side Flash-Cache Acceleration – VMware vFRC, PernixData FVP, EMC XtremSF/XtremCache, etc.
  • Converged Infrastructure Solutions – NetApp FlexPod, VCE vBlock, HP ConvergedSystem, Dell, etc.
  • Other Hyper-Converged solutions – VMware EVO:Rail, Maxta, SimpliVity OmniCube, Scale Computing, Pivot3, etc.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: May 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.