it_user232989 - PeerSpot reviewer
System Engineer II at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
Vendor
While the performance is quite good, the initial setup and ongoing administration needed a little more development/maturing.

What is most valuable?

I valued the high performance I/O and the high availability (HA).

What needs improvement?

This was a POC and due to the high cost of the solution we did not end up deploying the technology. Also the initial setup, and ongoing administration have room for improvement.

For how long have I used the solution?

I used the Nutanix products in a Proof-of-Concept (POC) that we did for addressing performance issues for a Splunk installation. One of the issues was trying to get high I/O performance using VMware guests. Nutanix provided us with a possible solution for our needs. As a result, I was only exposed to the solution for about two to three months during the POC.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

With the assistance of a Nutanix resource, we had very little issues with the deployment of the hardware. Our biggest technical hurdle was the networking requirements in order to provide adequate bandwidth for the product.

Buyer's Guide
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
770,616 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We did not encounter any stability issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We did not encounter an issues with scalability.

How are customer service and support?

Customer Service:

I was very pleased with the level of customer service and support provided during the POC.

Technical Support:

The Nutanix resources provided to us were very knowledgeable about the product.

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

This was a POC to look for a solution, but we did not have an equivalent solution in place.

How was the initial setup?

The setup was complex and required Nutanix to provide a resource to assist with it. The networking requirements, storage/file system layout and rack space layout added to the level of complexity.

What about the implementation team?

Nutanix provided a vendor team to assist with all facets of the POC implementation.

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

As this was a POC there was no cost involved.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

No other products were being reviewed at the time of this POC but we chose not to implement it.

What other advice do I have?

This solution has many advantages, but comes with a cost in dollars and complexity, so make sure you are thorough in your requirements, and that this product meets and exceeds all your short term and long term needs, including your budget.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Responsible MCO at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Responsive support and overall reliable
Pros and Cons
  • "Nutanix Acropolis AOS makes it easy to use and manage projects and it has a good reputation."
  • "The compatibility and integration of Nutanix Acropolis AOS could be improved. For example, we have a WAF application firewall and it does not work on this solution. Not all the OS's run on AOS. You need to have a newer version of an operating system if you want Nutanix to perfectly run all the different options."

What is our primary use case?

I am using Nutanix Acropolis AOS for virtualization.

What is most valuable?

Nutanix Acropolis AOS makes it easy to use and manage projects and it has a good reputation.

What needs improvement?

The compatibility and integration of Nutanix Acropolis AOS could be improved. For example, we have a WAF application firewall and it does not work on this solution. Not all the OS's run on AOS. You need to have a newer version of an operating system if you want Nutanix to perfectly run all the different options.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Nutanix Acropolis AOS for approximately four months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Nutanix Acropolis AOS is stable.

How are customer service and support?

I have contacted the support during the installation. I did receive a quick and informative response. However, I don't use the support very often. 

What other advice do I have?

I would advise others this is a good product for virtualization.

I rate Nutanix Acropolis AOS an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI)
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
770,616 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Senior Account Executive - All Things Software Defined at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Simple to set up with great features and extremely responsive technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution remains stable across versions."
  • "There should be a little more access to Nutanix files."

What is our primary use case?

A majority of my clients are those who are looking to either move away from VMware or clients who are looking for maybe a little more out of HyperV. Naturally, they look towards the top of the list. We have seen a lot of customers drop VMware due to the cost. 

We're also seeing a lot of customers who want a couple of features, similar to VMware with the capacity of a cloud, et cetera. They want that, however, they don't have it to their HyperV. Instead of moving to VMware, they work with Nutanix.

What is most valuable?

There's a mix of multiple features that I like. A lot of our clients like the fact that it is easy to update and upgrade their clusters via an interface using LCM. 

The initial setup is quite simple. 

The solution remains stable across versions. 

Technical support is great.

What needs improvement?

We haven't come across any issues. Our clients haven't seen any issues with Nutanix at all.

There should be a little more access to Nutanix files. As it is right now you have one type of Nutanix file at no additional cost. Most customers have a little more than a one-byte file server. An initial byte size could be a little more than one terabyte.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for maybe five or six years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Even when we do initial deployments, before we run the update for the newest versions, even the older version is quite stable for us. When we move to a new version, of course, it becomes even better.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is quite good. With the introduction of some smaller branch office nodes, it has given a lot of our customers the ability to scale from a small setup and then to grow up accordingly. For instance, we have some customers who may start off with some of the larger clusters and then scale by adding small branch office nodes. It's very flexible. 

At this time, we have about 35 deployments of the product.

We have plans to increase usage. We have customers who are in a cycle right now of increasing the capacities via the expansion of nodes. We also have clients who are adding on or upgrading from other Nutanix options.

How are customer service and support?

We've never had any issue in terms of getting Nutanix support. We have a team of trained Nutanix engineers at hand, however, we do, from time, reach out to Nutanix directly both for our work cluster, as well as on behalf of our customers. 

We've never had any instances of a long waiting time. They're always responsive and get back to us on anything that has to be escalated. It's quite a smooth and simple process.

How was the initial setup?

The implementation process is extremely straightforward. It's no more than two to three days to do entire migrations for VMware. We utilize the Nutanix move tool to help us with our processes as well.

What other advice do I have?

We are partners and we partner directly with Nutanix. We're also resellers.

I'd advise the solution is definitely something that a company should go for. One of the major things is that Nutanix allows you to move from VMware to Acropolis and it also allows you to move back. There is no harm in actually trying out Nutanix Acropolis and seeing how it works out.

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

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
System Engineer at Cloud Vision
Real User
Scalable and offers high availability, but needs better fault tolerance

What is our primary use case?

The solution is primarily a backup product that works with Nutanix. 

We tend to use it for our customers. If they find some errors, we go to troubleshoot or we cooperate with the Nutanix team to get things sorted.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable aspect of the solution is the fact that it doesn't need any downtime even when you are updating the product. 

The solution offers HA, high availability.

The solution is easy to set up.

We find the product to be very stable. 

The scalability is quite good.

Nutanix offers good pricing.

Technical support is helpful. 

What needs improvement?

There is a feature in Nutanix called fault tolerance that could be improved. It exists in the VMware hypervisor, whoever, it does not exist here. It really needs to. 

To run a fault tolerance feature in Nutanix you need the time to reset the VM and to repair or to recall the backup VM. Therefore, you need a little bit of downtime. Conversely, in VMware, with the fault tolerance feature, if you want to use the fault tolerance feature, it doesn't require any downtime.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been working with the solution for three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability has been very good so far. If there are any errors, we always get alerts. We haven't had a problem with any bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is good. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so. It's not a problem. You don't have to worry about downtime either, as you don't need to have downtime in order to scale up. You just expand the nodes to the cluster and go from there. 

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is okay. Usually, we try to handle it for our clients. When there is an error on the customer side, we go and find the error. However, if the error is beyond our reach, we query a case to Nutanix and they can have people onsite. We phone them.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very simple and straightforward. I wouldn't describe the process as overly complex or difficult.

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

The pricing is not too high if you compare it with other products, as it already has software and hardware together, and it doesn't need too much other equipment. The price seems reasonable.

What other advice do I have?

We provide server and hardware support. We focus on Nutanix and offer it to our clients. We are a distributor. We are a partner of Nutanix in Malaysia.

I'd rate the solution at a seven out of ten. If a company doesn't want an overcomplicated solution or if they want to use the hardware with a similar solution, this is a good bet. It's easy to set up and use with Nutanix products and you don't need too much in order to begin scaling.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
PeerSpot user
CEO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Doubles the number of servers that we manage without having to increase the number of IT personnel managing them
Pros and Cons
  • "The management interface of this solution is great."
  • "I would have liked it if Nutanix were a hardware as well as a software platform."

What is our primary use case?

We use Nutanix on a daily basis and mainly for virtual server utilization and some VDI.

How has it helped my organization?

Nutanix Acropolis allows us to manage our company with a smaller team of IT technicians. It doubles the number of servers that we manage without having to increase the number of IT personnel managing it. It allows us to build more with less. This would be a great example of why we use Nutanix. 

Also, every time we have a new stack or when we need to expand the cluster, it is no hassle. It takes less than five minutes. When we have to upgrade, everything runs automatically, so my team can basically just start an upgrade, go and have a coffee, and three hours later come back to see that everything is finished and upgraded automatically.

We use Nutanix hardware, so we have a single vendor and a single stack for everything, which makes the life cycle management very simple and very forward.

What is most valuable?

The management interface of this solution is great. We really enjoy not being locked into VMware as the app adviser vendor. The latest version of Acropolis has a very handy micro-segmentation feature, which we use very often. Overall, I think the most significant upside is the great support provided by Nutanix.

What needs improvement?

I believe the only things that may need to improve is that the Nutanix Controller VM consumes quite a lot of resources. If that could be reduced, it would be great. Secondly, I would have liked it if Nutanix were a hardware as well as a software platform. I think they are currently progressing into a software only path. I think that, in the near future, their own hardware will be discontinued. I can understand why they're doing it, but I would have preferred them to continue being a one-stop shop for hardware and software alike.
However, so far, for our company, the wish list is completely covered.

For how long have I used the solution?

I am the CEO at a tech services company and we've been using this solution for three years now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Nutanix Acropolis is super stable.

We currently have about 900 clusters/users using this program, with only four admins running this environment on a part-time basis. I would say that each Nutanix cluster does not require more than three to four hours of maintenance per month. We plan to increase our usage.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I was absolutely amazed by the linear growth and scalability of this solution and it is the best I've ever seen. Every time we need to grow, we simply add another node and in less than two hours, the storage volume gets increased. 

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support is great and that is why we have chosen Nutanix. We have actually chosen Nutanix because of their very high J.D. score, and it's proven to be exactly that: the best support I've ever seen.

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

We have not used any other solutions before. We have tested many other vendors, such as SimpliVity, but we haven't used anything before.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was amazingly fast and very straightforward. The deployment didn't take long because we are currently running four different clusters. Less than a day after the box containing the program was delivered to our offices, the first cluster was up and running. 

What about the implementation team?

Our company provide integration services for Nutanix, so we do our own installation, setup, and deployment.

What other advice do I have?

My first advice to others considering using this solution would be to always use the support because they are great. The second advice would be to read the Nutanix Bible, which is quite good. It's an online resource allowing you to understand what Nutanix is all about. The third thing is to always follow the best practices that Nutanix provides. If you follow the correct practices, you are on the fast track.

I rate this a nine and a half out of ten because nothing is ever perfect. But Nutanix comes very close. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Steffen Hornung - PeerSpot reviewer
Steffen HornungAdministrator at Neuberger Gebäudeautomation GmbH
Top 5LeaderboardReal User

Hey, great review fellow nutanix user. The controller VM (CVM) has lots of ressources but this is how it works. Every storage request goes through a CVM with cache, deduplication, replication and what not (depends on your feature selection). Reducing the ressources would definitely hamper the solution. 
Proper sizing is therefore a must!

Storage Analyst at Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.
User
SRM capabilities for replication have been proven reliable, but it doesn't support other systems outside of its compute stack
Pros and Cons
  • "SRM capabilities for replication have been proven reliable and very useful for our organization."
  • "We would like to see it support other systems outside of the compute stack from which it was built."

What is our primary use case?

We are using it for hyper-converged deployments of VMs and SRM replication. It is performing very well.

What is most valuable?

SRM capabilities for replication have been proven reliable and very useful for our organization. 

What needs improvement?

We would like to see it support other systems outside of the compute stack from which it was built.

For how long have I used the solution?

Trial/evaluations only.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this product to others.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
IT Infrastructure Manager at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Real User
We increased performance on our software platforms and databases drastically

What is our primary use case?

System stability and performance to ensure a 24/7 operation with fantastic pro-active support. The 1 to many solution will fulfil your DR requirements.

How has it helped my organization?

We increased stability and availability to 99.999%, and increased performance on our software platforms and databases drastically.

What is most valuable?

  • Availability
  • Scalability
  • Performance
  • Redundancy
  • Excellent Monitoring and Admin Portal

What needs improvement?

There is a hard coded IP in the 192.168.5.x range which comes with Nutanix. This needs to be a variable, not hard coded, as this may clash with customers current IP range.

For how long have I used the solution?

One to three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

A nine out of 10.

Technical Support:

A 10 out of 10.

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

Xen.

How was the initial setup?

It was complex, as we needed to move from a Xen environment to Acropolis. The migration process was not easy.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented through an in-house team and a vendor team. The vendor's expertise was a two out of 10.

What was our ROI?

This is still to be determined.

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

Even though Nutanix is expensive, it is well worth it!

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Yes, we did look at your traditional hyper-converged solutions.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user692262 - PeerSpot reviewer
Ingegnere it senior at a tech services company
Consultant
​The solution's performances and high density was most valuable.

What is most valuable?

The solution's performance and high density are most valuable.

How has it helped my organization?

It was a PoC, so we did not test it in a production system. Rather, we prepared a near identical environment and compared its performance to the customer's old SAN solution (NetApp Fas 3220 with full magnetic disks). This comparison showed us how far this technology went: same storage of the half rack old system and many times faster in response.

What needs improvement?

The hybrid solution we tested showed a big performance reduction after intensive work on the system, due to the caching mechanism that fills the SSDs (typical of low level Hyperconverged appliances).

For how long have I used the solution?

We used this solution for three months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We did not encounter any issues with stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have not had the opportunity to test its scalability.

How are customer service and technical support?

We did not test the technical support in a real situation, but only to ask some configuration questions without an SLA.

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

That was the first Hyperconverged system we tested, so we did not switch to this solution from a different solution.

How was the initial setup?

Setup was simple, but we did not prepared the appliance (it was configured by our partner).

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

Licensing is good if you choose to use the proprietary OS (which is free).
Pricing is good if your enviroment can take advantage of the Hyperconvergence paradigm.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We did not evaluate other solutions.

What other advice do I have?

Hyperconvergence gives a faster implementation than the "standard" solutions, and a high density architecture.

Others should see if their requirements can be fulfilled by this technology. I think it is good in enviroments like business intelligence (data mining and big data analytics).

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: April 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.