Pure Storage FlashArray Reviews

We use FlashArray for enterprise block workloads, especially VMware databases. Everything is a virtual environment these days. We work with companies in partner countries in industries like telecom and banking. 

You can see Pure Storage's performance benefits as soon as you have deployed the solution. In terms of compression and deduplication, you can see the benefit once you've migrated 25 to 30 percent of your workload to FlashArray. The algorithm needs that much to see how much duplicated data is inside the array. It has reduced the client's storage footprint 100 percent. 

One feature that's particularly valuable for our finance customers is Pure Storage's safe mode. It protects against ransomware attacks by taking snapshots. Our customers were very impressed with this capability. The data reduction is also impressive compared to other providers. 

The single pane of glass management is simple and easy to operate. It also seamlessly integrates with VMware and cloud environments. Pure Storage is hosted on the public cloud, so it's easy to monitor the array from your mobile phone.

Pure Storage's logs could provide more visibility to the end-user. The logging algorithms are different from those of other vendors. 

I have used Pure Storage for three years. 

Pure Storage FlashArray is reliable, and I've had no problems with hardware or software failures. 

I rate Pure Storage support eight out of 10. Their support is excellent, and they respond quickly. 

Positive

We recommend different solutions based on a questionnaire on the customer's needs. Are there performance or resource crunches? Is their current solution becoming obsolete? This isn't a problem with Pure Storage because it will last forever. 

Pure Storage builds its own drives using direct flash modules. Pure Storage has solutions for all scales from small businesses to the enterprise level. 

FlashArray is pre-deployed on hardware. It's very easy to deploy using one person. 

Pure Storage offers a good long-term ROI. You will get the new technology and the same level of support on an initial capital investment. It's a cost-effective solution for customers of any size for long term.

The Evergreen program is critical for our customers who would like to stay on this platform forever, control operating costs, and adapt to new technologies. 

The most important feature is that you get support services forever for a flat annual renewal cost.

I rate Pure Storage FlashArray eight out of 10. 

The best features in Pure Storage FlashArray are its simplicity; it's simple, but simplicity is key.

Speed is also a key feature. The performance is amazing, and the simpleness of management of the storage is amazing. Support is amazing, and the SEs from Pure Storage are also amazing. The contact with Pure as a partner or end customers is amazing in comparison to other storage vendors.

The solution decreases our storage footprint.

Pure Storage FlashArray has helped decrease the total cost of ownership because we know what the cost is going to be every year. We don't get any hidden fees or upgrade fees; everything is included in the price. We don't do any forklift upgrades, and when we change the storage, we manage it in a way that we replace the controllers, replace the drives, and we do that with zero downtime, without needing to forklift or migrate any data. It resides in the Pure array all the time, so in that way, we earn a lot of money or at least don't lose as much money.

In Pure Storage FlashArray, the area with room for improvement is local MFA login.

Local MFA can't be done, which is why I mention it as an area for improvement.

I have been using Pure Storage FlashArray for almost 10 years.

I would rate stability a 10; there are no downtime, bugs, or glitches.

It has helped reduce our downtime over the years, and with Pure Storage FlashArray, we have zero downtime, approximately 10% reduction.

It fits our scale because the scalability up is perfect. I wanted them to sell me a smaller Pure Storage FlashArray. I want the Pure function but smaller arrays, but I know that's not their business. I want to sell a smaller Pure Storage FlashArray to my customers.

I would rate scalability overall as a 10.

The performance is amazing, and the simpleness of management of the storage is amazing. Support is amazing, and the SEs from Pure Storage are also amazing. The contact with Pure as a partner or end customers is amazing in comparison to other storage vendors.

I would rate the technical support an 11 out of 10.

Positive

We used an HPE 3PAR before using Pure Storage FlashArray.

The deployment for Pure Storage FlashArray was very easy.

It takes hours to deploy.

Almost everything is handled by the Pure Storage support team.

It has reduced our storage usage by minimizing space in the racks and the power consumption.

There is no license fee in Pure Storage FlashArray; you pay something upfront, and you always get any new function in the new products without any hidden license fee.

Pure Storage FlashArray has helped decrease the total cost of ownership because we know what the cost is going to be every year. We don't get any hidden fees or upgrade fees; everything is included in the price.

Management and performance are 1,000% better in Pure Storage FlashArray compared to other products.

In terms of performance, cost, and power, Pure Storage FlashArray is up in the top; it's number one, and you can't compare Pure Storage FlashArray with anything else.

I would recommend Pure Storage FlashArray to other users because it's the best storage solution for the money.

I rate Pure Storage FlashArray a perfect 10 out of 10.

Our VMware infrastructure uses a Pure Storage FlashArray as its primary SAN storage solution.

Our organization values the single management pane of glass because it simplifies administration by consolidating all necessary tools and functionalities into one location, eliminating the need to navigate between different systems. This streamlined approach increases efficiency and allows us to manage our operations effectively.

The benefits of Pure Storage FlashArray were immediately apparent, with its speed dramatically reducing machine deployment times from several hours to mere minutes.

Pure Storage FlashArray significantly reduced our storage footprint. Moving from older three-point five-inch SAS disks to Pure's smaller disks and utilizing deduplication and compression, we condensed our storage from 12 racks to just four.

Pure Storage FlashArray reduces downtime compared to our previous storage solution. While our previous system was reliable with minimal downtime, it still required occasional maintenance, whereas Pure Storage FlashArray operates seamlessly without any maintenance requirements.

The Evergreen architecture provides a fantastic refresh cycle where storage, including the crucial controllers at the system's core, is replaced every three years during maintenance renewals. This effectively means that even after nine years, the system remains equivalent to a brand new one. This is greatly important to our organization's ability to maintain uptime. 

I appreciate the ease of provisioning storage on Pure Storage FlashArray. The deduplication and compression features make it cost-effective and remarkably straightforward to use.

Pure Storage FlashArray is fantastic. It shows and does everything I need, which is why I've used it for so long. However, improved reporting on the deduplication and compression functionality would be beneficial. While a general reduction in space usage is evident, it's impossible to determine the specific deduplication or compression rates for individual disk systems.

I have been using Pure Storage FlashArray for nine years.

I rate the stability of Pure Storage FlashArray ten out of ten.

Although we haven't needed to scale significantly yet, the system appears capable of scaling.

The technical support always replies quickly, and the support quality has been fantastic.

Positive

We previously used HPE non-flash storage, but they did not offer the deduplication, compression, or SSD options that the Pure Storage FlashArray provides.

The initial deployment is straightforward, even for someone who has no experience with Pure Storage FlashArray. It takes less than one day.

Deploying a Pure Storage FlashArray can involve various infrastructure components, making it more efficient to use a team. In most organizations, a single person would lack the necessary access to all the systems involved in the deployment process.

We implemented Pure Storage FlashArray nine years ago when it was new to the market and obtained it at a preferential price. However, the current retail price may be relatively high, and discounts may not be available.

I would rate Pure Storage FlashArray ten out of ten.

Pure Storage handles all maintenance. Upgrades are initiated by simply sending an email request to Pure Storage, which manages the upgrade process.

Pure Storage FlashArray offers fantastic performance and is easy to set up, but it's important to consider the types of workloads you'll be using, as this can impact its data deduplication and compression efficiency.

Pure Storage FlashArray is used specifically for all types of storage, which is used for the active-active sites. It is used for backup and block storage. We manage this in Azure as block storage, and in AWS, it is similar to S3 storage. The solution is used for products, non-production, and backup, making it versatile.

I am working with Pure Storage FlashArray product. I am working with four different versions, specifically X70, XL170, C60, and C90.

The best features of Pure Storage FlashArray are its ease of use and user-friendly interface. There is not a complex configuration required. It is easy to configure and provision. The performance allows all types of services to be visualized from a single point of interface. Unlike other vendors, where multiple services are required on multiple appliances, this makes it more robust and user-friendly.

Having this single management pane is beneficial because I don't require managing multiple appliances to manage one type of storage or multiple types of storage. Within one place, I can consolidate all the boxes and can get all types of reports, including capacity, LCM, and vulnerabilities.

I use Pure Storage's Evergreen architecture for their upgrades, and it is a subscription-based model where the vendor guarantees to provide the LCM from time to time, with hardware or software. If the controller is getting expired, they will replace it. If there's a code that is getting expired, they will update the code. It is completely capable of LCM upgrades from time to time.

The main benefits I have seen from using Pure Storage FlashArray are that capacity is a key point. In a small disk, we have large capacity with high performance. We have a 49 terabyte disk, which is also an all-flash disk, and it can accommodate petabytes in one small array. Additionally, the power consumption is very good in this product, which reduces the overall cost in terms of capacity requirement.

Pure Storage FlashArray has helped to decrease the total cost of ownership because we pay based on utilization, not on the total capacity we procured. If we have the targeted capacity of 100 terabytes, it will be provided, but we only pay for the used amount. This pay-per-use feature is very good, but other vendors are not providing it. Even when they provide it, they keep the blocking or minimum binding time, which is not the case with Pure Storage FlashArray.

Within the same type of storage, if multiple protocols can be handled, I shouldn't be required to buy a new array for object storage. It should be unified in the same box. A discussion is ongoing, and they are going to launch some code for this type of feature.

In terms of the utilization capacity for the actual server side and the storage side, both are not fully utilized. Only the storage side used capacity is visible. From the graphical user interface, we cannot extract the report from the server perspective usage, but from the CLI, we can extract it for server utilization. This feature should be included in the graphical user interface.

During heavy load situations with 100K IOPS on one specific port, it requires more granularity level for distribution. This occurs during salary time or high transaction periods, where more IOPS should be available on one port or two ports, otherwise it can become a blocking point.

I have been working with it for the last 10 to 15 years.

It has maintained operations without reducing downtime. Each component is redundant. Everything is done so that even if I have to replace a controller, it is replaced without downtime. If a disk fails, or multiple disks fail, they are replaced without any downtime. Maintenance is very easy to do.

The scalability aspect is very easy and very fast.

The customer service and technical support of Pure are very good in terms of reachability and response frequency, which is very good in comparison to others. I rate the tech support as eight out of ten.

Positive

I worked on IBM, HP, NetApp, EMC and Dell. Performance-wise, capacity-wise, and cost-wise, Pure Storage FlashArray is number one among all the products.

The deployment of Pure Storage FlashArray is handled by the Pure vendor, and it takes hardly one or two hours to deploy. With their expertise, it can be installed in the small space in the rack with good capacity. Two U controllers or four U controllers can be done quickly within the available space in the rack.

We have a direct liaison with Pure, and as an enterprise company, we procured directly through our partnership.

I am from a technical background, and ROI is calculated by our financial team, which promotes it very frequently, so I assume it's very good.

The pricing is very reasonable for Pure Storage FlashArray.

All other organizations are also good in terms of robustness and reliability, but those are very costly in comparison to Pure Storage FlashArray.

They have some high-performance required solutions, but I suggest that during requirement gathering, it should be capable by the same array instead of buying a specific array for getting performance. The CLI must be more user-friendly as currently, it is not. I rate Pure Storage FlashArray a nine out of ten.

We use Pure Storage FlashArray for storage allocation, DR, replication, and performance. We are migrating both servers and storage to Pure Storage.

It has reduced downtime significantly, and the self-service upgrade feature allows us to handle upgrades smoothly through the console.

It has helped decrease our organization’s storage footprint. There is about 15% reduction.

The snapshot feature is valuable. It protects data based on the policy. We can schedule snapshots and have unalterable data. It reduces management efforts.

Vendor support is good. After raising a case, we get a response within an hour or two.

I have been primarily working with storage and have not fully explored other areas, but there is some room for improvement when it comes to performance reporting.

I have been using Pure Storage FlashArray for one year. I have been using Hitachi Storage and Sun Storage on all legacy devices. We are migrating all these servers and storage to Pure Storage FlashArray.

Our experience with the stability of FlashArray has been excellent. On a scale from one to ten, I would rate it an eight.

The scalability of the solution is quite good, and I would rate it an eight out of ten.

For a P2 issue, the SLA is 4 hours. They were able to resolve the issue within two hours. Just a month ago, we faced an issue, and they were able to resolve that within an hour. We got support immediately.

The technical support provided by Pure Storage is exceptional, and I would rate it a ten out of ten.

Positive

We have been handling all the legacy environments, such as Hitachi USP V/VM, Hitachi AMS, Sun StorageTek, and EMC. They all were at the end of life and out of support. We have more than 1,000 devices and servers. Our servers were also out of service and end of life. We planned to migrate all the servers and data into Pure Storage as single devices. Instead of using multiple storage solutions, we wanted to use a single one and move to Pure Storage. We also had to deal with different vendors for support. We wanted to have a single vendor.

With these legacy devices, we were not getting any support. When we had any hardware failure or some issues, we were not getting a solution. For any hardware failures, we were not getting the parts. That is why we thought of migrating to Pure Storage.

The deployment took about two months, primarily due to planning and the time taken for customer approval processes.

We are primarily using it on-premises, but we have plans to move to the cloud over the next one or two years.

I would recommend this solution. I would rate Pure Storage FlashArray a seven out of ten.

We use Pure Storage FlashArray as our client storage solution. We create dedicated hosts and allocate appropriate storage space to each host server to accommodate their needs.

Our clients were experiencing difficulties running jobs and encountering storage limitations. By implementing Pure Storage FlashArray, we can remotely access the host server and expand the storage capacity to meet our clients' needs.

The FlashArray's single pane of glass is crucial for providing clients with easy access to IOPS and other essential features. This means the FlashArray must be highly accessible, with increased bandwidth, but no additional requirements.

Compared to Dell Unity, Pure Storage FlashArray offers a more comprehensive port configuration, providing eight front-end and four back-end ports. Dell Unity limits connections to two front-end and two back-end ports. Furthermore, Pure Storage FlashArray includes an Ethernet, USB, and management port, enhancing its connectivity options. In contrast, Dell Unity uses a heterogeneous storage environment, combining flash arrays and SAS arrays, which requires manual configuration and assignment based on specific requirements. Pure Storage FlashArray, on the other hand, exclusively employs Pure FlashArray components, eliminating the need for heterogeneous storage and simplifying management.

Pure Storage FlashArray helps save our clients a maximum of 30 percent in resources.

Pure Storage FlashArray has to be available for our clients 24/7, which has significantly reduced downtime.

I work with Pure Storage FlashArray models 2K and 8K. Compared to Unity, these arrays offer significant advantages, such as NVMe technology and higher IOPS. Additionally, they provide more storage capacity and are easier to access than other models.

I want to improve the overall service level of the solution.

I have been using Pure Storage FlashArray for two years.

Pure Storage FlashArray is stable. The arrays are good for four years, after which we must destroy them and migrate the data to a new one.

I would rate the scalability of Pure Storage FlashArray nine out of ten.

We use NetApp for file-level access and EMC, VMAX, and PowerMax. We will continue using NetApp for file-level access, which requires us to provide a shared folder or create a new one. We will allocate storage space to this specific folder, not the entire cluster. This minimal storage is necessary for administrative access and small activities or groups using NAS storage. For larger datasets, high IOPS, or big data storage, we use Pure Storage FlashArray.

The deployment process is straightforward. We will access the GUI, partition the volumes, isolate the host group, and segregate the host. As part of my previous work, I was also involved in decommissioning Pure Storage systems. When dealing with Pure Storage, it's essential to verify the status of the volumes. Ensure that all volumes are offline before proceeding with the decommissioning process. Once the volumes are offline, we will delete them, remove the WWPNs, destroy the volumes, and finally delete the host server. We can deploy around 30 servers per month.

While Pure Storage FlashArray may carry a higher price point, our clients observe a return on investment due to the significant time savings enabled by its exceptional IOPS performance. This increased efficiency more than justifies the initial cost.

Pure Storage FlashArray offers higher performance and IOPS than Dell Unity, thanks to its use of 32-gigabyte cables. While it comes with a higher price tag, this investment often translates to significant improvements in performance.

I would rate Pure Storage FlashArray nine out of ten.

Pure Storage FlashArray offers exceptional accessibility, ensuring our clients experience minimal to no performance issues, even during intensive I/O operations. Our clients have consistently reported high IOPS and successful job execution without encountering any errors or delays. This rapid response time, measured in milliseconds, underscores the FlashArray's ability to provide seamless storage access.

Our clients are enterprise clients.

Maintenance is necessary for ports, DIMs, fans, power units, and arrays. If a power unit fails, a redundant unit will access the data. We will notify the client of any issues and submit a service request for resolution. After the replacement, we will verify the GUI and log into the Pure FlashArray to check the status of the specific disk. If it's online, we'll take a screenshot and close the case after making the changes.

I recommend Pure Storage FlashArray to others due to its exceptional IOPS performance and user-friendly interface.

I'm a Pure Storage partner and I have implemented two use cases for my customers. In one case, my FlashArray works like storage, but my CPU is in my other servers. In my other case, it works only as a backup.

FlashArray helps us reduce our storage footprint. FlashArray says that it can hold 10 terabytes, but I have 13 terabytes on one FlashArray in one case. We have 3:1 compression. When FlashArray says it's at 16 percent, it's a note, but it isn't helpful for our company and customers.

We see the benefits maybe a week after deployment. In that week, the publisher has to do data reduction. We have to work with FlashArray, but FlashArray has to do its work. After a week, I can see FlashArray is reducing the storage usage.

FlashArray's data reduction and NAS features are incredible. Its performance is the best I've worked with. FlashArray's admin page offers a single pane of glass view. It's the best administration page. It's the easiest to use and understand. 

If I need to change or troubleshoot the dashboard, I cannot do it without calling support. If I want to move something critical, I cannot do it by myself. The dashboard blocks me from changing those critical things.

I have used FlashArray for around a year. 

I rate FlashArray nine out of 10 for stability. Our uptime has been 100 percent for the past year. 

We don't use Evergreen to scale up Pure Storage, but it can help us if our FlashArray is old or full. When that happens, it enters Evergreen and allows us to renew our architecture without downtime. 

I rate Pure Storage support 10 out of 10. We called support with one problem. Technical support was fast. 

Positive

I previously used Dell Data Domain. I switched because our Data Domain was old and FlashArray provided better service than the new Data Domain, so we decided to switch.

FlashArray is the easiest thing I've ever deployed. You just rack it and connect it to the network. There isn't any more configuration. Including pre-deployment, one of my more complex jobs took two or three days. I deployed it with one teammate. 

FlashArray is expensive, but the quality justifies the price. 

I rate Pure Storage FlashArray 10 out of 10. Pure Storage is the best in the world for IT companies. If you want the best performance, you have to choose Pure Storage.

I use Pure Storage FlashArray to provide LUNs or volumes for end users who want to work on a database for zoning, enabling them to operate effectively with end-user arrays.

The device gives us a lot of protection in maintaining our data in the storage. It gives high throughput across many locations.

We have faster data processing with low file consumption. This includes multi-terabyte databases in memory with read-write speed four times faster than any HDD. 

Pure Storage FlashArray offers numerous valuable features, such as low latency and high throughput. It has significant data protection in the form of snapshots. It allows data portability around the cloud and on-premises devices. Performance backup is also a key feature.

The support that we received from the vendor during upgrades has been very good. They instructed us very well through the remote connection.

I have worked with two types of Pure Storage FlashArray. So far, I have not found any issues. There is not a great need for improvement, but better pricing could be beneficial.

I have been using Pure Storage FlashArray for three years.

It is stable. I would rate it an eight out of ten for stability.

There is always downtime when working with production servers. I have to plan downtime of three or four hours when launching new servers or logging into new servers with new LUNs. If a lot of people are logging into a FlashArray server, it will require downtime if we have to modify anything.

It is scalable. I would rate the scalability of Pure Storage FlashArray a nine out of ten.

It is being used at a single location. We have 30 people using it.

Their support is too good. As soon as I log a case with them, they are always available. They are very fast. I would rate them a ten out of ten.

Positive

I have worked with different storage boxes such as Quantum, NetApp, and HPE, but they are different. They are block storage. Pure Storage provides a unique compatibility when working with LUNs and volumes, offering a totally different SAN product. It is also easier than the others.

The initial setup was straightforward and took about 40 minutes.

The solution has saved us time and resources. It has saved about 20% of my time.

I would rate it a seven out of ten for pricing. It could be improved.

I would recommend Pure Storage FlashArray to anyone because it offers great resilience, high throughput, and excellent storage provision to users on SAN boxes. It simplifies the process of zoning or taking backups.

I would rate Pure Storage FlashArray a nine out of ten.