VNX [EOL] Reviews

It is very easy to create new storage for a new requirement. Adding more storage to an existing storage pool is very quick and easy.

The most valuable feature is the auto-tiering, which helps in the speed of data access. We have a big VMware storage pool in each of our three arrays and we have never had users complain about response of any VM in our environment.

There is no easy way to defrag a RAID group. It would be nice to be able to reduce the size of a storage pool if the storage is not needed anymore.

When you need to defrag a raid group, in earlier array versions of EMC arrays like the CX line all you needed to do was to right click the raid group and select the Defrag option and the array would defrag the raid group. Now with the VNX series arrays, if you need to defrag a raid group it is a multi-step process that is all manual.

1. You need to list all the LUNs that need to be moved.

2. Then create temporary LUNs of the same size and SP in a location not in the raid group.

3. Migrate these LUNs to another location outside of the raid group.

4. Then create the LUNs again back in the original raid group, this will move all of the unused space to the end of the raid group.

5. Migrate the temporary LUNs back to these LUNs in the original raid group.

With that being said, with the VNX array, you never have to defrag the space in a Storage Pool.

No issues in stability.

No issues in scaling up, but there is no way to reduce the size of a storage pool.

Customer Service:

EMC's customer service is excellent.

Technical Support:

Their technical support is great. They have been able to quickly help when I have encountered any issue with this platform.

We were previously using the CX3 arrays. We switched because the CX3 was end of life and we needed a platform that could support more disk space growth.

The initial setup was straightforward. But, we did have professional services help with the installation.

We used a vendor team.

Make sure you understand how the licensing works and that you are getting the right set of licenses if you need array-to-array replication.

We also looked at the HPE 3PAR. I liked the array, but we stayed with the EMC product because we already knew how to manage it.

A hybrid, tiered storage such as VNX:

• Enables data where IOPS is critical to be placed in SSDs
• Archives data to be placed in NL-SAS disks where IOPS is not in demand

It is very stable, even during multiple power failures.

EMC VNX needs to support bigger SSDs. Next generation EMC Unity will do this.

We have not had stability issues.

We have had some scalability issues. Scalability options are limited due to the supported SSDs.

Technical support gets a rating of 5/5.

Previously, we had CLARiiON. VNX was the next technological shift.

VNX was very easy to set up. Guides are available on the EMC site.

The initial pricing and licensing are reasonable. Yearly EMC is more expensive.

We looked at IBM V7000 and others.

Go through EMC best practices for proper disk sizing and allocation.

It's easy to use, and integrate, I'm not storage-centric, as I just integrate storage along with other things. I can go in there and follow instructions to complete the job. I know all products are different, especially how they’re all clustered differently. For me, I don’t care because not looking at raw data or specifications (e.g. how many SSDs, how tiered), I just follow instructions for the virtualization aspect.

It’s one of the better industry-accepted names and standards. Not necessarily cheap, but for me it’s all about familiarity. I've worked with this type of storage for many years.

Make major changes to the file services, Celera, do something like a lite version. It used to be more solid product before unifying Clarion and Celera.

It’s very stable in all the years I've worked with it. I know it’s stable and the support is there.

It’s definitely scalable. VNX to large SAN with SDD to all with extra storage for VDI, they’re all hugely scalable. You can keep adding blocks of storage for different tiers, as well as sites of storage, with other products (replicated with backups).

All experiences with tech support have been positive. It was never problem with product itself, mostly configuration issue caused by the integrator or client. They worked through it.

I was always second fiddle as there was always a network person and virtualization person and a storage person. It's always straightforward in terms of everyone following plan and working together. The end result is always the operational system being delivered.

• NetApp
• Dell

Research stuff that’s been proven, and what you can afford.

It’s a great platform that’s evolved very quickly that overtook NetApp with the Vblock initiative. Everything was valuable – HA, SRM, Vplex, metrocluster, entire suite of products

We can deploy quickly and it’s storage-based, making it data-focused that provides a virtualized and structured way of moving data.

I can’t think of anything because they’re evolving more and more. They’re making headway into datacenter where non-structured data-type infrastructure around Hadoop, security, encryption.

It's very stable, and works well with VMware.

It’s amazing, you can add and stack, and add more elements. You can group to scale horizontally and vertically, can add VMware tech, can add flash arrays, and everything integrates seamlessly. The intelligence controls everything. I don’t worry about infrastructure and I don’t have to move to the cloud.

Our TAM is great and acts as a liaison for us with EMC.

It was complex, as you really need to understand what you’re doing and have different layers (architects engineers operations, networking, etc.), BUT it’s straightforward, as if you follow procedures, it will work out well, but everyone needs to be onboard. It’s simple to run, but the setup was complex.

they don’t quite provide enough security in the data centre. There’s a discrepancy between it, DevOps and automation.

It is easy to deploy, has a simple interface, and has all the valuable features a small business would need to get going. It has thin provisioning which means a lower TCO and it has FAST cache support which means that performance is not compromised.

This entry level product has just enough premium features to make it effective. One example is when a client was able to leverage the thin capabilities of the array and it's tight VMware integration to go from a legacy array taking up lots of rack space and power to a 2U VNXe1600 which helps reduce the amount of rack space and in turn power and cooling requirements

As an entry level array, this is just right, but adding support for FAST-VP would be beneficial although that feature is available on the higher end VNXe3200.

If you are looking for a stable,powerful and effective entry level SAN that you can provision on your own for a small environment or a small office/remote office situation - this is definately the product for you.

Block and NAS on multiple VNX's are all managed from the same Unisphere GUI. Plus, it has great data migration tools e.g. EMCopy.

Unisphere provides a one-stop go-to place to manage all my VNX storage arrays, saving me time, and screen space.

I preferred HP EVA over Clariion for block due to the simpler GUI, but the VNX (that uses Clariion-like block) appears more complex due to the flexibility it ultimately offers. It has more functionality/flexibility which means a more complex interface. But, all things considered, Unisphere is a very good interface. It doesn't seem too fast though, but that could be the environment rather than the VNX product, to be fair.

I've used it for four years, nine if you include when it was Clariion.

No issues encountered.

No issues encountered.

No issues encountered.

I don't like the way EMC's Powerlink support is behind a wall. You need to register an account, and join that account with your product serial numbers to open up the support pages and downloads for your products. As a consultant, I find that far too restrictive.

They are very good if you engage with them, so very high.

I use whatever my end client has purchased, be it EMC or another product. I don't often get to choose, but I would recommend a VNX if asked.

The documentation is very very good (with the exception of CAVA (optional anti-virus agent). That took some figuring out before I got it working properly, due to a subtle detail with physical/virtual data-movers. Setting one up should only be done with the documentation. never wing it.

Mostly in house, but I've worked with a vendor team post implementation where they test it end to end, and they're excellent.

I didn't choose it, but I would choose it. As mentioned above, I have enjoyed both EMC and HP's offerings in the marketplace. Depending on how simple the customer needs it to be, might sway my recommendation one way or the other, but in terms of functionality, VNX is very very good.

Watch the YouTube videos first, they're very good. If you understand what's being said, buy it.

• Scalability
• High performance
• Easy administration

We need, in real time, to be able copy in more than two data centers, and EMC gave us a better solution with great performance.

We get good performance from all our applications like Oracle DB, SAP, Sybase DB, Exchange, and SharePoint which are running on the backend of my storage device.

We've used it for one year, alongside RPA, VMAX, and VPLEX, all by EMC.

No issues encountered.

No issues encountered.

No issues encountered.

9/10 - we get immediate support from EMC.

9/10 - we get immediate support from EMC.

There was no previous solution in place.

It's a complex setup as we have three different data centers, which are far from each other.

The implementation was done by a team from EMC who were 9/10.

EMC products are costly when compared to other vendors such HP, Hitachi, Dell, and NetApp.

No other options were evaluated.

If you have a banking and finance domain, then go for EMC products as they offer better performance and scalability.

They have more different/flexible models in the midrange storage area In comparison with other vendors . They have also built in VMware specific features . Lastly, it has reasonable performance/cost.

In a virtualized infrastructure based on VMware Hypervisor, the VNX series SANs provide some useful vendor specific features for us.

• Storage processor architect for real active/active HA
• ASIC based functions are needed

I've used it for about four years.

No issues encountered.

No issues encountered.

In comparison to other products, VNX scales out well.

It's satisfactory. This company really care for their customers.

So far, we have had a response to all our queries from tech support.

No previous solution was in place.

The deployment procedures are very simple, and based on a step-by-step installation guide.

We implemented our device ourselves .

We have preloaded/license free vendor specific feature for VMware infrastructure with EMC VNX Series SAN Systems. It would be a good choice for midrange businesses due to the performance/features and cost. The licensing terms and conditions are a flowing Pay-As-You-Grow method and it's a good option for long term planning.

We only compared different VNX models.

Pay attention to the initialization procedure. Also, the reinitialization procedures are very complex after the initial VNX product .