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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cisco UCS Manager

    Score9 out of 10
    N/ACisco UCS Manager supports the entire Cisco UCS server and Cisco HyperFlex Series hyperconverged infrastructure portfolios. It enables server, fabric, and storage provisioning as well as, device discovery, inventory, configuration, diagnostics, monitoring, fault detection, auditing, and statistics collection.N/A

    IBM Storage FlashSystem

    Score8.9 out of 10
    N/AIBM Storage FlashSystem, an all-flash storage array, delivers ~2 PB of effective capacity per single rack unit. Engineered with unique FlashCore Modules, it offloads data services including compression, encryption, deduplication, and ransomware threat detection ensuring optimum performance and resiliency.N/A
    Pricing
    Cisco UCS ManagerIBM Storage FlashSystem
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco UCS ManagerIBM Storage FlashSystem
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cisco UCS ManagerIBM Storage FlashSystem
    Considered Both Products
    Cisco
    No answer on this topic
    IBM
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    95%
    Would buy again
    19 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    54 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    20 Answers
    98%
    Delivers good value for the price
    51 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    95%
    Happy with the feature set
    19 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    54 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    15 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    45 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    18 Answers
    96%
    Implementation went as expected
    46 Answers
    Features
    Cisco UCS ManagerIBM Storage FlashSystem
    Enterprise Flash Array Storage
    Comparison of Enterprise Flash Array Storage features of Cisco UCS Manager and IBM Storage FlashSystem
    Feature
    Cisco UCS Manager
    -
    Ratings
    IBM Storage FlashSystem
    8.1
    157 Ratings
    9% below category average
    Flash Array Performance00 Ratings9.0152 Ratings
    Flash Array Integration00 Ratings8.1148 Ratings
    Data Compression00 Ratings7.7152 Ratings
    Non-Intrusive Upgrades00 Ratings9.1144 Ratings
    Simplicity00 Ratings8.4154 Ratings
    Power Savings00 Ratings6.2147 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Cisco UCS ManagerIBM Storage FlashSystem
    Small Businesses
    Cyberduck
    Score8.6 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    AWS Storage Gateway
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Dell Compellent (discontinued)
    Score8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    SolarWinds Storage Resource Monitor (SRM)
    Score10 out of 10
    Everpure FlashArray
    Score8.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cisco UCS ManagerIBM Storage FlashSystem
    Likelihood to Recommend
    10.0
    (23 ratings)
    8.5
    (157 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.6
    (6 ratings)
    Usability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.8
    (23 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.3
    (21 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    9.1
    (6 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.1
    (2 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.8
    (2 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco UCS ManagerIBM Storage FlashSystem
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cisco
    It [Cisco UCS Manager] is extremely well suited to large virtual infrastructure environments with resource dense blades. This solution is also great if you want to consolidate a large number of servers (if they are servers that need to stay physical, but can fit in the profile of a blade) - this would reduce data center space utilization as well as power and cooling. Cisco UCS Manager is also great if you're looking for centralized management of a larger number of servers. This would not be a great solution if you have a very small shop - it's not cheap and probably wouldn't give you a ROI if you only have a couple dozen servers total. I'd say it would be overkill for small shops, but if you have the money and don't care, you'll still like it.
    Incentivized
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    IBM
    IBM Storage FlashSystem is the only good option. It is possible to do with other brands but not with the same compatibility and support. So in the IBM i world, there is not that much options if you want reliable products, performance and compatibility with overall system: IBM Storage FlashSystem product is the one. You may need to adjust performance to your needs and IBM has a complete range of systems for entry (FS5X00), mid-range (FS7X00) or high-end (FS9X00). In IBM i world, IBM Storage FlashSystem is the best, but knowing the product, I would probably recommend it for other platforms. And many of my customers are using it as a cross-technology platform (mainly virtualization on x86 like VMWare).
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Cisco
    • It is very all inclusive for management of every part our our Cisco blade center.
    • It allows us to directly connect to a hardware-based server in the blade center as though we were physically at the console.
    • It allows us to monitor the entire system for faults.
    • It lets us manage connectivity.
    • It is set to alert us via email if a fault occurs.
    Incentivized
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    IBM
    • Extremely fast storage
    • Scales up as needed. Add flash core modules easily and increase volumes very quickly.
    • Applying firmware updates to IBM Storage FlashSystem is very easy to do and can be done without any downtime.
    • Replication policies are very versatile and also easy to setup.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Cisco
    • Automation: There is a simple power-shell CMD lets, but it leaves more to be desired.
    • Navigation: Navigating the interface can be confusing.
    • Integration: Integration with ESXi hosts while doing FW upgrades would be hugely beneficial without the need for additional tools.
    Incentivized
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    IBM
    • Definitely we need to be able to extend a volume that is part of a mirror pair or Policy-Based Replication(PBO) on the fly.
    • Expansion of mirrored volumes/volume groups should resynchronise only the changed data (Almost like making use of change-volumes) and not trigger a full resync.
    • Please allow us to select downloading drive microcode also from Fix Central directly onto the flashsystem like with updates.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Cisco
    Cisco UCS Manager allows for integrated management of all UCS components, streamlining processes like server provisioning, networking, and storage configuration
    Incentivized
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    IBM
    As flash technology evolves rapidly, vendors should [adapt] to the changes and onboard them in their products. IBM is a bit slow in adopting advanced technology in [its] portfolio. Even though the current product is good, my decision is purely based on how the transformation of the product [is] being produced and supplied to [the] end-user.
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    Cisco
    The automation capabilities of Cisco UCS Manager help streamline tasks such as provisioning, configuration, and monitoring, leading to increased efficiency
    Incentivized
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    IBM
    The integration into our SVC and the midrange systems are very well working. We do use cross site replication and global mirror which in turn is easy setup and the consistency groups are well maintained. The storage does global mirroring but also internal cross room replication as well. The integration of cloud object storage also helps in tiering the overall system.
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    Yes. The last really issues I've seen in the environments of my customers were back in the "Storwize" era of systems. Issues with code updates or sometimes rarely failing critical components. BUT: since every component is at least dual redundant even back in that day real outages were very rare. And today in the "FlashSystem Era" the systems are so reliable and available even during code updates there are no complaints. I think the 5 or 6 9s are completely achieved.
    Incentivized
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    Performance
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    Latency and throughput have been excellent. The compression is done natively on the NVME modules so we do not see an impact there. the distributed parity does not seem to impact write speeds at all. We have found database performace has increased quite a bit over our old hybrid storage solution.
    Having a single tier of performance makes it easy to set up SLAs for workloads.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Cisco
    Cisco UCSM Support has been very quick to reply and address our concerns, issues, and questions. We have found that Cisco's documentation is clear and concise and fairly easy to find. With Cisco support's help, we are able to quickly and safely meet the demands of our end-users, consistently.
    Incentivized
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    IBM
    I would rate the overall support for IBM Storage FlashSystem with a 10. The response times have consistently been fast, and the support engineers always come prepared with relevant questions and practical solutions. They demonstrate a deep understanding of the product and our use case, which means issues are typically resolved quickly and without unnecessary back-and-forth. This level of support has been especially valuable for our SAP environment, where uptime and quick resolution are critical.
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    In-Person Training
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    Very good traning by experienced personnel. I attend instructor led sessions on IBM TechExchange and STUs before as well as IBM workshops for FlashSystems at IBM Böblingen which I helped to prepare and improve after piloting them. Absolutely nothing to complain about FlashSystem training in Germany or USA. So: all good here!
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    Online Training
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    THe training is often selfpaced and easy to follow if you have worked previously with other storage products. The content is clear and contains all the information needed for an admin to learn. However the troubleshooting part is not always included and this is dependent on forums or other sources where the information is not accessible very easily.
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    Implementation Rating
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    I was amazed by the way IBM Flash storage provides a huge amount of storage within the limited footprint, it helped us to replace big fat storage arrays, which aided in the process of moving towards lower hardware, carbon, and energy consumption footprint. We can comfortably say that Flash helped us to host applications fast with a blazing speed and user transactions are quite quick.
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    Alternatives Considered
    Cisco
    I think UCS Manager would be able very comparable to other vendors offerings when it comes to server configuration. I think Cisco did a good job in giving you full access to many options that you might not see with Dell or HPE. Every manufacturer would need a similar tool to control their server environment, but I think what Cisco has built into their Manager is a little better than others I've used. You can just see and change so many settings. I would say that is also a bit of a negative by a little bit because sometimes it is hard to dig in and find what you need to change and often might need to reach out to TAC or take a training course to understand all of the interface.
    Incentivized
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    IBM
    For the past six months, we have been utilizing this technology in our projects to manage a massive workload and produce swift business outcomes on a crucial production database. The IBM FlashSystem 7200, which offers high performance and compression, has so far been a great experience for us. The results and functionality of this product have delighted our consumers.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    IBM
    I'm using cognos - especially cognos reports - as a part of IBMs Storage Intelligence software to manage datacenters and report storage and overall resource consumption to my customers. The software is reliable and - my customers who are using cognos in their businesses - say that they are very satisfied about the scalability of cognos. I can give it only an 8 rating because of the quite heavy resource footprint...
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    Return on Investment
    Cisco
    • The positive is I was able to consolidate my small server infrastructure from 3 racks to one rack giving me space back and much power savings
    • The negative would be it could feel a little daunting to manage as there are many tabs and pieces to the interface.
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    IBM
    • Easy of use is a key aspect, as we do not have dedicated storage staff.
    • Our RPO has lowered near to Zero, using PBR as replication and this is key for us.
    • DR plan testing has become easier and less time-consuming, allowing us to conduct tests more frequently.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    IBM Storage FlashSystem Screenshots

    Screenshot of Flash Core Module 5th GenScreenshot of IBM FlashSystem 5600Screenshot of IBM FlashSystem 5600 (rear)Screenshot of IBM FlashSystem 7600 and 9600Screenshot of IBM FlashSystem 7600 and 9600 (rear)