FlexPod is a converged infrastructure option developed by NetApp and Cisco. FlexPod is available in streamlined and simplified Express version, and the FlexPod Datacenter edition for enterprise private clouds, VDI, scale-out infrastructure, or software defined data centers.
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IBM PureSystems
Score 6.2 out of 10
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IBM's PureSystems is a converged infrastructure option.
FlexPod is great for mid to large size companies, where the flexibility and depth of a traditional SAN and high performance servers is required. For smaller companies, it might make more sense to go with a hyper converged solution such as Hyperflex or Nutanix (both of which can still run on Cisco UCS servers, but would not be making use of Netapp storage), to meet the requirements in a smaller footprint.
I honestly don't see an area where the PureSystem couldn’t fit in and be of a great use due to its ability to integrate a multitude of technology, (some that are outdated even) to create a stable network platform. I think if a corporation is seeking to upgrade their system but is financially disadvantaged they couldn't make a better investment for more bang for the buck than buying the IBM PureSystem.
Data reliability- by monitoring and increasing load balances PureFlex has made data and applications available more readily across departments.
PureFlex- has increased data integrity. By insuring that data is transported with greater fluidity, PureFlex has increased our data integrity by many folds. By helping us to be more precise in our data delivery, our customers have been more satisfied.
PureFlex- Integration within and scalability has been seamless. We have not experienced very many issues and the ones we have experienced were readily mitigated with the expert help of IBM technicians.
KVM control of the blades still requires Java. Avocent is using HTML5 now, and it would be nice if the KVM console for these UCS blades could too.
Price - Like any Cisco product, there are cheaper options. They aren't nearly as fully featured, but at times, it would be nice if UCS could be a bit cheaper.
Efficiency- PureSystems has enabled our users to work more efficiently with customer orders, providing the requested data in a far less turn around time than ever before.
Scalability- We have already have had to scale up our memory storage due to a successful agreement with a data warehouse and it was a seamless effort completing the project with the assistance of expert IBM technicians at our call when we had any questions.
Combinability- PureFlex's ability to pretty much accept any other technology and incorporate it into a single network has saved us a tremondeous amount of money and time to stable platform.
Being a Cisco shop already it was a natural fit to go with a solution based on their technology. Then add in VMware which we are were already using - that was two out of the three for the FlexPod. Then factor in NetApp's de-duplication technology and flexibility in configuration and options and it's a match made in heaven. Not to say we haven't had some stumbles and some issues but it works and it works well.
Well there was a lot going for the vCE block systems we considered the 200 and 300 series. These two series seemed to overlap each other just about right where we are at in our IT needs. The 200 series leaned more to the less side of our needs and the 300 leaned to the farside of our needs. The vCE didn't appear to be compatible with a lot of our current configured components, while the PureSystem did. So that was the real clincher for us. We spent maybe a week integrating everything and testing to insure things had integrated as expected but it was well worth the effort and time.
FlexPod has allowed our team to be extremely quick to resopnd to new VM build requests. The amount of RAM, CPU and backplane offered by B series blades allows us to go with very high VM density. The quick deployment of service profile templates also means that when we have to add new hosts, it is done quicker.
FlexPod and the service profile portability (along with VMware) has allowed for full upgrades and migrations from M1/M2 series hardware to M4 hardware without any downtime or outages to the clients. Blades can be moved into new chassis, or service profiles moved to new generation blades, with no impact to the customers' ability to work.
We were seeking a means to better leverage what we had without rebuilding the entire system, the PureSystem enabled us to do just that.
At first we were very hesitant of the system's robustness, it was to be honest a little intimidating, however with IBM always ready to hear our question no matter how small they might of seemed, we got rolling very quickly, I won't say effortlessly but very quickly.
When it came time on short notice that we needed greater storage and flexibility to incorporate some new application, the new system performed very well with incorporating the new applications and the increase of storage.
