TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

IBM Storage DS8000 vs. SolidFire (discontinued)

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    IBM Storage DS8000

    Score8 out of 10
    N/AIBM Storage DS8000 (10th Generation) is an enterprise-class storage for IBM Z and IBM i architectures. It combines encryption with cyber threat detection and assisted recovery – delivering uninterrupted mission-critical data for the world’s most demanding enterprises.N/A

    SolidFire (discontinued)

    Score8 out of 10
    N/ANetApp acquired the scale-out flash storage startup SolidFire in late 2015. The product line was discontinued in October of 2023, and is no longer available from NetApp.N/A
    Pricing
    IBM Storage DS8000SolidFire (discontinued)
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    IBM Storage DS8000SolidFire (discontinued)
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Features
    IBM Storage DS8000SolidFire (discontinued)
    Enterprise Flash Array Storage
    Comparison of Enterprise Flash Array Storage features of IBM Storage DS8000 and SolidFire (discontinued)
    Feature
    IBM Storage DS8000
    -
    Ratings
    SolidFire (discontinued)
    8.1
    3 Ratings
    9% below category average
    Flash Array Performance00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Flash Array Integration00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
    Data Compression00 Ratings8.83 Ratings
    Non-Intrusive Upgrades00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
    Simplicity00 Ratings6.43 Ratings
    Power Savings00 Ratings6.43 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    IBM Storage DS8000SolidFire (discontinued)
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Dell Compellent (discontinued)
    Score8 out of 10
    Dell Compellent (discontinued)
    Score8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Everpure FlashArray
    Score8.2 out of 10
    Everpure FlashArray
    Score8.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    IBM Storage DS8000SolidFire (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.8
    (10 ratings)
    8.6
    (4 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.8
    (3 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    IBM Storage DS8000SolidFire (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    IBM
    Well suited for mainframe CKD based applications. There is unmatched synergy with IBM zSeries when compared to the competition, for example zHPF, SUPERPAV, zHyperLink, cache management and replication technologies. For distributed, the fact that Copy Services Manager comes with the box is a great move on IBMs part to provide replication capability no matter what the applicaiton. I think the DS8k is less suited for smaller distributed environments. I think product overlap with V9000 in this case
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    Solidfire is a good, multi-purpose array for iSCSI environments. Grid architecture allows incremental, linear expansion of the array both in capacity and performance. The all-flash is a very high performance, low latency platform for a lot of applications. The way the company has architected the platform allows for continual upgrades and removes the lift-and-load replacements if you stay with Solidfire in the future. The Solidfire fiber channel implementation is workable, but largely there is a checkbox. I cannot imagine any fiber channel shop is going to look at a Solidfire seriously, unless they are looking to move towards Ethernet based transport. Write intensive workloads struggle on the array. The double-helix data protection combined with the architecture can make writes more latent than expected - well into the teens and 20's of ms within the array.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    IBM
    • Remote Copy -- The DS8k has decades of excellent code built to handle the most demanding environments for mainframe or open systems and can be combined with automation solutions like GDPS or Copy Services Manager
    • Reliability and Availability -- This is the platform that gets used for the most demanding environments, even when FICON attachment isn't required
    • Continued enhancement -- IBM continues to put resources into the DS8k and the platform has advanced with the technology from z and power
    • Mainframe synergy -- Poughkeepsie communicates and works very closely with the DS8k developers
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • Speed is incredible.
    • Ongoing maintenance is great.
    • Price point was quite good.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    IBM
    • The DS8000 family still lacks deduplication and compression algorithms.
    • For best results on replication enablement, optional Copy Services Manager is suggested.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • API documentation could use some help
    • GUI can be slow
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Discontinued Products
    When we have had problems, the response on the Solidfire side has been strong, but not perfect. As they scale and integrate into NetApp, support from regions outside of the USA are having a more difficult time diagnosing and addressing issues for complex problems. The Boulder, CO, and Raleigh, NC, support teams are both extremely strong and provide top-notch support. ActiveIQ is a great support tool both for NetApp/Solidfire and for the customer. The proactive support tickets opened have been helpful. The node-based support has been excellent - meaning when we had a DIMM fail, they sent a replacement node - no time consuming troubleshooting of internal components to fix the issue. Upgrades are handled by SF technicians, so it feels white-glove
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    IBM
    DS8882F provides CKD storage in a manageable footprint. Its advantage over FlashSystem is its interoperability with IBM Z Systems
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    SolidFire was chosen over these other service providers because of relationships we have with the company, with our reps, and with the local Denver presence. We also are a partner, and we felt that the solution stacked up technologically very well against the competition and was more cost effective.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    IBM
    • I do not know the cost. If it prevents future system wide outages, it will be a great ROI for our company.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • The ROI was quick - under 1 year
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    IBM Storage DS8000 Screenshots

    Screenshot of DS8000 ClosedScreenshot of DS8000 FrontScreenshot of DS8000 LeftScreenshot of DS8000 Right