Item: Dell Unity XT Unified Storage
Rating: 9
Author: Roni Peterson Alvarenga

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Dell EMC Unity300 for the entire organization. We use it within our VMware cluster and also for file storage and engineering. There is also an area for editing our institutional TV. As it provides a hybrid environment, we can take advantage of the available block and NAS functionality. We acquired it because of its auto-tiering options, cost-effectiveness, and great support from Dell.

Pros and Cons

Auto-tiering
Provisioning LUNs
Management reports
Integration with VMWare

LUNs with greater storage capacity
NAS with greater storage capacity
More user-friendly provisioning for end users

Return on Investment

Possibility of more digital processes (and less paper)
Increased production of multimedia and hypermedia content
Greater agility in obtaining information and data
Ease of technology migration
Security in the cluster environment

Alternatives Considered

EMC VNX (Discontinued)

We acquired Unity as a replacement for our VNXe3200, due to hardware limitations, low performance, lack of features such as auto-tiering, and also its EOL.

Key Insights

Do you think Dell Unity XT Unified Storage delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Dell Unity XT Unified Storage's feature set?

Yes

Did Dell Unity XT Unified Storage live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Dell Unity XT Unified Storage go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Dell Unity XT Unified Storage again?

Other Software Used

vSphere, Bacula Enterprise, Windows Server, Fortinet FortiGate, Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers, EMC VNX (Discontinued), Dell Force10 Ethernet Switches, Dell PowerConnect Switches

Likelihood to Recommend

Dell EMC Unity is a hybrid solution. That is, it is indicated for environments that do not need specific and customized solutions. For general use, it guarantees an excellent performance, with the possibility of delivering 60TB NAS to end-users. However, if the environment is critical, there are solutions, from Dell itself, that are more appropriate. For example, do not try to use it as database storage, it will not have acceptable performance.

Support Rating

Not only support for Unity, but for any Dell product, whether for companies or for the end consumer. Support is agile, helpful, and always focused on solving the problem. To date, there has been no problem that Dell's support has failed to resolve and help us with.

Dell EMC Unity Review

Overall Satisfaction with Dell EMC Unity