A very specific solution
Updated April 08, 2020

A very specific solution

Gerardo Fernandez Ruiz | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with IBM Cloud Bare Metal Servers

We used it to create a high-availability cluster
  • Gives you the opportunity to use your own software licensing.
  • You can add features easily, growing as you need.
  • You forget about the physical management of the server.
  • The way to connect to the private network could be improved.
  • Portal availability could be improved as well.
  • A better way to manage notifications could be found.
  • We had no downtime during the period the project was alive.
  • Support tickets were resolved fast, keeping productivity up.
A bare metal server gives you more control over your environment.
When you need to use your own software agreements, or when you need to have an isolated load or a very specific configuration.

IBM Cloud Bare Metal Servers Feature Ratings

Service-level Agreement (SLA) uptime
10
Dynamic scaling
9
Pre-configured templates
Not Rated
Monitoring tools
8
Pre-defined machine images
8
Operating system support
8
Security controls
9

IBM Cloud Support and Implementation

In my experience, the implementation on a Bare-Metal Server is really fast because is often the case that IBM Cloud (Softlayer) already has the server on site. The only thing they do is they load the OS, modify the IP, change the uEFI credentials, and that's it; but of course all of that is already automated. In my case I prefer to load the OS myself so my servers are ready to use in minutes (from the moment I order one to the moment I get to install the OS).
I've used IBM professional services in a few cases (not for my company but for some of my clients), and the people in professional services are really helpful. You call them and set a meeting for the initial planning session, but they usually most of the work already done, they just ask some questions and they fill in the blanks. However, in some cases implementation can take longer than planned.
Basic (free) - We only need basic support as we are a IT firm, we have experts in different fields and the need for support is unusual. We do however need support when there is a hardware failure (if a disk in an array fails, if one of the Power supplies fails, etc.)
We had a disk failure in a RAID array and the tech in site was aware of the problem and he already had the new disk on site by the time we contacted support. We proceeded to select a time to make the change without any issue.
People in support get to the problem really fast, they help 24/7 and they are always polite and helpfull. I'm taking one point though, because sometimes it takes longer to solve an issue if another problem comes to light.