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Automating Redundancy With IBM Power Virtual Server.
September 26, 2023

Automating Redundancy With IBM Power Virtual Server.

Alfred Brock | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 5 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

Power Systems Virtual Server on IBM Cloud for AIX/Linux

Overall Satisfaction with IBM Power Virtual Server

We use IBM Power Virtual Server to provide access and installation for recent AIX and Linux workloads in our complex hybrid cloud environment. We especially use it in our work that involves SAP and SAP HANA. We have homegrown applications we have introduced to the mix, and that is working very well.
  • The images and data we process and save through the system are easily retrievable.
  • The images and data we process and save through the system have never been corrupted.
  • Once our process is set for any of the software and systems we interact with through the IBM Power Virtual Server, they require very little, if any, maintenance other than period checkups.
  • Having a wider selection of software to work with would be welcome.
  • Training and education is daunting at first and could be simplified.
  • Much of the automation is wonderful after it is set up but getting started has a steep learning curve.

Do you think IBM Power Virtual Server delivers good value for the price?

No

Are you happy with IBM Power Virtual Server's feature set?

No

Did IBM Power Virtual Server live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of IBM Power Virtual Server go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy IBM Power Virtual Server again?

No

  • The positive impact is that decisions were made to use the software for specific processes, and now those have all been established and are working.
  • The amount of time and expense involved in migrating to the system and developing from scratch to work with the system has been excessive and unwelcome.
  • Support is spotty. The price is premium but the support is primarily provided by subcontractors whose main loyalty is towards IBM and not the end users and clients.
We selected IBM Power Virtual Server primarily for pricing and its availability in our operating areas. It was preapproved with some of our clients, and so it was the best choice from that standpoint and only from that standpoint. If that had not been the case, there would have been more active resistance to taking it on.
IBM Power Virtual Server has helped secure our business by providing standard security safeguards. In combination with our internal work, we find that IBM Power Virtual Server is sufficient for reducing vulnerabilities normally associated with the software of its type and class. The redundancy of the service has been helpful in avoiding business interruptions. Data availability has not been impacted positively nor negatively by the introducution of IBM Power Virtual Server into our business operations.
We have not found that IBM Power Virtual Server is easy to use. We have found that it is complex and difficult for users and some technicians to master. It is appreciated that it is a single platform; however, because it is inflexible in some regards, we have to extend a great deal of time and effort integrating it into our systems. User error is avoided by scripting and automation.
It is well suited for a scenario where inputs and outputs are known and have been carefully designed. It is suitable for situations where there are tremendous amounts of data to deal with. It is also suited well for supporting several different versions of applications and data, for example, in SAP and SAP HANA. It is not well suited for quick changes. It is not well suited for situations where tremendous amounts of data stored in differing formats need to be worked with. The overhead in those situations is very high. As for transferring data between legacy installations of applications and with various forms of data, the overhead for that work is likewise very high.

IBM Power Virtual Server Feature Ratings

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)
2.9
Service-level Agreement (SLA) uptime
5
Dynamic scaling
3
Elastic load balancing
2
Pre-configured templates
1
Monitoring tools
Not Rated
Pre-defined machine images
4
Operating system support
2
Security controls
5
Automation
1

Using IBM Power Virtual Server

ProsCons
Feel confident using
Do not like to use
Unnecessarily complex
Difficult to use
Slow to learn
Cumbersome
Lots to learn
  • Data Backup.
  • Accessing Remote Systems.
  • Interacting with systems that are not IBM products.
  • Dealing with more than one version of a software package like SAP HANA at a time.
It is overly complex. On the face it is simple and easy to use - after an enormous amount of configuration work.