Item: Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
Rating: 10
Author: CJ Rossetti

Overall Satisfaction with Nutanix AOS

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We are using Nutanix AOS as our current HCI. We have recently been phasing out older HP/Dell hardware to be replaced with Nutanix Nodes. On these nodes, we are running virtual servers and virtual desktops to support the mission and users/students of the Naval War College. This gives us the flexibility to expand with increasing demand and provide end-users with remote capability.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Cluster management
One-click upgrades
Single pane of glass

Cons

Third party driver support for one-click upgrades (example: NVIDIA GRID Drivers).
Specific metrics available from within Prism (Example: total IOPS capable not just what has been used).
New games (2048 is getting old).

Return on Investment

Flexibility.
Setup a great road map for future use and expansion.

Support Rating

Nutanix support has gone out of its way to make trips to us on-site to provide extra training as per our request for day to day troubleshooting and identifying new better ways to learn the environment.

Key Differentiators

Price
Product Features
Product Usability
Product Reputation

Training

Nutanix was easy from day one. It was easy to set up, easy to learn. We received the initial setup from support. Since the initial setup, any additional hardware/services we have set up on our own in multiple environments. This was fun and easy and very rewarding.

Performance

No noticeable change, other than getting us back to the use of shared storage to take advantage of VMotion capability.

Alternatives Considered

I have never used any other HCI like products

Other Software Used

VMware vCenter Server, Windows Server

Likelihood to Recommend

Nutanix has been excellent in every way replacing existing hardware and infrastructure use cases.

Using Nutanix AOS

Users and Roles

Support Headcount Required

Business Processes Supported

VDI Host Management
HCI
Storage

Innovative Uses

Consolidation
Maintenance

Future Planned Uses

File Server
Hypervisor Replacement
Storage expansion

Likelihood to Renew

Ease of use and compatability

Evaluating Nutanix AOS and Competitors

Products Replaced

Yes - HP Bladesystem

Evaluation Lessons Learned

I wouldn't change anything. Moving to Nutanix was a great choice.

Nutanix AOS Implementation

Implementation Rating

IPv6 is needed for link local discovery. We do not have IPv6 configured on our network so the easiest way to get our nodes configured and discovered by foundation was to configure the IPv4 addressing within the node prior to trying to discover with foundation.

Implementation Details / Implementation Partner

Implemented in-house
Third-party professional services

I don't remember

Device discovery and switch configuration
IPv6 Support

Nutanix AOS Training

Training Types Used

Online training
in-person training

In-Person Training

We requested more training than typical which was very in depth

Online Training

The online training was sufficient to get up and running.

Nutanix AOS Support

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response	None

Bug Resolution

Exceptional Examples of Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure Support

Nutanix support went above and beyond to satisfy our request for additional in depth level 2 training in house. Our team loves to dig in deep in troubleshooting.

Using Nutanix AOS

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar	None