Nutanix Software Subscription

We use Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM)  for big enterprises in Brazil, including Sebrae, the Minister of Brazil, and three local agencies in Brasília; we have 10 or 11 customers installed.

Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM)  is easy to use. Last week, I studied the history of Nutanix, the principles, and KVM . It is simple, usable, and intuitive for me. NCM is easier to use, especially for layout. NCM does the best with the architecture of the CVM because one CVM for each node makes it more distributed and improves usability, offering more technical improvement compared to other vendors. NCM is very fast, as my implementation team appreciates it because it's fast to deploy.

Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) is stable. I do not receive emails about releases or new versions, indicating that the solution is solid and safe with very good security.

I find the scalability quite easy; I only need to add a license for the core and install the new node for GPU, storage, processing, and memory.

I cannot rate Nutanix support since I never contacted them, but I have only heard good things from my team.

Positive

I have past experiences with vSphere and vCenter, which I had difficulty with. Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) is much easier to use, and I appreciate its graphical interface and colors.

The deployment process is easy.

It's important for us that deployment is fast and easy because my team has all the certifications for deploying Nutanix, and the steps are very easy to understand.

It saves time for implementation and deployment.

Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) pricing is reasonable, especially compared to VMware and other solutions that are more expensive. It's less expensive than competitors such as Broadcom.

I use AWS  and GCP, but I have also used VCF for VMware and vCenter, which is similar to NCM.

Regarding installation or configuring, I only work in design, specifically with Sizer and quotation nodes; that's my focus.

The documentation is easy to search for; it's the bible of Nutanix, and I find it pretty good. I haven't used the documentation in my local language, Portuguese, because my English needs improvement, so I use it only in English. My team uses it in Portuguese because some technical people lack expertise in English.

Everything is satisfactory. We are Platinum Partners with Nutanix.

On a scale from one to ten, I would rate Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) a ten because it's very easy to use.

The use cases are related to infrastructure migration from VMware to Nutanix. I have exposure to the Dell XC series, which has a Nutanix hypervisor installed. It consists of containers along with the Nutanix infrastructure using Dell hardware.

The licensing is much cheaper than other competitors such as VMware, Cisco UCS, or Microsoft Hyper-V  for on-premises data centers. It is very user-friendly and can be managed through Prism Central, a centralized console that allows management of multiple clusters. 

Due to the recent conversion from VMware to Broadcom, Broadcom has increased their prices five times the existing rates. Most customers are transferring to Nutanix infrastructure because it is scalable, reliable, and performance-focused. The main differentiator from competitors is its cost-effectiveness, and customers have been running and upgrading their technologies for 10 to 15 years. In terms of client satisfaction, performance, upgrades, or protection against ransomware attacks and vulnerabilities, they are regularly releasing patches and upgrading the system. These activities contribute to customer satisfaction and differentiate them from competitors.

Nutanix needs more cloud collaborations.There are many cloud providers currently available. Integration with the Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) Unified Storage or Nutanix cloud platform should be improved for better containerization. This is a major drawback in configuration. Other competitors are developing solutions such as VMware on AWS , VMware on Google Cloud , and Azure  VMware solutions. 

I have more than seven years of experience in Nutanix. My core expertise is in VMware and Nutanix.

It is highly scalable. Most customers utilize the scalability capabilities for running and expanding their IT infrastructure as needed. The key aspects include mix-match hardware and hyper-converged infrastructure, combining compute, storage, and network in a single platform. No other competitor provides such scalable infrastructure. It is software-defined, cloud-integrated, and simple to manage with automated one-touch upgrade capabilities.

They have their vendor site at support.nutanix.com. Users require an order ID or unique ID to log in, which can be individual or team-based. Support is available for software, hardware, upgrades, firmware, BIOS, Dell PT agent, and software entities through support.nutanix.com.

I would rate their support a nine out of ten because sometimes you struggle to get the engineers assigned to a particular issue, especially in situations like production downtime. Although there are Technical Account Managers (TAMs) and resident engineers available, they may not always be fully equipped to handle on-site troubleshooting effectively. Reducing resolution time would be beneficial for both the client and Nutanix.

We use external storage including Dell XtremIO , Data Domains, and I have exposure to VMware vSAN  for storage solutions.

When comparing it to the other options, the licensing cost is significantly lower. It's a software-defined platform that offers block storage through a single management interface. Overall, this solution is more cost-effective than its competitors, which highlights the advantages of a unified storage platform.

With all details and resources available, including DNS entries, IPs, subnets, and subnet masks, the initial setup takes two hours from start to finish. Expansion of new containers takes approximately 40 to 45 minutes.

Implementation requires team effort. The process involves racking and stacking in the data center, network engineering according to cut sheet plans, cabling configuration, and hardware setup for HPE or Dell servers. After hardware setup, either AHV hypervisor or ESXi needs to be installed, followed by primary virtual machine configuration for Prism Central or Prism Element. The implementation scope depends on infrastructure size, whether it's a three-node, four-node, or six-node cluster, which is specified in the cut sheet. Separate teams handle costing, implementation, deployment, and operations.

Pricing is based on the Acropolis Operating System (AOS ), not on the hypervisor level. While VMware costs depend on ESXi hypervisor pricing, the AHV hypervisor for Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) is free. Customers only pay for the AOS  platform. This differs from other competitors such as Microsoft Hyper-V  and Citrix, which have their own licensing costs for servers and cloud platforms.

There are currently many platforms available, particularly with Nutanix. We can utilize Nutanix with Kubernetes as well as on AWS. For automation purposes, we require DevOps and machine learning to automate tasks. For example, if you want to delete snapshots on servers, automation is necessary, and this can be achieved through machine learning or DevOps practices. In the current environment, there are various scripting options available, including PowerShell and other non-specified scripts. If we focus specifically on the DevOps perspective, it's essential for me to learn these new technologies.

Regarding machine learning, I don’t have much exposure specifically to unified storage. However, with Nutanix Cloud platform, I have experience with data services and secure data services. From an infrastructure standpoint, I have over seven years of experience in hybrid and multi-cloud environments on the Nutanix platform.

In terms of cybersecurity, there are multiple external appliances available for unified storage. To focus on the Nutanix platform specifically, Nutanix Unified Storage has several features. For instance, Nutanix Lens is one tool available. Moreover, when consolidating your Nutanix infrastructure, you have access to various data protection, data analytics, and secure backup options. It's a combined effort involving Data Lens and other tools available in the market.

Data Lens essentially helps manage big data access across various geopolitical areas through data centers. We need to ensure compliance with our policies regarding security, especially concerning ransomware. In essence, it's a security solution offering that addresses vulnerabilities, data resiliency, and analytical tools that we utilize for security purposes. I had the opportunity to work on Data Lens about two or three months ago for a project.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM)  is a unified cloud management platform that provides automation, cost optimization, self-service provisioning, and security across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Prism Center manages Nutanix infrastructure, monitoring, alerts, and lifecycle, while Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM)  adds advanced capabilities such as cost governance, automation, self-service, and security, as it is built on top of the Prism Center. It simplifies multi-cloud management and reduces cloud costs with optimization tools while enabling self-service and faster provisioning, improving security and compliance, and automating manual IT operations.

Regarding speed, Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) automates deployment and includes logging task execution, such as blueprint deployment steps and runbook, which is helpful for debugging performance analysis for application performance and logging during automation. Because we have multiple nodes, we can use automations within two to three minutes. When running the automation script, we can deploy and collect the logs within two to three minutes. Without using automation scripts, it would take more time and effort for collecting requirement data and requirement deployments. Manual management is very difficult, so we develop scripting automation for deployment, collecting logs, and health checks, making it very speedy at two to three minutes.

We use automation for logging, collecting logs, and checking monitoring. The automation engine is powerful, similar to Calm, which is for automated application deployment, and I am using it in two and three projects. For expansion, we can use automation such as infrastructure and Terraform . Unified cloud storage is a unified software platform, such as NCM and VMware.

We can explain the platform types: unified SaaS, on-prem, and hybrid cloud management. VMware uses enterprise-grade hybrid management, and for infrastructure automation, Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) uses Calm, blueprint, and runbook, while VMware uses infrastructure automation, blueprint, and workflow. For self-service protocol, NCM uses integrated multi-tenancy, but VMware is customizable. For cost governance, NCM uses Beam for multi-cloud cost tracking, but VMware requires vRealize Operations.

To compare Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) and other components simply, NCM is a unified platform offering automation, cost governance, and operations through the UI. Compared to vRealize or Terraform , NCM stands out for simplicity and integrated cost analysis with Beam, and more benefits on one-click application with blueprint called Calm. However, tools such as Terraform offer more flexibility for DevOps-heavy use cases, and VMware may fit better in an all-VMware environment.

Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) is a very scalable deployment performance tool. The best features and key areas for improvement in Nutanix management are the user interface, enhancing onboarding with tool tips and guided steps, blueprint, and version control through Git  integration. These are key areas to improve, along with third-party integration and license simplicity. Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) is very powerful, but it can be improved in areas such as UI usability, blueprint version, deeper cloud integration, and enhanced reporting by adding more AI-driven automation.

Five plus years

I rate stability as 8 out of 10 because I have deployed multiple projects, and neither my customers nor my team have complained.

I rate the technical support as 9 out of 10 because I know it very well.

I am working with VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V .

Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) pricing depends on customer requirements and is based on licensing. It is relatively inexpensive, falling in the medium price range.

I recommend Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) to others because it is a very good platform for organizations that want to simplify hybrid or multi-cloud operations. It helps improve cost efficiency, which is crucial as customers check for that first. It improves efficiency and automates IT tasks, which benefits customers significantly. It enhances governance and security compliance, all from a single management platform. The customer base ranges from 3,000 to 5,000 users. My overall rating for this solution is 8 out of 10.

I use Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM)  for sales and enterprise needs. I implement NCM for clients, and I use it for university education. Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM)  helps with the automation of the clusters and provides a unification platform, with the principal automatic communication in redirect. 

NCM helps with automation for the preparation of new VMs for other teams. This is important for me because I don't need to spend more time stopping my other operations to create new VMs. Using NCM's built-in playbooks has helped free up time for my IT team to focus on other projects, saving approximately 20% of time.

The best features of NCM include synchronization in the platform and the Prism Central. It provides centralized management and performance. Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) is far simpler to use compared to other cloud management solutions, and the technology is more practical to connect in other clouds. Nutanix is more expensive, but the presentation features more technology and integration. It provides more security and the experience is generally better.

I have two years of experience with Nutanix.

It's more stable, and the support is practical for any problem.

The scalability in Nutanix is more flexible, which makes it practical to add new nodes.

The support is the best support I have experienced in Nutanix. They have demonstrated excellent service when clients have problems with Nutanix and HDD issues, providing hardware replacement within 24 hours. The resolution, hardware technology, and hardware replacement are consistently prompt.

I don't use different virtualization as I started with the cloud computation of Nutanix. Other clients use VMware and Hyper-V , and my company consults for the transition to Nutanix.

I have experience with Nutanix products from working for Nutanix. I work with Nutanix solutions, and in my college, we discuss the technology with students. The outcomes are very fast, and the system is more flexible. Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) is simpler and more stable compared to other cloud management solutions, and the technology is more practical to connect in other clouds. It is more difficult to set up in other clouds. We use both public cloud and private cloud for NCM. I rate Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) a 10 out of 10.

The use case for Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM)  is that we can share data to the cloud and there is no need to sync manually. It automatically runs the job for the data sync from the on-premises to the cloud. Some users have data on their systems or servers, so there is no need to keep local data. It will go automatically over the cloud and we can easily access it without any issues. For applications, we can run them without any issues. If I compare with other virtualization such as VXI , there are some issues. However, when comparing with Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) , it performs better. There is no need to update any software manually as it will update automatically, eliminating the need for downtime.

What I appreciate most about Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) is the compliance aspect. When following the standard procedure, we can easily monitor our infrastructure from a compliance perspective. When we match our compliance requirements, it becomes easier for our clients.

Recently, I have found some issues with Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM). When I raise a request for emergency support, I receive a response immediately. However, in some real cases, we have to wait for support. If there are production issues, we sometimes have to wait for 45 minutes to one hour. If they could minimize that response time, it would be more convenient for the client side.

We have been using Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) for the last one year.

We have used other solutions earlier, but currently we are fully implementing Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) on our client side. We do not need to use any other solutions at present.

The initial deployment of Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) was easy. Simple tasks such as VM creation and data transfer are much easier than other solutions. We can automatically schedule VM snapshots for syncing, and we can easily create VM templates for development purposes.

Regarding the pricing of Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM), when compared to others, it is obviously very costly. However, considering the solution quality, I would definitely choose Nutanix. Today's management is focused on costs, and they frequently ask us to negotiate with vendors or suppliers. Nutanix has a fixed price, and during our last renewal, it was around one crore. Management attempted some negotiation but ultimately approved it. They constantly inquire about pricing and alternative solutions, but from an IT perspective, I prefer Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM).

For stability of Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM), I would rate it a seven. For scalability, I would rate it a nine. 

On a scale from one to 10, I would rate the solution overall as a seven. 

I have a small request for Nutanix to arrange sessions for end users. When there are updates or solutions, if they could be explained to end users through sessions or webinars, it would be beneficial. This would help us understand what features are implemented in Nutanix Cloud Manager (NCM) and how we can use them effectively.