I am a consultant who works with InfoScale. I mostly use InfoScale around applications, not really the web based on my experience with it.

I work primarily with Cluster Server. As an instructor and contractor, I teach the product to other administrators. The biggest part of the product that I have been discussing lately is Cluster Server and the replication, including using the new WORM storage for ransomware protection.

I could discuss the features and capabilities of InfoScale that I have found most valuable for an extensive amount of time, but the general data protection across so many different areas stands out. One does not have to be tied to any particular vendor, and you can make replicated copies over distances with the global option. The ability to use WORM storage for ransomware protection is what I think is the hottest topic in the whole market right now. The ability to work with all different kinds of storage vendors and capabilities is a significant feature at this moment.

I find InfoScale's automated stack-aware recovery feature to be beneficial when recovering from a ransomware event because anything automated is always helpful in a crisis situation. The automated tool is excellent; this is a product that has been proven as I have been working with it for twenty-three to twenty-four years. The company knows what they are doing when it comes to automating and knowing what commands to run for recovery. The simplicity of it in a panic is a significant part of its appeal.

InfoScale's ability to maintain data integrity and availability during a cyber event such as a ransomware attack is excellent. Having the ease of control over the different copies available and being able to bring up another copy within minutes in a safe location on secure storage is invaluable for business continuity. Getting back to business in minutes instead of hours and days is incomparable.

My experience with InfoScale's feature for application-aware failover has been excellent. The heartbeat mechanisms involved in recognizing when a failover needs to take place have even improved with the IMF feature. The system is very quick in recognizing issues; the kernel is the first to recognize a problem with IMF and alerts the agent so action can be taken.

This has been very beneficial for my operations; the availability of everything in quick order is a significant advantage. The monitoring capability allows me to see what is happening with the applications and products overall at any time, which has been excellent.

InfoScale has played a role in reducing downtime, including planned downtime when I can quickly switch over for maintenance. However, unplanned events are where the bigger downtime comes from. The ability for InfoScale to monitor what is happening and react in a timely manner is significant, allowing me to get back to business in minutes rather than hours and days.

The newer team that has purchased InfoScale from Veritas has been discussing changes to the graphical interface to make it more user-friendly, and I encourage that. I use the command line most often myself, and with my years of experience, I am comfortable there, but improving the GUI is a good idea.

I have used the solution a few months ago.

The stability and reliability of InfoScale have always been excellent; I have never encountered any stability issues with the product itself. Any stability issues come from the hardware, not from InfoScale.

The scalability of InfoScale is amazing. One of the things I loved about the product from the beginning is that you are never stuck with any choice you make. You can change your mind, do a re-layout or relocation, or anything else without needing to tear it all down and start over again. Being able to scale up and scale out wherever you want is relatively simple.

I have communicated with InfoScale's technical support and customer service.

My experience with the technical support specialists has generally been very good. When I am on-site, I sometimes get anxious because I want to get the customer back in business quickly. If I do not see the issue right away, I open a support ticket, but nine out of ten times, I find the problem myself before the support team gets back to me. They have always been very helpful when I have needed them. However, I often open tickets prematurely just because I want to expedite the process for the customer.

Based on my experience with support, I would rate them a nine, only because occasionally the first person I talk to does not know more than I do and it needs to be escalated to reach someone more knowledgeable. These cases typically involve more difficult problems, so I still rate them very high for their support.

The initial setup and deployment of InfoScale is quite smooth. The installer has been good all along and has even improved over time. It is very efficient at understanding what you need, and as long as you are aware ahead of time of requirements such as cabling, system names, and the communication, the installation and configuration process is straightforward and quite smooth.

I have not been in a situation where we have had serious problems; we have always gotten ahead of issues before they arise. The biggest tangible benefit comes from having the knowledge of how long it takes to rebuild from a disaster. People reach out to us because they want to avoid those problems, and I have successfully helped them with this.

The biggest challenges I have faced over the years mostly come from the training side, explaining some of the under-the-covers features so that people understand how it works. I remember twenty-some years ago hearing it for the first time and wondering if I would ever understand what it meant. The longer you work with something, the more natural it becomes, allowing me to explain it to new users better. The terminology can vary between different products, which sometimes complicates understanding.

My customers usually prefer a combination of deployment options for InfoScale; more and more are moving to the cloud rather than maintaining a physical DR location. They typically start on-premises but with the objective of replicating or duplicating to the cloud for security reasons.

When it comes to cloud preferences, I refer to the big three regarding the formerly known Veritas products; Amazon, Google, and Azure cloud are the most common choices among my customers.

I have been impressed with InfoScale from the very beginning all those years ago. The ability to handle array failures, whether it is just a disk or connectivity issues to an array, has been very beneficial. The failover features and clustering capabilities have been incredible; another big part of it is not being tied to a vendor. If we have an office in a different city or country that is getting a better deal on hardware, it does not matter what they are using. InfoScale communicates with all of them and allows for data migration and replication, providing significant flexibility.

I have been researching it and looking into it, and it looks excellent. I have also worked with all of the Veritas products in the past, so when it came to recovery, I was more focused on the NetBackup area. The fact that we can have a copy that is protected and replicated quickly is more beneficial than recovering from a backup.

I give this review a rating of ten out of ten.