AWS Storage Gateway vs CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform comparison

AWS Storage Gateway vs. CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

AWS Storage Gateway

Ranking in Cloud Storage Gateways

3rd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

CTERA Enterprise File Servi...

Ranking in Cloud Storage Gateways

2nd

Average Rating

9.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

File System Software (2nd), NAS (9th), Cloud Migration (7th), Cloud Storage (10th), Cloud Backup (12th), Disaster Recovery (DR) Software (8th), Content Collaboration Platforms (12th)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Cloud Storage Gateways category, the mindshare of AWS Storage Gateway is 10.9%, down from 15.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform is 13.9%, up from 10.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Storage Gateways

Featured Reviews

Sumit Mundik

Application Development Senior Analyst at Accenture

Provides really good documentation so that information is easily accessible

When we opened a ticket for AWS Storage Gateway, the support team was responsive but could not resolve the issue. When we sent a file from MOVEit to AWS Storage Gateway, it sent the file twice. We were not able to figure out why it was doing it. In the AWS S3 bucket, you will find an option called versioning. If a file is sent multiple times, the versioning feature will increase the version one by one. For example, if I send the same file thrice, it will have version one, version two, and the original file. Likewise, they have the versioning. Whenever we send file one, the files are getting duplicated. When we opened a ticket, even the AWS team could not figure it out. They just told us the configuration might be wrong on the AWS Storage Gateway side, and we need to look at it. After that, we also did not follow up because the destination team changed the architecture on their end. Instead of running the Lambda function immediately when the file arrived, they added a sleep time of four to five minutes and then started processing the file.

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Igal Muginstein

Engineering & Network Division Storage, Backup & Os Team Manager at a comms service provider with 5,001-10,000 employees

Offers flexibility, fast performance, and ransomware protection

The platform is releasing new features at a fast pace, which sometimes leads to version updates every three to six months. Although updates are generally not complex, it is challenging to stop the production environment during these updates, even if the downtime is just a few minutes. This is a common challenge across all NAS providers. From my perspective, the most important area for improvement is developing a method to perform updates without affecting customer production environments. Additionally, there are some cache size limitations that might become problematic for future use cases, though they don’t impact current applications. Collaboration for NFS and SMB protocols could also be enhanced. Although this issue isn't specific to CTERA, it is something we are working on together to improve. The quality of the versions has improved, but occasional issues still arise. All solutions face this challenge, but we hope to see a continued reduction in the number of bugs. That said, we haven't had any major production problems in the last four years, and we appreciate how responsive CTERA is to our issues. We engage in brainstorming sessions together, and we value this relationship.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The most effective features are the asynchronous server functionality, which improves latency and stabilization. I also like the distributed data capabilities for data management."

"AWS Storage Gateway is used when there's a high requirement for storage and the company has their goal to move to the cloud and they are not comfortable having it in the data centers. They want the data to move to the cloud. We propose storage services that give them flexibility. They don't have to manage their data centers by themselves because it is being managed by Amazon or Microsoft. They do not have to worry about security and vulnerability issues. That is a strategy that companies can find value in and choose a cloud service."

"We like the flexibility and easy-to-use storage. I'm happy about the response time."

"The solution has low latency."

"Generally, I use AWS Storage Gateway to reduce the cost of the S3 and caching."

"The stability is probably the most valuable aspect of the product."

"AWS Storage Gateway has durability."

"AWS Storage Gateway's best feature is its secure storage."

More AWS Storage Gateway pros

"I like that the glass is always half full with CTERA file services. It keeps the data hot for users on location and then tiers off older data. If you need it, the stub is still there. You can click on it, and it's back on the device."

"The features I find most valuable are in the gateways themselves. They have done a great job over the years of providing insight into what is happening with our products, with the batches that come through that are scanned. I enjoy that part of it, and it is fairly easy to use from our standpoint once we get to know the product."

"CTERA has out-of-the-box data protection capabilities."

"CTERA is a very scalable product, allowing us to grow."

"Our main reason for going for this solution was the uncontrollable growth of file data. It was unsustainable on our previous platform or technology. We needed something scalable like CTERA, so it was the scalability that we required."

"The CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform is a hybrid solution that supports both on-premises and cloud environments."

"The solution provides data eviction, where unused data is evicted from the local file, freeing up space. It also allows data to be rehydrated from the cloud when needed."

"The support is awesome. It is top-notch. I would rate their support a ten out of ten."

More CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform pros

Cons

"A data pipeline tool would be more beneficial for data authentication and DataOps."

"We've had issues with bandwidth in the past, and we don't know where the bottlenecks are. We're not sure if it's on the AWS side or with the clients or the configuration in between. There's no visibility."

"I cannot say it's perfect."

"AWS Storage Gateway's cost can be an issue."

"The solution's setup is not easy and takes time to complete."

"Its interface could be easier to use."

"It would be better for us if they improved their integration capability."

"Initial setup could be simplified and that would make the user experience better."

More AWS Storage Gateway cons

"One suggested improvement for the CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform is the ability to distribute data across multiple active backend storage nodes rather than the current limitation of a single active node."

"It would help to have a global single-pane-of-glass view of all my CTERA devices. We have different regions, and we must log in to each portal to see what's happening with those. It would be nice to have a single portal to see the health of the devices, versions, and firmware upgrades. Sometimes, we want to dive into something more complex, like investigating why CTERA storage usage grew from 2 terabytes to 4 terabytes in a week. That's a little challenging. It's something we would like to see on the road map."

"Stability-wise, we just went through one issue that they addressed. We were having cloud sync issues."

"I am looking for a process where version upgrades do not impact the customers. There is no downtime."

"The new Edge filer that they have comes with a lot more features than what we purchased. It would be better if we are able to add those extra features without having to swap out the hardware. A clear upgrade path for legacy customers would be beneficial."

"One area for improvement is the migration tool, which at times does not work as designed, necessitating the use of alternative solutions like Robocopy."

"However, in some cases, they could improve performance."

"AI and automation features could enhance the platform, such as AI-powered search, predictive storage analytics, and intelligent alerts for proactive monitoring. Predictive storage analytics will help with better capacity planning. There can be some sort of intelligent alerts for proactive monitoring."

More CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's price is reasonable."

"We pay a monthly license."

"My company needs to get monthly licenses to use the tool."

"Licensing is paid monthly. Pricing is in the mid-range - not too high or too low."

"There is a monthly subscription for the use of this solution."

"AWS Storage Gateway is reasonably priced. The price depends on how much you need. The whole synopse model comes into the picture for the cloud where it depends on how many instances per VM and the price will increase. It's a reasonable price because with all the competition around the price has to be competitive. It's not very costly."

"It is fairly priced. I am not too involved in the pricing of what we used to pay, but it would have reduced the cost of ownership. I cannot give a figure, but the EMC solution was very expensive compared to CTERA."

"It is hard to compare the costs if we want to retain the same model of a separate high-performance storage or certain things, but it is one of the cheapest solutions available in Israel."

"CTERA's pricing model is competitive compared to other companies that achieve the same thing. Their closest rival is Nasuni, and CTERA is significantly more affordable than Nasuni."

"I find the pricing reasonable. They offered us deals that helped us. Especially with the upgrade to a bigger unit last year, they were helpful with the deal."

"So far, pricing seems to be fine."

"I am not directly involved in the pricing aspects, but I understand that CTERA's pricing is competitive and within industry standards."

"CTERA's pricing seems to be on par with some of the other players, such as Nasuni and Azure. They all have benefits, but CTERA is competitive for its features."

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845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

26%

Computer Software Company

12%

Retailer

Energy/Utilities Company

Computer Software Company

70%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Is AWS Storage Gateway only suitable for AWS?

No, I'm pretty sure you can't. This is a service of AWS and so you're probably only able to use it there. I haven't used any of the Amazon Web Services personally but from what I know, they usually...

Is AWS Storage Gateway easy to use?

Hi, yes, I think it is very easy to use. You can install it rather quickly, and then when you start using it, it's all explained to you on the native platform's website. I think the best thing abou...

Is AWS Storage Gateway free for users of AWS?

No, this service is not provided for free by AWS. If you visit the AWS website and you look for AWS Storage Gateway pricing, you'll be sent to a very helpful calculating page. There, based on what ...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform?

I am not directly involved in the pricing aspects, but I understand that CTERA's pricing is competitive and within industry standards.

What needs improvement with CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform?

One area for improvement is the migration tool, which at times does not work as designed, necessitating the use of alternative solutions like Robocopy. AI and automation features could enhance the ...

What is your primary use case for CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform?

We use it as a hosted cloud solution. We had initially tried Azure File Sync, but that did not work. Due to certain security concerns, I was tasked with researching alternatives. I evaluated severa...

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Product Reports

AWS Storage Gateway

Download AWS Storage Gateway product report

CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform

Download CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform product report

CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform report

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

CTERA

Overview

AWS Storage Gateway provides hybrid cloud storage services that give users access to unlimited cloud storage. As a part of the Amazon Web Services, one of the leading on-demand cloud computing platforms, the AWS Storage Gateway allows you to use the AWS storage without the need to rewrite your applications. It does this by providing protocols like iSCSI, NFS, and SMB. It works by caching frequently accessed data on premises and simultaneously storing data on AWS, as well as optimizing data transfer in the cloud. The optimization it provides for AWS is done by sending only changed data and by compressing data.

AWS Storage Gateway provides the option for in-cloud processing by integrating with Amazon S3 and FSx for Windows File Server. It works with AWS Identity and Access Management to secure access management to services and recourse. It is also compatible with data encryption in the cloud by working with AWS Key Management Service, for monitoring with Amazon CloudWatch, and for activity of account logging with AWS CloudTrail. Through AWS Backup, you can manage backup and retention policies for AWS Storage Gateway. Users have access to a maximum supported size of local cache per gateway of up to 64 TiB on a virtual machine.

The use cases for AWS Storage Gateway include the ability to store incoming data from on-premises instruments in Amazon Simple Storage Services, as well as using AWS for data analysis. It provides the opportunity to modernize your interactive file sharing while simplifying management and reducing costs. AWS Storage Gateway is also suitable for backing up data in the cloud, giving users virtually unlimited scale.

The following services allow Amazon Storage Gateway to provide on-premises applications with access to cloud storage:

Amazon S3 File Gateway: Using file protocols like Network File System and Server Message Block, users can store and retrieve objects in Amazon Simple Storage Service S3.
Amazon FSx File Gateway: Store and retrieve files in Amazon FSx for Windows File Server through the Server Message Block protocol.
Volume Gateway: AWS Storage Gateway offers users block storage for on-premises applications. Users can make copies of volumes and manage retention, as well as restore snapshots.
Tape Gateway: Backup applications are provided with an iSCSI virtual tape library (VTL) interface that consists of virtual tape drivers, virtual tapes, and a virtual media changer.

AWS Storage Gateway Benefits

Due to its value-added features, AWS Storage Gateway has many benefits, which include:

Ability to store data in AWS on various devices
Provides virtually unlimited cloud storage because it's based on the AWS cloud
Integrates with many AWS management services, such as AWS CloudTrail, AWS Identity, Access Management (IAM), Amazon CloudWatch
Effectively optimizes data transfer to AWS storage

Reviews from Real Users

Rohit V., Associate Manager at UnitedHealth Group, says that the best part about AWS Storage Gateway is that it has flexibility, securitye, and little maintenance. His company no longer worries about security and vulnerability issues since they've started using AWS Storage Gateway.

The Chef manager at an insurance company says AWS Storage Gateway is scalable, handles large amounts of data, and has a straightforward installation. His company uses it for migration purposes from their on-premise data.

Bahattin Y., CTO at BE1 consultancy, says that AWS Storage Gateway is a flexible solution with a good response time and easy-to-use storage. His organization uses it for a crypto exchange.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

The CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform provides a cloud-native global file system over public and private object storage, revolutionizing the world of hybrid cloud data solutions. Enhanced by a rich data services ecosystem, CTERA enables enterprises to gain full control of their data for optimal edge performance, data insight, and governance. The platform focuses on security, providing features like data encryption, access controls, and ransomware protection. Centralized management tools enable efficient data control and monitoring. The platform is being used to replace legacy NAS and file servers, especially at remote locations, and simplify backup and disaster recovery of file data while providing the flexibility of multi-cloud deployments with infinite scalability. CTERA is at the core of hybrid cloud transformations of some of the world’s largest banks, healthcare organizations, global media groups, and government agencies, in deployments that scale to tens of petabytes.

CTERA

Sample Customers

King, NEWLOG Consulting, Southern Oregon University, Religare Enterprises Limited, TGIX CloudCover, Moderna Therapeutics, JustGiving, VeriStor

McDonald's, WPP, US Navy, Gore, Festo, Stryker, Bezeq, PERI

AWS Storage Gateway vs. CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform