Dell ECS vs MinIO comparison

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Dell ECS

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

Dell ECS and MinIO are key contenders in the object storage sector, each catering to enterprise needs. MinIO shows an edge with its simplified deployment and flexible storage, while Dell ECS is distinguished by its strong support and integration capabilities.

Features: Dell ECS includes extensive enterprise integration, advanced security, and a seamless integration with Dell EMC products, providing a complete solution with both hardware and software. It is also valued for its compliance mode, scalability, and load balancing facilities. MinIO offers high-performance object storage, a user-friendly interface, and compatibility with Amazon's S3 for seamless application integration. The solution provides useful features like erasure coding and easy management, which is critical for cloud-native applications.

Room for Improvement: Dell ECS could improve in reducing deployment complexity and enhancing flexibility for smaller scale environments. There's a need for streamlined processes within complex setups and opportunities for better simplicity in usage. MinIO could benefit from more personalized support options, better extensive documentation, and further development on enterprise integration for comprehensive security. Enhancements in user interface customization and broader ecosystem support would also be advantageous.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell ECS can present a complex deployment requiring substantial IT resources, yet it is supported by comprehensive documentation and strong customer service. MinIO offers a significantly simpler deployment process, with flexibility and quick scalability, although it may lack the personalized customer service options that Dell ECS provides.

Pricing and ROI: Dell ECS typically involves higher initial costs due to its sophisticated hardware and enterprise support, but it is designed for a longer-term ROI with deep scalability and integration benefits. MinIO, conversely, presents a cost-effective setup ideal for smaller projects or limited budgets, offering rapid deployment and scalable infrastructure at a lower initial investment.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell ECS vs. MinIO Report (Updated: December 2024).

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Dell ECS vs. MinIO

December 2024

Helped 831,020 peers since 2012

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

Dell ECS

Ranking in File and Object Storage

5th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

MinIO

Ranking in File and Object Storage

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the File and Object Storage category, the mindshare of Dell ECS is 8.8%, down from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MinIO is 22.5%, down from 24.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

File and Object Storage

Featured Reviews

Muhammad Alihyder Bhuiyan

Head of IT Operations at NCC Bank PLC

Enables multiple protocol support, but its IOPS functionality needs improvement in terms of performance

Dell ECS enables multiple protocol support, and we recommend it to other users. Anyone can purchase it depending on specific storage quantity requirements. There are certain IOPS limitations in terms of performance. A loss in IOPS can lead to decreased performance across various aspects, including general system performance, production, and overall functionality. In comparison, IBM has no IOPS limitations and relies on web controllers. I rate the product a seven out of ten. IBM and NetApp also provide good storage and a lot of features.

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Abdelrahim-Ahmad

Data Scientist at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees

Provides good object storage functionalities

MinIO should provide an easier subscription model for companies that don't have a huge amount of data. Our company has a maximum of 100 terabytes of data. The solution should provide more bugging tools in the open-source version to encourage people to buy the support services. It's not an easy decision. If I go to the management and tell them that I need to buy a service, there should be an easier subscription model for companies that don't have huge amounts of data. For me, getting a subscription for 15,000 a year for a system already in production might be a bit hard. I think MinIO supports a minimum of one petabyte or 100 terabytes of data. Since we don't have such huge amounts of data, buying a subscription for the solution is a bit difficult. Hence, we're only using the open-source version for now. If MinIO becomes really crucial for our business, we could ask the management to get a subscription.

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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 performance and support from Dell EMC are very good."

"The most valuable feature for me is off-site storage."

"It is a stable platform."

"It's my understanding that the initial setup is straightforward."

"I would rate scalability ten out of ten since you buy what you want."

"This solution is very easy to use, and is very reliable."

"What I like best about this product is that it is a complete solution, both hardware, and software, by the same vendor."

"We face very few hardware failures."

More Dell ECS pros

"The tool’s integration is very easy. This feature has helped us reduce development time. The solution also has many out-of-the-box features like versioning support and management of roles and permissions. The product also supports clustered deployment."

"For starters, MinIO has a good user interface. You can access it through the browser and perform operations like creating the object."

"The most valuable features are that MinIO is open, it works on-premise, and is compatible with the Amazon industry which is great for finding compatible libraries in many languages which is very good for developers."

"Good interface and a good approach to development and testing environments."

"The container installation features are good. The S3 feature provisions the storage buckets making it easy. It allows me to spin up the public buckets with open-source technology."

"Nice web interface, easy to use, with a low memory footprint."

"It performs efficiently compared to other solutions."

"The most valuable feature of MinIO is its ease of use, replication, and active directory. All the capabilities are in this solution."

More MinIO pros

Cons

"We have had issues when the ECS is expiring or the NetBackup is expiring images."

"The setup is very complex."

"The initial setup is not so easy."

"The troubleshooting feature of this solution needs to be improved, to allow organizations to fix issues without having to contact the support team."

"If Dell ECS would be available as standalone software, so you can use any hardware with it, would make the solution better. It would also be good if Dell ECS had more integrations with other products."

"The solution needs to provide better integration between this solution and all other kinds of systems."

"Dell EMC ECS should support segregation of duty, particularly for role-based access controls. Having a single pane of glass for smarter observation and better control mechanism would also make this solution better."

"From an improvement perspective, Dell ECS should aim to offer a better pricing plan to its users."

More Dell ECS cons

"We had minor bugs occasionally."

"The tool’s pricing needs to improve. We also encountered challenges while deploying the tool in Kubernetes. The documentation also was not too great. We have currently deployed the solution in a stand-alone fashion."

"The documentation of the solution should improve."

"The only downside I see is that you do not have a complete picture of an object."

"Limited storage provided in the free version."

"The monitoring capability is really bad and needs to be improved."

"MinIO should provide an easier subscription model for companies that don't have a huge amount of data."

"The product's initial setup phase is complex."

More MinIO cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If I remember correctly, Dell ECS is an appliance, so if you buy Dell ECS, you also have to buy the hardware, while IBM is standalone software, so you can buy IBM as software only without needing to buy the hardware. On a scale of one to five, I'm rating the pricing for Dell ECS a four."

"It is an inexpensive product."

"The charges for this solution are made in blocks of models, which are purchased depending on what features an organization requires."

"It is an expensive solution. There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product."

"Dell EMC ECS is too expensive."

"We are not paying for the license at this stage."

"The solution's cost is quite reasonable."

"Dell ECS is a cost-effective solution."

More Dell ECS pricing and cost advice

"This is an open-source solution but I am using the licensed version."

"We use the solution's open-source version."

"This solution is open source so it is free."

"MinIO is a free open-source solution."

"We use the solution's open-source version."

"My company hasn't tried the version of the solution where we need to pay to use it."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

22%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

Computer Software Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dell EMC ECS?

The tool is easy to use.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC ECS?

The pricing model is on the higher side compared to other vendors, indicating a need for more flexibility.

What needs improvement with Dell EMC ECS?

The graphical user interface should offer more options, and the documentation with respect to administration could be improved, as it is quite weak in this product. Additionally, the log viewer sho...

How does Red Hat Ceph Storage compare with MiniO?

Red Hat Ceph does well in simplifying storage integration by replacing the need for numerous storage solutions. This solution allows for multiple copies of replicated and coded pools to be kept, ea...

What do you like most about MinIO?

I like that if you have a problem, you can buy the home server. It is stable and robust.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MinIO?

We use the solution's open-source version.

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Dell ECS

Comparisons

Compared 21% of the time

Amazon AWS vs Dell ECS

Compared 14% of the time

NetApp StorageGRID vs Dell ECS

Compared 13% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs Dell ECS

Compared 8% of the time

Scality RING vs Dell ECS

Compared 7% of the time

More Dell ECS Competitors

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs MinIO

Compared 63% of the time

NetApp StorageGRID vs MinIO

Compared 6% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs MinIO

Compared 4% of the time

Cloudian HyperStore vs MinIO

Compared 4% of the time

Scality RING vs MinIO

Compared 3% of the time

More MinIO Competitors

Product Reports

Download Dell ECS product report

Dell ECS

January 2025

Download MinIO product report

December 2024

Also Known As

EMC ECS, Dell EMC Elastic Cloud Storage, EMC Elastic Cloud Storage

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Dell Technologies

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Overview

Enterprise-ready. Future-proof. Data-first.

Dell EMC Elastic Cloud Storage (ECS) is a file and object storage solution from Dell EMC. ECS has been created to support both traditional and next-generation ecosystems equally. ECS boasts unrivaled economics, manageability, resilience, and scalability to satisfy the demands of today's next-gen, robust business enterprise ecosystems. ECS can easily be deployed in a software-defined model or as a turn-key appliance. ECS is software-defined and multi-layered for unlimited scalability. Every layer is abstracted and scalable with no single point of failure.

Data service layer: Provides S3 access along with access to SWIFT, CAZ, NFS, HDFS.
Storage service layer: Stores, retrieves and protects data.
Fabric layer: Provides clustering, configuration management, health monitoring.

Everything is done within the software, which is containerized, using docker.

ECS is currently deployed using basic commodity hardware, which can easily be federated across as many as eight different locations and managed as a single resource. Additionally, ECS can also protect data at the site level, locally, disk, node, and rack levels. The federation enables a single global namespace with everywhere access to content. Applications can quickly rewrite in an active/active or everywhere active manner.

ECS is also able to be used as secondary storage or archival storage. This will free up valuable primary storage of data that is stale, redundant, or used infrequently, and the data will remain easily accessible. ECS uses policy-based tiering such as Data Domain, Cloud tiering, Isilon using cloud polls, and Geodrive, which give Windows systems direct access to ECS. Windows users can still use server message block (SMB) while leveraging the more expansive ECS storage.

ECS is enterprise-grade and offers valuable features such as retention, multi-tenancy, metering, monitoring, quotas, and more. ECS builds in robust security from the ground up and encrypts data. ECS is compliant with STIG guidelines and adheres to SEC rule 17A-4F.

ECS is an enterprise-ready solution that allows organizations to easily simplify object storage management and visualize information in intuitive new ways, and empowers your business to do even more with data. With ECS, enterprise organizations can deliver cloud-scale economics in-house that will lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and scale, creating greater levels of productivity and profitability.

Reviews from Real Users

One user, who is a deputy director at a tech service company, says ECS offers “good performance, reliability, and technical support”.

Dell EMC ECS is “a stable solution which is easy to scale, install and manage”, relates another user, who is a senior buyer at a tech service company.

"What I like best about this product is that it is a complete solution, both hardware, and software, by the same vendor," summarizes a system engineer at a tech services company.

MinIO is an open-source object storage system. It is designed to efficiently store and retrieve unstructured data, such as photos, videos, and backups. MinIO can be used as a standalone object storage server or as part of a larger system, such as a data lake or a private cloud, and can be deployed on-premise, in the cloud, or in a hybrid environment, making it a flexible storage solution for a variety of use cases.

MinIO’s features include erasure coding, bitrot protection, and checksum validation, which help ensure data integrity and reliability. The solution’s multi-tenancy support makes it ideal for multi-user environments. MinIO’s edge computing tools enable data storage and processing closer to users' locations, reducing latency and improving performance. MinIO can easily scale to accommodate storage and power demands, making it ideal for use in large-scale, data-intensive environments.

MinIO Benefits and Features:

MinIO offers several key benefits and features for organizations looking for a scalable and high-performing object storage solution:

Scalability: Horizontally scale to increase storage space and processing power as your needs grow.

High performance: MinIO’s edge computing and low latency provide fast data access.

Seamless integrations: MinIO is compatible with the Amazon S3 API, which enables integration with third-party systems and tools.

Data integrity: Security features, such as erasure coding, bitrot protection, and checksum validation, ensure data integrity and reliability.

Reduced costs: MinIO is an open-source solution, making it a cost-effective option for organizations looking for a scalable object storage solution.

Support: MinIO’s large open-source community of developers and users provides a wide range of resources and an active support network

Multi-tenancy: Multi-tenancy support makes MinIO suitable for use in multi-user environments.

Easy deployment: MinIO is easy to deploy and can run on a variety of platforms, including on-premise, in the cloud, or in a hybrid environment.

Access control: Role-based access control, enabling you to control access to data based on users permissions.

Event notifications: Automate workflows based on changes to objects in your storage.

Cross-region replication: Duplicate data between different regions for disaster recovery and data backup.

Intuitive interface: MinIO’s user-friendly dashboard can be accessed via any browser and can be used to perform multiple object operations including object creation and management.

Reviews from Real Users

MinIO stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Several major ones are its flexibility, integration options, and performance.

Süleyman Fazıl Y., a senior software engineer at a tech services company, writes, “The most valuable features are that MinIO is open, it works on-premise, and is compatible with the Amazon industry which is great for finding compatible libraries in many languages which is very good for developers.”

Rebecca S., CTO at NIASE, says, “MinIO is much improved over the prior solution, updates are simple to apply, and we anticipate that future capacity requirements will be easier to meet. Our customers are using this solution to retrieve tens of thousands of objects (documents and files) per hour, and MinIO seems to be able to keep up with it.”

Sample Customers

Atos

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