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Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs HPE GreenLake for File Storage comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 PowerScale (Isilon)
Ranking in File and Object Storage
3rd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
NAS (1st)
HPE GreenLake for File Storage
Ranking in File and Object Storage
13th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the File and Object Storage category, the mindshare of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is 8.6%, up from 8.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE GreenLake for File Storage is 0.3%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
File and Object Storage
 

Featured Reviews

Eric Burgueño - PeerSpot reviewer
Simplified data management, tremendously reducing our users’ cognitive overhead
The only thing that I think PowerScale could do better is improving the HTTP data access protocol. At the present, you cannot protect access to data via HTTP or HTTPS the same way that you can secure data access through other protocols like NFS or SMB. You can either access a file because it can be access by anyone in the organization, or you cannot at all. There is no in-between. HTTP is not considered a first-class data access protocol, so the Unified Permission Model that would allow a user to authenticate before being able to access a private file, does not apply. However, with the recent introduction of S3 starting from OneFS 9, I believe the necessary plumbing is already there for HTTPS to also be elevated to a first-class protocol in the future because both protocols sit behind a web server under the hood. It does not sound like it would be too complicated to implement, but it would be a valuable feature and it is currently missing.
SK
It's a reliable-high performing solution that lets you customize file security
The file system arrays have multiple nodes, so one node automatically comes up if another goes down. The system should allow the primary node to remain the master node and the secondary node to function as a non-master node. HP has already deployed AI in GreenLake's cloud features, but they should also integrate them into the flash array. None of the HP arrays has a single console. They use two or more controllers, making it challenging to manage them all in a single array. If the controller or the console goes back into an embedded state, it's difficult to track or recover the system that failed.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The best thing is that it works. We don't have to maintain it too much; we usually upgrade once a year."
"The tool comes with cheap disks and works fast for video content."
"For maximizing storage utilization, PowerScale is great. When you write the data to it, it spreads it out to all the nodes, so you get all the performance from the entire pool."
"Eyeglass is used to monitor for malware, which is very useful for us."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the unlimited scalability. The tool has high availability and high storage capacity."
"The tool's most valuable features are high density and scalability."
"It assists with eliminating storage silos because it provides SMB and NFS protocols. PowerScale has also helped free up our employee's time to focus on other business priorities."
"Since it can scale so easily, as long as I have money to buy more nodes, I can grow it as big as I need to. That is important in our business. As sequencing technologies continue to evolve, and as those technologies evolve, the amount of data generation never gets smaller. It just always seems to get bigger. This is one of the absolute key aspects: We can grow on demand without having to forklift stuff."
"For us, the utilization of cache when the data is traveling between media, from any location to any location or within that cluster, was seamless."
"GreenLake for File Storage provides more security, allowing customized security for different file types. Block Storage can't do that. That's the most intriguing feature I have always looked for in a FlashArray or file system."
"GreenLake for File Storage provides more security, allowing customized security for different file types."
 

Cons

"Improvements could be made to reduce the costs and the high level of knowledge needed to maintain and use them. We had old hard drives with moving parts in Dell PowerScale, and due to this, we must switch to a more efficient environment with all-flash."
"The improvement should be in AI. Everything is going towards AI."
"Dell PowerScale can improve on its multi-tenant part because as a service provider, we have bigger clusters in data centers where we can serve multiple customers and grant them dedicated management points and automation features that can be managed in a multi-tenant environment."
"The solution isn't suitable for small environments or small customers."
"If they integrated some functions, as they have on Data Domain with a cyber recovery vault, it would be ideal."
"Its configuration needs to be more straightforward."
"The pricing could be reduced."
"I'd like to see more Iceland products in the cloud so that we can port our data into different environments if needed. I would also like to see a virtual appliance or software-defined Iceland product."
"The file system arrays have multiple nodes, so one node automatically comes up if another goes down. The system should allow the primary node to remain the master node and the secondary node to function as a non-master node. HP has already deployed AI in GreenLake's cloud features, but they should also integrate them into the flash array."
"There were instances where the system went down due to heavy IO or intense data flow."
"Some challenges with a multi-cloud environment due to some compatibility issues."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price was also a significant factor in our decision to go with PowerScale. The team at EMC, now Dell EMC, came through with a highly competitive offer that tipped the scales towards their solution. There was only one other solution around the same price point, but it could not match PowerScale on features. That other solution is no longer on the market."
"The solution's licensing cost varies based on capacity and performance requirements."
"Pricing for this solution is reasonable."
"The general cost for a system like this is expensive. The total cost depends on your use case. You need to pay for every additional feature that you use."
"It's a high-cost offering amounting to three or four million Swedish kronor, or about $400,000 or euros, for approximately 480 terabytes of storage."
"The pricing for this solution is reasonable."
"It is an expensive solution."
"We paid an additional fee to have Dell's ProDeploy Plus team implement it."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
25%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?
The solution provides massive performance, scalability, efficiency, and ease of management.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?
Every time we purchase a PowerScale solution, we buy four nodes for one data center and four for another, with five years of maintenance covered by Dell. It's a high-cost offering amounting to thre...
What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?
Improvements could be made to reduce the costs and the high level of knowledge needed to maintain and use them. We had old hard drives with moving parts in Dell PowerScale, and due to this, we must...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE GreenLake for File Storage?
Pricing is very aggressive. Every time when we go with renewals or anything, we got very competitive prices compared to those vendors and environments which we use. So we are quite satisfied with t...
What needs improvement with HPE GreenLake for File Storage?
The file system arrays have multiple nodes, so one node automatically comes up if another goes down. The system should allow the primary node to remain the master node and the secondary node to fun...
What is your primary use case for HPE GreenLake for File Storage?
I worked on the testing team for GreenLake Storage. We checked for compatibility with different operating systems and platforms and focused on tasks such as creating volumes and CSV files, end-to-e...
 

Also Known As

PowerScale, Dell EMC Isilon
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

OMRF, University of Utah, Translational Genetics Research Institute, Arcis, Geofizyka Torumn, Cyprus E&P Corporation, Colburn School, Columbia Sportswear, Harvard Medical School, University of Michigan, National Library of France,
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. HPE GreenLake for File Storage and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.