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Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs NetApp Private Storage comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 7, 2024

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 NAS
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
54
Ranking in other categories
File and Object Storage (3rd)
NetApp Private Storage
Ranking in NAS
16th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the NAS category, the mindshare of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is 24.1%, up from 22.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp Private Storage is 1.5%, down from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
NAS
 

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.
Pramod-Talekar - PeerSpot reviewer
Well-suited for virtualized environments and highly stable solution
We are in a VMware Intra environment, so we are utilizing NetApp Storage for our virtualization infrastructure NetApp offers multiple features that we utilize for our projects. At the moment, we are extensively using SnapMirror Flex. There is room for improvement in the support. It has been a…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"This is the best platform that we could have for storage utilization. It is affordable and scalable. At the end of the day, it's something that we find very easy to use."
"I don't have to rebuild the cluster to add a node."
"The tool's most valuable features are scalability and stability."
"It's easy to manage. The web UI is very intuitive, and there's CLI also that you can use to manage it."
"The most valuable feature we started using, beyond the initial scope for the solution, is the multi-protocol system that allows you to access the same set of files using different network protocols like NFS or SMB. PowerScale’s Unified Permission Model ensures that data security and access permissions are honoured regardless of whether the client is a Windows desktop or a Linux server"
"The solution has simplified management by consolidating our workloads. Rather than managing all the different workloads on different storage arrays, Windows Servers, etc., we just have one place per data centre where we manage all their unstructured data, saving us time."
"Dell PowerScale has the SmartConnect and SmartConnect Pro features. That's why I like the product."
"The solution is stable."
"Integration with other NetApp solutions and merging them is manageable."
"It gave us a platform which could clearly arrange all our files and volumes."
"NetApp is faster than other storage brands."
"The most valuable feature is integration."
"The solution scales well."
"As opposed to cloud, we have full control over security, use, who uses it. We own a number of different companies, so we can partition however we want."
"Very stable and very scalable."
 

Cons

"The solution's rate structure or rate redundancy needs to be improved."
"The UID mapping and how to configure mapping-related things is a struggle."
"Always, there is room for improvement in terms of cybersecurity, as new challenges are continually emerging in the market."
"The pricing could be reduced."
"The thing that they are working on now, and we are following closely is more native cloud integrations. The way that we envision workloads in the future is around moving compute to data instead of the other way around. So, we would like to have a single pane glass to manage storage across a variety of different platforms, including native cloud. That would be awesome."
"Data storage performance needs to be improved."
"If they integrated some functions, as they have on Data Domain with a cyber recovery vault, it would be ideal."
"The price of the solution could be reduced."
"There is room for improvement in the support. It has been a problem for our team."
"They need a little more technical people in Akola. Most of the NetApp people are in Bangalore, Mumbai, or Delhi, but there are very few in Akola. I think NetApp has few technicians in Akola because they mostly rely on partners to service this area."
"I think that it should work better with Microsoft solutions, more integrated with Microsoft. We also need integrated NAS and block storage."
"We had to write a number of custom tools or scripts ourselves to use it as a staging area between our on-premises datacenter and our cloud installation."
"I would like to have the Active-Active feature. Some competitors already have it. I would like NetApp to add it to stay competitive."
"The hardware does not last as long as it could with new software."
"I would like to see the GUI management simplified in the next release."
"The users find the new version's GUI complicated to use."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution is high."
"We paid an additional fee to have Dell's ProDeploy Plus team implement it."
"Dealing with the product costs and licensing areas is getting easier since Dell is simplifying the licensing process and licensing packages offered to users."
"The 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."
"The solution is expensive; it is not the cheapest solution out there. If you look at it from a total cost of ownership perspective, then it is a very compelling solution. However, if you're looking at just dollar per terabyte and not looking at the big picture, then you could be distracted by the price. It is not an amazing price, but it's pretty good. It is also very good when you consider the total cost of ownership and ease of management."
"It is a really expensive solution."
"We use the TNA approach which is a great opportunity for us to better manage the licenses based on how much consumption is available for the different customers so we can use that approach and scalability."
"NetApp Private Storage is cheaper here in India compared to other solutions, such as Dell."
"In general, I am pleased with the pricing, though it is a little high."
"The product is costly."
"We negotiate whatever deal we can get on the type of storage that it is, but it's totally under our control,."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The price could be lower."
"The price of NetApp Private Storage is similar to other solutions. There is typically an annual license required for this solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
25%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
20%
Real Estate/Law Firm
16%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 do you like most about NetApp Private Storage?
NetApp is faster than other storage brands.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp Private Storage?
The product is costly. Also, we need to pay for features like SnapMirror, etc. I rate its pricing a nine out of ten.
What needs improvement with NetApp Private Storage?
NetApp is a great storage device, but sometimes support is not accessible. Also, the current version has removed most of the dashboard features. We have to use the CLI for some tasks. Additionally,...
 

Also Known As

PowerScale, Dell EMC Isilon
NPS
 

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,
ASE IT, Concerto Cloud
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. NetApp Private Storage and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.