Dell SC Series vs Dell XtremIO comparison

Dell SC Series and Dell XtremIO are both solutions in the All-Flash Storage category. Dell SC Series is ranked #27 with an average rating of 8.8, while Dell XtremIO is ranked #21 with an average rating of 8.3. Dell SC Series holds a 0.9% mindshare in AFS, compared to Dell XtremIO’s 1.1% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Dell SC Series users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 82% of Dell XtremIO users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

Dell XtremIO and Dell SC Series are enterprise storage solutions targeting different needs. Dell SC Series generally offers more robust features, while Dell XtremIO excels in ease of deployment and management.

Features: Dell XtremIO is noted for its performance and scalability, easy deployment, and efficient management. Dell SC Series stands out with advanced data management options, greater flexibility, and tiered storage capabilities that optimize resources and performance.

Room for Improvement: Dell XtremIO could benefit from more competitive pricing and additional features. Dell SC Series users suggest that the interface could be more intuitive, the system's complexity can be a barrier, and the initial setup cost is high.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell XtremIO has a straightforward deployment process and responsive customer support. Dell SC Series might require more time to deploy due to its complexity, but has comprehensive support services.

Pricing and ROI: Dell XtremIO is viewed as a cost-effective option with a quick ROI. Dell SC Series involves higher initial setup costs, but its advanced features justify the investment.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell SC Series vs. Dell XtremIO Report (Updated: December 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series vs. Dell XtremIO

December 2024

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Categories and Ranking

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 0.7%, down from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell SC Series is 0.9%, down from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell XtremIO is 1.1%, down from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

All-Flash Storage

Featured Reviews

Paul Pearson

Storage and Backup Architect at Concentrix

Works well, is easy to implement, and has upgrade analysis capabilities

We love the product. Pure Storage works really well. The CAT tool and also the ability to upgrade the unit's place grades are great. It allows for in-place control or upgrades. It's a very simple implementation. They have a good tool to analyze upgrades. The stability is good. Technical support has been excellent.

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Steven McClendon

Data Center Server & Storage Administrator at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Superior platform with excellent snapshots and cost-saving auto-tiering

I'm a big fan of the SC Series platform. Its feature set is superior to some of the other platforms. The snapshots on SC are excellent, allowing for multiple snapshot schedules for any one system. The auto-tiering functionality intelligently moves new data to the highest performance tier and then progresses it down to less expensive tiers over time, providing cost savings for customers.

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Gouranga Maiti

Sr. Project Manager -IT at ITC Ltd

Suitable for high IOPS and helps get backup in ten minutes

We use Dell XtremIO for high IOPS. We get backup within 10 minutes. Initially, we faced numerous issues with our analytical systems. However, we saw performance improvement after the implementation of the solution. I like the tool's snapshot backup and flash storage features. Sometimes we…

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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 initial setup was extremely simple and straightforward."

"The solution is scalable."

"We're able to get higher-density workloads on the same infrastructure, and we have a smaller physical footprint. The performance is excellent – during our test the bottlenecks are never on the X array, it just keeps picking up the pace to match what you need. The real-time visibility is a differentiator in my opinion."

"I use the tool for Oracle databases, Oracle virtual machines, and Oracle Linux databases. I'm on the storage side, not a database administrator."

"We are satisfied with the performance as it is significantly faster compared to traditional storage options."

"The solution uses newer technology for deduplication and compression."

"Pure Storage has signature security technology, which cannot be deleted, even if you are an administrator."

"I appreciate the performance."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"It's very scalable, especially with federation. If you outgrow the number of spindles that a unit can support, depending on the model, you can go into federation."

"The Dell support is helpful and the response is quick. The agents' knowledge is very good."

"Technical support is very good. I do use it from time to time and it's always excellent."

"Dell SC Series' most valuable features are performance and network facilities. We have no issues with its integration. The tool helps to visualize servers."

"There's some new stuff coming with 7.3, which just got released, where they're spreading the sparing across the whole array, rather than having a dedicated spare disk, and have it sit there and do nothing until one of them dies, and then it kicks in - and having to rebuild all of that. Now, they'll do the sparing across all the disks and they say that is going to add not only space but performance to the array, with 7.3."

"This solution is easy to use."

"The flexibility of this solution has been valuable for our business."

"The interface is easy to use which makes the product user-friendly."

More Dell SC Series pros

"We mostly use it for backup, because we cannot measure anything, and we are afraid to use it for surveillance systems. We were planning to use it for mostly for surveillance systems."

"I like the deduplication and auto-tiering features."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is its performance."

"XtremIO is very stable."

"Performance and deduplication. This is a very robust block storage option that offers both performance and data optimization."

"The feature I like most about Dell Xtremio is its hardware quality compared to other vendors. It's clear they're continuously improving their research and development."

"Deduplication and cloning capability"

"Initially, we faced numerous issues with our analytical systems. However, we saw performance improvement after the implementation of the solution."

More Dell XtremIO pros

Cons

"I'd like to see the product implement active replication for vehicles such as VMware."

"They could add more support for file storage and different types of storage."

"There is room for improvement in the pricing of the product."

"In the future, I would like to see integration with enterprise backup systems."

"I would like to see some AI features that would allow arrays to intelligently identify threats or unusual behavior in the data pattern and give an alert."

"There is room for improvement in catering to midrange storage needs, especially for customers seeking Enterprise-class features."

"I want to see Pure Storage not only be for fast storage, but I want to see it be for the entire data center."

"We would like to see more visibility into garbage collection and CPU performance in the GUI."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"An issue we had was that the controller went down during an upgrade because of their upgrading the code. One side of the switch was down."

"The price could be improved."

"The initial setup is somewhat complex and should be made simpler to do."

"The ease of use could be improved. It took me a while to learn it."

"I would like to have 100% functionality through the web app."

"While the price is competitive, in the next release it would be better if they could reduce the fees."

"Compellent comes in the form of a component that's not true of a unified storage platform."

"The SC Series doesn't support NVMe storage."

More Dell SC Series cons

"Right now, external appliances are needed to replicate XtremIO to XtremIO, or to another EMC system."

"The solution's stability has certain shortcomings where improvements are needed."

"Management: At the time, there was no snapshot scheduler, so I had to write XSnapCourier to address it. The sad thing is that even after the newest release, which includes a native scheduler, most customers using XSnapCourier chose to stick with it due to a more feature-rich experience."

"Management and reporting need improvement."

"I am not too impressed with XtremeIO because we had a major failure."

"Get rid of the Java aspect of the GUI console."

"The solution needs to be simplified. When you integrate your storage with other systems, could use a little bit of automation."

"Ease of use is key in the converged and hyper-converged world that requires administrators to have both hypervisor and storage skills."

More Dell XtremIO cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Our licensing fees are $500,000+ USD."

"The product is expensive."

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe’s pricing is cheaper than other products."

"With VMware, we pay $300,000 annually."

"Its price could be better. It is not too expensive, but it is the high-end cost. It is kind of a Rolls-Royce. You pay a lot, but you get a lot out of it. So, the price pressure on the way down would be great, but at the end of the day, if you need to do the work, you just pay for it."

"The licensing is on a yearly basis."

"With Pure Storage, we would like to continue seeing price reductions with flash storage. I don't think we're any different than anybody else when we continue to look to the industry for price reductions of both NVMe and traditional SSD storage. We would like to see these prices continue to decline and erode, even displacing large spinning disks."

"Given its price, Pure is not the first option."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is reasonable, but it is expensive."

"The pricing of Dell EMC Compellent is competitive."

"It has a good price point and offers some value-added enterprise features."

"The scalability seems a bit more expensive than even buying a brand new one so far. That has been kind of a drawback."

"It is one of the most cost effective systems for us. We have been able to run it longer than most, getting the most benefit and money out of it."

"It's a very affordable solution."

"It's absolutely affordable. Again, not having to do a forklift upgrade like some of the others have had to do in the past, it's very affordable for our customers and they continue to buy."

"We have reviewed many platforms over the years. It is probably the best solution for its value."

More Dell SC Series pricing and cost advice

"Pricing and licensing are in line with other products from other manufacturers. You get what you pay for."

"With some workloads that benefit from compression and deduplication, costs are actually better than some tier 2 subsystems (while latency remains <1ms)."

"The license for XtremIO is in the box, so you don't have to buy anything."

"There are costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."

"Too high priced for the Brazil market."

"It is expensive if you need to increase scalability."

"The licensing cost is on a yearly subscription basis, which can be expensive but is necessary for ongoing support and services. The pricing could be improved to make it more accessible."

"The initial purchase price was good but when you need to upgrade, it's a different story."

More Dell XtremIO pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user182013

Federal Civ/Intel Engineering Lead at Rubrik

May 1, 2015

Measuring Up: EMC XtremIO and HP 3PAR

Leading up to EMC World 2015, IT Central Station asked how I would compare EMC XtremIO and HP 3PAR. Until recently, the flash storage conversation in my organization and many others has centered on XtremIO and Pure Storage, the leaders of the all-flash array (AFA) space. To that end, I've written a…

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

Computer Software Company

24%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

University

Computer Software Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

17%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

Pure FlashArray X NVMe helps to improve our processing speed. It is user-friendly and easy to use.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

I am an engineer and am not aware of the setup cost.

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What needs improvement with Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

After implementation, there are limitations, such as the number of paths, file systems, and replication options. It f...

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What do you like most about Dell SC Series?

I find this version to be more budget-friendly compared to products from other vendors. This aspect greatly benefits ...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell SC Series?

I've always found the pricing of Dell SC Series very good. I believe the product is being phased out because the pric...

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What needs improvement with Dell SC Series?

If Dell SC Series wasn't being phased out, adding an NVMe tier and secure snapshots like those on the PowerStore plat...

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What do you like most about Dell EMC XtremIO?

The feature I like most about Dell Xtremio is its hardware quality compared to other vendors. It's clear they're cont...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell XtremIO?

When purchased eight years ago, it was offered at a special price that was good and competitive. However, upgrading w...

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What needs improvement with Dell XtremIO?

When we upgraded the capacity from five to ten TB, the price of the disks was high. Dell explained that they are sell...

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 36% of the time

TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 16% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 14% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 11% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 9% of the time

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe Competitors

Dell PowerStore vs Dell SC Series

Compared 64% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Dell SC Series

Compared 13% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Dell SC Series

Compared 10% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Dell SC Series

Compared 7% of the time

NetApp AFF vs Dell SC Series

Compared 5% of the time

More Dell SC Series Competitors

Dell PowerStore vs Dell XtremIO

Compared 33% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs Dell XtremIO

Compared 14% of the time

Dell PowerMax NVMe vs Dell XtremIO

Compared 14% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Dell XtremIO

Compared 10% of the time

VAST Data vs Dell XtremIO

Compared 7% of the time

More Dell XtremIO Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

December 2024

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series

December 2024

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Buyer's Guide

Dell XtremIO

December 2024

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Also Known As

Pure FlashArray//X NVMe, Pure FlashArray//X, FlashArray//X

SC Series Storage, Compellent

Dell EMC XtremIO Flash, Dell EMC XtremIO X2, XtremIO, XtremIO X2

Learn More

Pure Storage

Dell Technologies

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Dell Technologies

Overview

Pure Storage FlashArray//X is the world’s first enterprise-class, all-NVMe flash storage array. It represents a new class of storage – shared accelerated storage, which is a term coined by Gartner – that delivers major breakthroughs in performance, simplicity, and consolidation.

Dell EMC SC Series arrays provide a unified platform for the ultimate in performance, adaptability and machine-driven efficiency. SC Series software delivers modern features that help you meet aggressive workload demands using the fewest drives necessary. With an open, future-ready design, SC Series storage integrates seamlessly with applications and infrastructure, enabling you to scale on a single platform and add capabilities without forklift upgrades.

Bring all-flash, scale-out storage to your enterprise applications with EMC XtremIO. Purpose-built for flash, XtremIO storage arrays are amazingly fast. Delivering high IOPS at less than 1 millisecond latency is just the start. EMC XtremIO helps you harness the power of flash storage by building in innovations like content-based data placement and dual-stage metadata.

Sample Customers

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company

TGen, Frost Science, Gerrie Electric

Raiffeisen Bank Bulgaria, Wentworth-Douglas Hospital

Buyer's Guide

Dell SC Series vs. Dell XtremIO

December 2024

Free Report: Dell SC Series vs. Dell XtremIO

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell SC Series vs. Dell XtremIO and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.

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