IBM Spectrum Scale vs Scality RING comparison

IBM and Scality are both solutions in the Software Defined Storage (SDS) category. IBM is ranked #7 with an average rating of 9.0, while Scality is ranked #14 with an average rating of 7.0. IBM holds a 4.9% mindshare in SDS, compared to Scality’s 3.5% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Scality users who would recommend it.

IBM Spectrum Scale

Read 12 IBM Spectrum Scale reviews

1,174 Views
883 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Scality RING

Read 4 Scality RING reviews

492 Views
475 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Spectrum Scale

Scality RING

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 5, 2024

Scality RING and IBM Spectrum Scale are key players in the enterprise storage market, both providing scalable storage solutions. IBM Spectrum Scale holds an advantage due to its comprehensive feature set, while Scality RING is attractive for its competitive pricing.

Features: Scality RING provides a cloud-native architecture, data protection, and scalable object and file storage. IBM Spectrum Scale offers high-performance data management, advanced analytics, and seamless integration with multiple platforms.

Room for Improvement: Scality RING could enhance advanced analytics support, integration capabilities, and ease of use. IBM Spectrum Scale might improve in cost-effectiveness, user interface, and deployment complexity.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Scality RING is favored for its flexible deployment and comprehensive support, offering an easier onboarding experience. IBM Spectrum Scale has a steeper learning curve but provides robust support services once implemented.

Pricing and ROI: Scality RING stands out for its cost-effective solution, providing a strong ROI for businesses seeking low initial investments. IBM Spectrum Scale, though costly, offers significant long-term value with its extensive capabilities and high functionality.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Spectrum Scale vs. Scality RING Report (Updated: February 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Scale vs. Scality RING

February 2025

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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

IBM Spectrum Scale

Ranking in Software Defined Storage (SDS)

7th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Software Defined Storage (3rd)

Scality RING

Ranking in Software Defined Storage (SDS)

14th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

5.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

File and Object Storage (15th)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Software Defined Storage (SDS) category, the mindshare of IBM Spectrum Scale is 4.9%, down from 7.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Scality RING is 3.5%, up from 3.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Software Defined Storage (SDS)

Featured Reviews

JanithRanasinghe

Depute CIO at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

Parallel file access efficiency and good file management with good scalability

We are using GPFS Scale for parallel file access. It's primarily for file management We use GPFS Scale for parallel file access, the file management, and it's an essential part of our operations. It's the only feature we are using since we have not explored other options. I wish there were some…

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Guillaume Lapouge

Cloud Architect at Claranet France

Offers UTIPI (Unified Tiered Infrastructure Per IOPS) feature in billing but lacks extensive testing

It's a very good product, but for large-scale usage, it has limitations. Scality RING's lack of extensive testing and potential hidden limitations. While Scality provides precise architecture guidelines for sizing the storage infrastructure, Orange utilizes a different processor architecture for its Ovi servers, requiring additional optimization beyond what Scality offers. In essence, the product lacks third-party optimization capabilities.

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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

"Allows us to share files across multiple environments."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to share files across different platforms."

"Its great servicing high availability. That is what it is used for."

"I rate this product ten out of ten."

"It has been pretty reliable throughout the years. As far as capacity is concerned, it can handle most heavy loads."

"It makes our file system sharing a lot easier, even across different continents. We have had file systems shared across different continents with no performance degradation."

"It is incredibly scalable and stable."

"We use GPFS Scale for parallel file access, the file management, and it's an essential part of our operations."

More IBM Spectrum Scale pros

"Another feature I like is the life cycle management that helps me with data storage efficiency."

"I think it's the economic factor. This solution has the lowest cost for storage systems."

"The most valuable feature of Scality RING8 is its performance and good interface."

Cons

"The biggest problem is that it is not able to provide block storage."

"The solution's pricing could be better."

"I wish there were some graphical user interface to access the GPFS file system creation and monitoring."

"The main issue that we have now is with the encryption. They want to use more metrics in encryption, which is not working very well."

"This is probably the biggest challenge, getting everything upgraded, because it just takes time. We wish it was a faster solution to be able to do everything at once, but you have do each node individually. The more nodes, the longer it takes."

"They should probably simply the Red Hat implementation portion. This portion was not as straightforward as I would like it to be."

"The initial setup is complex, especially if trying to avoid erasure coding, as it requires more discs. Avoiding erasure coding can significantly increase costs."

"We do have some issues where Spectrum Scale does not work as expected. We have seen our Spectrum Scale servers go down unexpectedly, but because we have a cluster, it does not take out the entire organization."

More IBM Spectrum Scale cons

"When we used this solution in 2015, it was not scalable at all. I don't know if they have improved on that, but at the time, scalability was just horrible."

"Scality RING8 could improve by having more features. We have to use two automation tools to meet our needs. We would prefer to use only one."

"Scality RING is not easy to learn for someone new. It is a little bit difficult. There are a lot of components to it, and you also need to understand them to work with it effectively."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing model is complex and depends on factors such as the number of processing cores and the amount of storage."

"The solution is costly but reliable."

"The licensing is based on the number of terabytes."

"The initial cost (CAPEX) to set up the infrastructure is expensive due to the specific hardware required."

"The cost of Scality RING8 could be less expensive. It is difficult for smaller businesses to afford it."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

20%

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

14%

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Energy/Utilities Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Spectrum Scale?

It is a scalable solution.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Spectrum Scale?

I don't think it's a high price compared to alternatives.

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What needs improvement with IBM Spectrum Scale?

I wish there were some graphical user interface to access the GPFS file system creation and monitoring.

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What do you like most about Scality RING8?

Another feature I like is the life cycle management that helps me with data storage efficiency.

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What needs improvement with Scality RING8?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Scality RING8?

I work with Scality RING for storage, and we have a concrete strategy to offer it to business customers. Many customers use it for different purposes, but a common use case is for user computer bac...

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Comparisons

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs IBM Spectrum Scale

Compared 30% of the time

Portworx Enterprise vs IBM Spectrum Scale

Compared 16% of the time

DDN IME vs IBM Spectrum Scale

Compared 14% of the time

NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP vs IBM Spectrum Scale

Compared 8% of the time

VMware vSAN vs IBM Spectrum Scale

Compared 6% of the time

More IBM Spectrum Scale Competitors

Dell ECS vs Scality RING

Compared 17% of the time

MinIO vs Scality RING

Compared 16% of the time

Cloudian HyperStore vs Scality RING

Compared 15% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs Scality RING

Compared 15% of the time

Qumulo vs Scality RING

Compared 12% of the time

More Scality RING Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Scale

February 2025

Download IBM Spectrum Scale product report

Buyer's Guide

Software Defined Storage (SDS)

February 2025

Download Scality RING product report

Also Known As

No data available

Scality RING, RING8

Overview

IBM Spectrum Scale is a cluster file system that provides concurrent access to a single file system or set of file systems from multiple nodes. The nodes can be SAN attached, network attached, a mixture of SAN attached and network attached, or in a shared nothing cluster configuration. This enables access to this common set of data to support a scale-out solution or to provide a high availability platform. IBM Spectrum Scale has many features beyond common data access including data replication, policy based storage management, and multi-site operations. You can create a cluster of AIX nodes, Linux nodes, Windows server nodes, or a mix of all three. IBM Spectrum Scale can run on virtualized instances providing common data access in environments, leverage logical partitioning, or other hypervisors. Multiple IBM Spectrum Scale clusters can share data within a location or across wide area network (WAN) connections.

IBM

Scality RING object storage enables enterprises and cloud service providers to run petabyte-scale, data-rich services like web applications, VOD, active archives, compliance archives, and private storage clouds. The RING is software, so you can deploy it on standard x86 servers of your choice, taking advantage of server and media innovation over time. Acting as a single, distributed system, the RING can scale linearly across thousands of servers, multiple sites, and an unlimited number of objects. Data is protected with policy-based replication, erasure coding, and geo-distribution, achieving up to 14 9s of durability and 100% availability.

Scality

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Comcast, TimeWarner Cable, EuroSport, Orange, Deluxe, DailtMotion, SFR, RTL, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Telstra

Buyer's Guide

IBM Spectrum Scale vs. Scality RING

February 2025

Free Report: IBM Spectrum Scale vs. Scality RING

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