Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays comparison

Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series vs. NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays

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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 Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is 2.8%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays is 0.7%, up from 0.6% 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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Sameh Moamen

Infrastructure Manager at Arabian Cement Company

Meets requirements for hosting our Virtual Machines in three data centers

The demand in the market is for hyper-converged, all-in-one virtualization. It is not only for the operating system or hypervisors but also for networking and security. It is about optimum solutions. This is a solution that I recommend for those who need the basics that can be achieved with a rack mount server. I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

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Tayo Olubanke

Managing Director at GCET

Offers flexibility and top-notch technology

You can go to bed peacefully if you have a NetApp. If you have NetApp within your data center, you get to know about power failure if you are using it. Your NetApp will still come alive. Even if it does not come alive, I can say that it is not like other tools when it comes to dealing with power failure. The tool is affordable, and the technology is top-notch. It is the only technology that has software for what we call inline compression and deduplication. All the products under NetApp are aiming to use AI. I know that you can achieve whatever you want to do with NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays. I rate the tool a nine out of ten.

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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

"It's helped us because we've changed fundamentally what we talk about. We don't talk about storage and different tiers of storage anymore nor do we talk about servers. We talk now about applications and how applications impact the business and end users."

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe will quickly overcome all the hurdles you face, including network and latency issues."

"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'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."

"Technical support has been helpful and responsive."

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

"It has good, reliable, fast storage."

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

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is simple to use"

"Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is highly reliable, especially for block-level storage. It is stable, with minimal downtime and no issues beyond user errors."

"We have been working with the solution for around a year and so far it has shown itself to be stable."

"The most valuable features of the Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series are the dual controllers, available installation documentation, and the option of multiple host bus adapter interfaces."

"Its initial setup process is easy."

"This solution is good for virtualization and meets the need for CPU and RAM requirements."

"The solution is very easy to set up."

"The solution's initial setup process is easy."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series pros

"The speed is the most valuable feature."

"The replication and mirroring features are very good."

"I would have to say performance at this point, because the application it is based on is so diverse."

"Having the option of such high-speed storage in the data center is what makes it valuable."

"Some of the valuable features include MetroCluster switchover, in terms of disaster recovery, it is easy to use, and flexible."

"The NetApp EF-Series gave our organization easy access to our data bases."

"It provides multi-protocol, which is what gives the edge when it comes to big lineage PC workloads."

"This storage solution is both stable and scalable, and it works for our needs."

More NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays pros

Cons

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

"We've seen that when we create a POD in synchronous mode, it increases the latency."

"We need better data deduplication."

"The tool's portfolio is minimal. It is expensive."

"The UI for this solution needs to be improved."

"I would like to see replication and DR features in the next release of this solution."

"There are some challenges with data encryption and reduction."

"It's more multi-tenant functionality in their Pure1 manage portal that is lacking."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"ThinkSystem could be better integrated with backup software like Commvault, Veritas, or Symantec."

"It would be useful to have structured solutions replicated to other sites."

"Its performance could be faster."

"The difficult part comes when dealing with the host. You have to enable multi-pathing and other aspects that are needed for proper configuration. I don't know if there is room for a more hyper-conversion structure to work with, but this would be easier."

"The solution could be more scalable, although it suits our present needs."

"Usually, when a part fails, we have to replace it and it takes a while. It would be better if the part could be available locally here in Kenya so we don't have to wait so long to repair the solution."

"In the next release, I would like to see support for Hyper-converged infrastructure."

"Improvements can be made to the product's performance."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series cons

"NetApp could improve the speed of the rebuilding rate."

"As far as the manageability, being able to port between the two and have to do less training in-house from a customer point of view, that would be the part to improve."

"There could be an improvement when it comes to SLA support, it could be faster."

"The dashboard could be simplified."

"There could be better integration with some of our Cisco products."

"I’d like to see bigger, faster, better hardware, of course. I think that is the way the hardware is trending anyway; bigger, faster CPU, better software, fewer bugs, all that stuff. T"

"It was difficult to implement and lacks some additional features that would be useful, but as a solution fits a particular need for our organization."

"I would like to see higher-capacity drives, as they come out; I have heard that 15 TB are out on a different NetApp series. Getting those on the EFs would be nice."

More NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool's pricing is cheap; I rate it a six to seven out of ten. Most of our sales are not subscription-based. We sell the hardware, and customers keep using it. They only renew the service part annually. The support can be a bit pricey, but the solution is more cost-effective than anything else out there."

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

"The tool is an investment that we've budgeted for. While the prices may be higher than those of other vendors, we see it as a market leader with benefits. We don't regret purchasing it."

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

"We pay approximately $50,000 USD per year in licensing fees."

"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."

"They can tout the functionality and cutting edge technology that they have, but that's where the price tag comes in. The cost is high, but I think as they grow their business and get more customers that it will probably go down a little bit."

"As far as the licensing costs, everything is included in the license."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"It is an expensive solution."

"All of the features are bundled together, and you can renew the bundle with all of the features included."

"For an all-flash setup, the cost is around $20,000 for a decent configuration."

"The pricing for this solution is good compared to HP or Dell EMC."

"The best thing about this solution is its price, which reduces our costs."

"The solution's price could be better."

"The price of the Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series is a one-time purchase. There is a global price list available to find the price of the solution."

"The pricing is fair and low compared to other products in this category."

More Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series pricing and cost advice

"Cheaper pricing is always good. NetApp has been doing everything the right way. They've been figuring out things really well, going in the right direction."

"Price-wise, NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays is costlier than Dell. You have to buy a lot of licenses separately."

"It's a lot cheaper than what the other vendors have for the same type of environment. It saves us money."

"he price point that we're getting is very competitive in the market. Since we are buying in such a large quantity, they gave us a huge discount."

"It's a way to get relatively low-cost, very high-performance, low-latency block storage as a point solution."

"Its cost-effectiveness is a major selling point. Compared to other storage vendors, the EF-Series offers excellent value for its price. It's truly a leading product in the industry."

"This solution is not available to many users because the cost is very expensive."

"They provide licenses upon purchase, so there's no need for additional licenses. Regarding additional expenses apart from the standard licensing fees, such as for support or maintenance, there aren't any. Updates take around twenty to thirty minutes, including rebooting the systems, and we haven't faced any problems with the NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays. We utilize various other storages like Fujitsu, IBM, and Dalian SIP, but the NetApp EF-Series stands out as we've had no issues throughout the entire year of usage."

More NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

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824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

Computer Software Company

20%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

University

Computer Software Company

20%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

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.

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.

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...

What do you like most about Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

The solution's initial setup process is easy.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

For an all-flash setup, the cost is around $20,000 for a decent configuration.

What needs improvement with Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series?

The product could support advanced software integrations.

What do you like most about NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays?

Considering the cost, I find NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays to be the best storage available in the market.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays?

One has to opt for a perpetual-based licensing model for one year or three years. After three years, you need to rene...

What needs improvement with NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays?

The support of the product is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required. I want NetApp's supp...

Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Comparisons

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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

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Dell PowerStore vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 33% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 12% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem DM Series vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 11% of the time

NetApp AFF vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 11% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series

Compared 8% of the time

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Dell PowerStore vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays

Compared 33% of the time

NetApp AFF vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays

Compared 16% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays

Compared 15% of the time

Huawei OceanStor Dorado vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays

Compared 13% of the time

Dell XtremIO vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays

Compared 8% of the time

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Product Reports

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

All-Flash Storage

Download Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series product report

NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays

Download NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays product report

NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays report

Also Known As

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

ThinkSystem DE Series

NetApp EF540, NetApp EF-Series

Learn More

Pure Storage

Lenovo

NetApp

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.

The DE All-Flash Series delivers the performance of more than 2,000 15k rpm HDDs, yet requires only 2% of the rack space, power, and cooling. Because it consumes 98% less space and power, DE Series can significantly improve the overall efficiency of your IT operations while continuing to meet your performance requirements.

The NetApp EF560 all-flash array is an all-SSD storage system for applications that demand extremely high levels of performance and reliability. Requiring just 2U of rack space, the EF560 all-flash array combines extreme IOPS, microsecond response times, and up to 12GBps of bandwidth with leading, enterprise-proven availability features.

Sample Customers

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company

Information Not Available

RP Data, Western Oregon University, Toei Animation

Lenovo ThinkSystem DE Series vs. NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays