DDN EXA5 vs EXAScaler comparison

DDN EXA5 and EXAScaler are both solutions in the File System Software category. DDN EXA5 is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.0, while EXAScaler is ranked #8 with an average rating of 9.0. DDN EXA5 holds a 3.7% mindshare in FSS, compared to EXAScaler’s 1.6% mindshare. Additionally, 50% of DDN EXA5 users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of EXAScaler users who would recommend it.

DDN EXA5

Read 1 DDN EXA5 review

239 Views
232 Comparison Views

50% willing to recommend

EXAScaler

Read 1 EXAScaler review

460 Views
97 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

DDN EXA5

EXAScaler

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between DDN EXA5 and EXAScaler based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about CTERA, Nasuni, Panzura and others in File System Software.

To learn more, read our detailed File System Software Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

File System Software

March 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 885,667 peers since 2012

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

DDN EXA5

Ranking in File System Software

6th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

EXAScaler

Ranking in File System Software

8th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

NAS (16th), Cloud Storage (17th), Storage Performance (3rd), Cloud Master Data Management (MDM) (11th)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the File System Software category, the mindshare of DDN EXA5 is 3.7%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of EXAScaler is 1.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

File System Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
DDN EXA5	3.7%
EXAScaler	1.6%
Other	94.7%

File System Software

Featured Reviews

reviewer2544219

Chief Architect at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Enhancing AI cluster training with reliable performance and good customer service

This is for AI training cluster. The customer is using DDN as a default de facto standard for their AI cluster DDN is one of the storages actually supporting by NVIDIA Superport. The customer is using NVIDIA Superport, which helps in terms of scalability. The DDN Exascaler uses a parallel file…

Read full review

reviewer2544219

Chief Architect at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Solution enables exceptional performance and immense scalability for AI cluster training

I am a system integrator, and my customers are using EXAScaler as the de facto parallel file system for Google Cloud. They primarily use it for large AI cluster training EXAScaler provides amazing performance in terms of sequential read and random access, and it has a significant scalability…

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The performance is outstanding, and customers are very happy with it."

"The DDN Exascaler uses a parallel file system, Lustre, which is proven for HPC and AI workloads."

"The customers who use DDN EXAScaler are happy, especially when using large AI clusters for training."

"EXAScaler provides amazing performance in terms of sequential read and random access, and it has a significant scalability advantage as it is scalable to petabytes."

Cons

"There are challenges with the operation cost and upgrading process, which is disruptive, especially with the node."

"One challenge with EXAScaler is during upgrade time, as it can be problematic when upgrading node by node."

"One challenge with EXAScaler is during upgrade time, as it can be problematic when upgrading node by node. Additionally, it is not multi-protocol by nature, requiring additional hardware to support various protocols like NFS or object storage."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which File System Software solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

885,667 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for DDN EXA5?

The cost is higher compared to other offerings, but the performance is good. The challenge in comparison to other offerings is that DDN is a little bit expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with DDN EXA5?

There are challenges with the operation cost and upgrading process, which is disruptive, especially with the node. Some customers have moved away due to these operational issues.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for DDN EXA5?

This is for AI training cluster. The customer is using DDN as a default de facto standard for their AI cluster.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for EXAScaler?

EXAScaler is a bit expensive, particularly when comparing the total cost of ownership.

See all answers

What needs improvement with EXAScaler?

One challenge with EXAScaler is during upgrade time, as it can be problematic when upgrading node by node. Additionally, it is not multi-protocol by nature, requiring additional hardware to support...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for EXAScaler?

I am a system integrator, and my customers are using EXAScaler as the de facto parallel file system for Google Cloud. They primarily use it for large AI cluster training.

See all answers

Comparisons

Oracle ZFS vs DDN EXA5

Compared 61% of the time

Quantum StorNext vs DDN EXA5

Compared 39% of the time

More DDN EXA5 Competitors

CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform vs EXAScaler

Compared 51% of the time

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs EXAScaler

Compared 25% of the time

DDN A3I vs EXAScaler

Compared 24% of the time

More EXAScaler Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

File System Software

March 2026

Download DDN EXA5 product report

Buyer's Guide

File System Software

March 2026

Download EXAScaler product report

Also Known As

EXA5

No data available

Overview

Applications are evolving to meet the needs of an automated and connected society. The onslaught of data and
the need to move it, store it and process it is quickly overwhelming current infrastructure.

Regain control of your data, streamline workflows and deliver the ultimate performance to reduce time to
discovery and unlock new ways to innovate.

DataDirect Networks

Applications are evolving to meet the needs of an automated and connected society. The onslaught of data and the need to move it, store it and process it is quickly overwhelming current infrastructure.

Regain control of your data, streamline workflows and deliver the ultimate performance to reduce time to discovery and unlock new ways to innovate.

DataDirect Networks

Sample Customers

ICR, Recursion, Toyota Technical Development Corporation (TTDC), Deluxe, Buff Dubs

Information Not Available

Find out what your peers are saying about CTERA, Nasuni, Panzura and others in File System Software. Updated: March 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

885,667 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best File System Software vendors.

We monitor all File System Software reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.