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Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs HPE StoreEasy vs NetApp FAS Series comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the NAS category, the mindshare of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is 15.5%, down from 17.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE StoreEasy is 3.6%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp FAS Series is 10.8%, down from 12.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
NAS Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerScale (Isilon)15.5%
NetApp FAS Series10.8%
HPE StoreEasy3.6%
Other70.1%
NAS
 

Featured Reviews

BE
Systems Engineer at Unisity LLC
Flexibility and reliability have supported seamless data growth
I cannot think of anything to improve about Dell PowerScale (Isilon). The hardest challenge we have is due to how we've bought things over time. The way that we moved to the PowerEdge platform for the newer systems creates a scale problem as I still buy the older style systems, which are more dense storage. They're different chassis, so the problem we run into in the data center is the depth of the actual equipment. The newer equipment, if we buy an FX910 or a 900, it's a lot shorter in scale than if I buy an 83,000, which is much bigger. This makes it more complicated for deployment.
reviewer2644038 - PeerSpot reviewer
Analista De Sistemas Sénior at a transportation company with 201-500 employees
Efficient file management and cloud replication enhance business operations
HPE StoreEasy is a stable and high-performing solution that HPE supports effectively. A key feature is that it is customizable to adjust to our necessities. I would rate the solution as nine out of ten. Consider adding more security features similar to iLO's security recommendations to improve resilience against ransomware.
Srikanth Purushothaman - PeerSpot reviewer
DIRECTOR at Vellore Online Systems
Has supported long-term data protection and backup while requiring better part availability and pricing options
For monitoring purposes, we normally use flash access storage exclusively. We utilize a hybrid system because we need performance, combining NL-SAS for the volume and SAS flash to use as a fast cache system that provides more IOPS. We normally implement RAID 10, which we prefer over RAID 6's n plus 2 combinations. We utilize it for data redundancy, even with write intensity on. Regarding the unified storage architecture for NetApp FAS Series, we normally opt for exclusivity unless budget constraints exist. Our IOPS are very high, reaching somewhere about 50k to 150k or 1.150k. The high performance ensures minimal latency. An advantage we've seen with NetApp FAS Series is that snapshots provide very rapid backup and fast recovery. We basically use snapshots for data protection as first-level protection, with deduplication between the two storages serving as second-level protection.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"There are also the policies that you set up on replication and purging files, and policies for something called WORM. That's a "write once, read many," where you can't overwrite certain files or certain data. It puts them in a "protected mode" where it becomes very difficult for someone to accidentally delete. We use that for certain files or certain directories, because we're dealing with video and some video has to be protected for chain-of-custody purposes. The WORM feature works great."
"I can certainly recommend PowerScale for mission-critical workloads, it is a powerful but simple platform with little administration overhead."
"I don't have to rebuild the cluster to add a node."
"The features of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) that I appreciate the most include the scale of architecture and the way it is designed, which benefit my company by providing less downtime and less overhead."
"The tool comes with cheap disks and works fast for video content."
"Dell PowerScale's performance is good."
"PowerScale, in our infrastructure, is really a winning piece because today we have three times the performance on the I/O at an affordable price while greatly improving the performance and reliability of our HPC storage."
"The most valuable features of the solution are flexibility and ease of implementation."
"The tool's data protection capabilities are robust."
"I like the tool's provisioning feature and OneView."
"I like that it's a hybrid entity, as I can use both the on-premises and cloud storage options."
"The solution is very good."
"The scalability of HPE StoreEasy is good, with approximately 2,000 users including students, professors, and other departments using it on a daily basis."
"We have just started with HPE StoreEasy but I am looking forward to working with it, as I am satisfied with the technical details and to me, it seems like one of the best solutions available."
"The most valuable feature of HPE StoreEasy is the storing of virtual machines."
"HPE StoreEasy is a stable and high-performing solution that HPE supports effectively."
"One important feature for customers is its ease of use and continuity, enabling seamless usage across on-premise and cloud environments."
"It helps us reduce costs because its data compression saves a lot of capacity we'd otherwise have to have."
"You really can't go wrong with NetApp products, They perform well, are rock solid, offer good space saving technologies, and the support is above par."
"The tool is the best one in the market in terms of pricing and features."
"Reliable storage solution with an easy setup. It has high availability and makes single file restoration easy. It also has good stability and scalability."
"It's a stable product. No issues there."
"You can use different protocols at the same time. Monitoring is also very easy in NetApp FAS Series. There is a free tool for monitoring."
"By using the NetApp FAS series solution organizations are able to reduce the power, cooling, and space required which reduces the overall cost of operations."
 

Cons

"Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is a bit expensive compared to other products."
"If I could improve one thing on Dell PowerScale (Isilon), it would be better object storage as it recently breached into S3, and that capability could be broadened."
"Dell PowerScale (Isilon) could improve the load distribution capability. For example, in some cases, the system load is not distributed automatically on all the nodes but is concentrated only on one. You have a peak request on only one node and the others don't do anything."
"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."
"Dell PowerScale (Isilon) certainly has room for improvement; since it does not provide SAN at the moment, I would look for Dell to create a complete unified solution just like NetApp."
"I think Dell PowerScale (Isilon) can be improved, as the cost models are quite expensive for administration."
"Always, there is room for improvement in terms of cybersecurity, as new challenges are continually emerging in the market."
"The technical support is average. There are certainly not the best that we have ever dealt with, but far from the worst ones."
"The cluster service is not available in the latest version of HPE StoreEasy."
"I would like to improve the tool's technical support. I would also like to see the product's hybrid cloud version."
"When I configure the StoreEasy in a complex environment I have problems finding compatibility with all the software."
"The cluster service is not available in the latest version of HPE StoreEasy."
"The areas of HPE StoreEasy that need improvement are scalability and migration."
"There is a default Windows installation. Sometimes, when it crashes, the HPE support team asks the customer to reinstall it. That is the only issue customers are facing."
"There are some SKUs in StoreEasy that are built to order, and there are only limited options, such as StoreEasy 1670 and 1870, which can be configured to order based on customer preferences."
"There are some SKUs in StoreEasy that are built to order, and there are only limited options, such as StoreEasy 1670 and 1870, which can be configured to order based on customer preferences."
"Dedicated storage efficiency accelerators could improve the overall performance of the system."
"Installation of the additional switches and ETP could be improved."
"NetApp FAS Series should introduce an FTP application for the broadcast and post-production market."
"Unify all backup software on the single tool to simplify the administration."
"Some of the tools could be improved like NetApp OnCommand. This has been a lot better recently, but they could make it faster."
"The process for going to cluster mode is expensive."
"I would like to see less latency and higher IOPS."
"If our customer needs a high-performance storage solution then we don't recommend this product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution can fluctuate. The price can be competitive or other times not. The price of the solution could be better."
"Dealing with the product costs and licensing areas is getting easier since Dell is simplifying the licensing process and licensing packages offered to users."
"It is a really expensive solution."
"The price of the solution is high."
"The solution's licensing cost varies based on capacity and performance requirements."
"We paid an additional fee to have Dell's ProDeploy Plus team implement it."
"I always want things to be less expensive. However, I would say the pricing is fair. Their costs are in alignment with their competitors. It is a good value for the money."
"Our company finds the pricing high, but it decreases over time."
"The price of HPE StoreEasy is approximately $15,000 to $20,000 and it is a one-time purchase. The price is similar to competitors, such as Dell."
"Based on what I hear from our customers, it is not very expensive. From the cost perspective, I see nobody complaining about its cost."
"This is an economical solution for the company and I am satisfied with the pricing."
"I would rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten. You need to pay additional costs for the solution."
"There are products available in market with comparatively lower costs."
"I've sold arrays for as little $20,000 USD and as high as $300,000 USD."
"We have considered upgrading to an All-Flash solution but when we evaluated the cost-benefit we discovered that we don't have enough money to invest in it. To maintain the same technology with All-Flash would be too expensive for us."
"We are on a perpetual license."
"The process for going to cluster mode is expensive."
"The NetApp FAS series price is very competitive compared to other solutions on the market it is a good choice."
"NetApp FAS Series is a reasonably high-priced solution, partially because we select the configuration that duplicates the entire system."
"I don't recall the price, but in general, pricing can always be better."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
University
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise44
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise38
Large Enterprise58
 

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)?
As I mentioned before, we did not purchase Dell PowerScale (Isilon) directly. Since our organization is a government ...
What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?
I have experienced a RAM failure in some of the nodes of Dell PowerScale (Isilon), and that required hardware replace...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE StoreEasy?
HPE StoreEasy is competitively priced compared to competitors. It offers configuration options, such as different pro...
What needs improvement with HPE StoreEasy?
The product is stable, running on Windows Server ( /products/windows-server-reviews ) with updates from HPE, includin...
What is your primary use case for HPE StoreEasy?
I use HPE StoreEasy ( /products/hpe-storeeasy-reviews ) to provide file sharing to our business users. We are a logis...
Which SAN product would you choose: IBM FlashSystem (FS9500) vs PureFlash Array/X NVMe vs PureFlash Array/XL NVMe?
Have you considered a NetApp FAS Storage for your NAS needs? I am sure it fits very well.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp FAS Series?
I do not handle the pricing part of NetApp FAS Series since it is managed by the sales team.
 

Also Known As

PowerScale, Dell EMC Isilon
HP StoreEasy
No data available
 

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,
John Lewis, HPE IT, Comline AG, AmeriPride Services
Children's Hospital Central California, Plex Systems, PDF PNI Digital Media, Denver Broncos, PDF KSM Legal, Clayton Companies, Virginia Community College
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, NetApp, CTERA and others in NAS. Updated: March 2026.
885,789 professionals have used our research since 2012.