Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

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 May 2025, in the NAS category, the mindshare of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is 17.8%, up from 17.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE StoreEasy is 4.8%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp FAS Series is 11.9%, down from 12.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
NAS
 

Featured Reviews

Eric Burgueño - PeerSpot reviewer
Simplified data management, tremendously reducing our users’ cognitive overhead
The only thing that I think PowerScale could do better is improving the HTTP data access protocol. At the present, you cannot protect access to data via HTTP or HTTPS the same way that you can secure data access through other protocols like NFS or SMB. You can either access a file because it can be access by anyone in the organization, or you cannot at all. There is no in-between. HTTP is not considered a first-class data access protocol, so the Unified Permission Model that would allow a user to authenticate before being able to access a private file, does not apply. However, with the recent introduction of S3 starting from OneFS 9, I believe the necessary plumbing is already there for HTTPS to also be elevated to a first-class protocol in the future because both protocols sit behind a web server under the hood. It does not sound like it would be too complicated to implement, but it would be a valuable feature and it is currently missing.
Vinoth Bala - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable, cost-effective, and easy to deploy and manage
I did not have any difficulties in deploying StoreEasy for the customers. It is user-friendly and easy to deploy. It has a Windows Server and a required license built in. For implementation, we follow the HPE documentation. We follow the Configuration guide and the Installation guide. For all HPE products, we follow the HPE documentation. For a single box, it takes a maximum of two days. It depends on the customer's availability. For different configurations, it can take two to three days. The number of people required varies from customer to customer, but generally, it requires three people. For mounting the storage, we always have three people to unbox, mount, and do other things. It does not require any maintenance. From the data center perspective, maintaining StoreEasy is very easy. No customer has complained about any difficulty in maintaining StoreEasy.
Paweł Jabłoński - PeerSpot reviewer
Used for VMs with replication a feature, but need upgraded SSDs
We use this solution. I configured and updated it. Of course, I was also a user of applications that store data on that storage. We already have an SSD solution. So, rather than planning to go with an SSD solution, we are focusing on expanding it. If a company wants to deploy something new, it should choose a product with SSD, and NVMe disks. Overall, I rate the solution a six out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"PowerScale has made it extremely easy to scale file data across our organization. We have two implementations of Isilon. One is a replica of the other. When scaling, we add nodes to each location and expand the cluster. The process is straightforward."
"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."
"PowerScale allows us to manage storage without managing RAID groups or migrating volumes between controllers. It has really simplified things. We're not having to worry about the underlying infrastructure. That takes care of itself. We just worry about the data. It's really easy for deploying and managing storage at the petabyte scale."
"The most valuable feature of Dell PowerScale is its scalability."
"Our main goal is to do disaster recovery with whatever solution we use and Isilon makes it pretty simple to replicate those workloads over to our secondary data center."
"For maximizing storage utilization, PowerScale is great. When you write the data to it, it spreads it out to all the nodes, so you get all the performance from the entire pool."
"Dell has the AI to protect the EMA."
"It is stable and very user-friendly."
"I like the tool's provisioning feature and OneView."
"StoreEasy offers reliable file services, which is a critical factor for customers looking for solid infrastructure."
"The most beneficial feature of HPE StoreEasy for us is its easy implementation and maintenance."
"I can use both the on-premises and cloud storage options. I need to have an APR extension from StoreEasy, and it's that simple."
"It is easy to manage. There is a management console that comes with StoreEasy. It simplifies managing storage permission. There is snapshot scheduling as well. The updates and everything else is good."
"The tool's data protection capabilities are robust."
"StoreEasy is a better solution for backup purposes."
"I like the user quotas, integrations, and separations for storage."
"The initial setup was so straightforward. It was well-documented."
"It's an easy product to use that is stable and has good performance."
"It is a scalable solution."
"Can use both SAN and NAS at the same time."
"The most valuable features are the NAS features and NetApp's excellent support."
"It helps us meet all customer requirements. Customers have been using NetApp for many years. They are very satisfied with NetApp and continue to use NetApp and upgrade to new solutions."
"It is very easy to expand disks and manage CIFS."
"The solution has tiers inside which means we do not only need to use SSDs."
 

Cons

"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."
"Dell's customer service needs improvement. Specifically, hardware failures under warranty should be addressed within the promised timeline."
"There are some missing features in the product, especially when our company needs to do some tape backup, and we see that the tool doesn't have integration capabilities."
"We used to have a chat feature available on the support site. It's not available to us anymore."
"I'd like to see more Iceland products in the cloud so that we can port our data into different environments if needed. I would also like to see a virtual appliance or software-defined Iceland product."
"Dell PowerScale needs to reduce its price."
"Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is a little bit pricey, and its pricing could be improved."
"The biggest weakness is small file handling. Small file compression options are not enabled out of the box. It would be good to have this enabled by default."
"We need some monitoring tools and it would be helpful if they were included."
"It would be better if it were more scalable. In the next release, I would like to access some Microsoft Windows storage server features. I guess the newest version of Windows Server has some restrictions."
"When I configure the StoreEasy in a complex environment I have problems finding compatibility with all the software."
"The support of HPE StoreEasy can improve its responsiveness. Dell support is better."
"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."
"I would like to improve the tool's technical support. I would also like to see the product's hybrid cloud version."
"The areas of HPE StoreEasy that need improvement are scalability and migration."
"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."
"One area that needs improvement is the hyper-converged solution. Although NetApp has a solution, compared to Nutanix, it falls short."
"They should add new features to the product."
"We would like to have further integration with some backup products. They have some of them already, but there could be more."
"The NetApp FAS Series is not as high-performing and is not as fast. Its speed needs improvement, but this could only be done if it's an all-flash solution."
"Needs to ​add wizards for newer, inexperienced users."
"Cost is always a factor. Some people choose EMC or Dell because they perceive NetApp as being more expensive."
"The high cost of the product is an area of concern, so from an improvement perspective, the tool needs to be made cheaper."
"The AutoSupport could be improved to be more proactive in certain cases."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive solution."
"The solution is expensive; it is not the cheapest solution out there. If you look at it from a total cost of ownership perspective, then it is a very compelling solution. However, if you're looking at just dollar per terabyte and not looking at the big picture, then you could be distracted by the price. It is not an amazing price, but it's pretty good. It is also very good when you consider the total cost of ownership and ease of management."
"The platform is not cheap. However, on the software side, you can choose what you want license. So, you can start your licensing with the features that you need, then after buying the platform add some other features."
"It's a high-cost offering amounting to three or four million Swedish kronor, or about $400,000 or euros, for approximately 480 terabytes of storage."
"It is an expensive product with a high storage capacity suitable for large data 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."
"We use the TNA approach which is a great opportunity for us to better manage the licenses based on how much consumption is available for the different customers so we can use that approach and scalability."
"This is an economical solution for the company and I am satisfied with the pricing."
"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."
"I would rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten. You need to pay additional costs for the solution."
"Based on what I hear from our customers, it is not very expensive. From the cost perspective, I see nobody complaining about its cost."
"it’s not an inexpensive solution and it may not be for the cost-sensitive customer."
"It is expensive."
"We purchased it for four years, and it wasn't expensive. It was reasonable. Every company has a different agreement with NetApp. We got everything we wanted with all the bells and whistles and all the features and functionalities."
"The price of the NetApp FAS Series is reasonable and it provides value for the money with the feature sets. NetApp FAS Series are competing with Huawei storage which has an office and does aggressive marketing with a discount. However, we found that if our customers do a technology refresh they are happy with the performance of the NetApp FAS Series."
"It’s difficult for us to get money, so make sure you get everything in order, because there’s no going back and saying “oh, I missed this or that”, so make sure you plan well and well in advance."
"It is a moderately low-priced platform."
"The only area that could be improved is to lower prices for their All Flash FAS."
"NetApp FAS Series' pricing is competitive."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which NAS solutions are best for your needs.
850,236 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
18%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Retailer
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Educational Organization
54%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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)?
Every time we purchase a PowerScale solution, we buy four nodes for one data center and four for another, with five y...
What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?
Dell's customer service needs improvement. Specifically, hardware failures under warranty should be addressed within ...
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?
The pricing of NetApp FAS Series is not cheap, but in comparison to other vendors, NetApp FAS Series is affordable be...
 

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, IBM and others in NAS. Updated: May 2025.
850,236 professionals have used our research since 2012.