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Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Huawei OceanStor 9000 comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 7, 2024

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

Dell PowerScale (Isilon)
Ranking in NAS
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
File and Object Storage (2nd)
Huawei OceanStor 9000
Ranking in NAS
17th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 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 Huawei OceanStor 9000 is 2.0%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
NAS Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerScale (Isilon)15.5%
Huawei OceanStor 90002.0%
Other82.5%
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.
ChukwuemekaOnyemelukwe - PeerSpot reviewer
Infrastructure Administrator - Server, Storage & Virtualization at MicroAccess Ltd
An entry-level, flash-based storage system designed for enterprise-class applications
It took significantly longer to set up the solution with Huawei compared to other options. But when creating servers for VMware virtualization in one data center, it was a relatively quick process. The Huawei's solution, even with the assistance of an engineer, took more than one month, possibly extending to two months. Chinese engineers were involved in the process, which contributed to the delays.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Dell PowerScale is its scalability."
"Since it can scale so easily, as long as I have money to buy more nodes, I can grow it as big as I need to. That is important in our business. As sequencing technologies continue to evolve, and as those technologies evolve, the amount of data generation never gets smaller. It just always seems to get bigger. This is one of the absolute key aspects: We can grow on demand without having to forklift stuff."
"The stability of the solution is good."
"Based on the flexibility of the system itself, it was easy for us to manage the growth by buying individual nodes as needed."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the unlimited scalability. The tool has high availability and high storage capacity."
"What I like the most about Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is that the storage capacity is very high."
"This has been a valuable solution for our business overall. It offers business continuity and replication features."
"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."
"It has many options for scalability, and it is stable."
"It has many options for scalability, and it is stable."
"The storage capacity is really one of the most valuable features. Also, the GUI is very friendly and the switches gives high performance. The technology used in storage is RAID which as helped us a lot to expand and store various items ."
 

Cons

"It is a bit higher priced than some of the other systems."
"There is room for improvement with the updates. It can take a significant amount of time to do a major OS update."
"I think Dell PowerScale (Isilon) can be improved, as the cost models are quite expensive for administration."
"I would want to see more AI features with Dell PowerScale (Isilon)."
"The improvement should be in AI. Everything is going towards AI."
"If they integrated some functions, as they have on Data Domain with a cyber recovery vault, it would be ideal."
"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."
"The price of the solution could be reduced."
"The call charges and the management cost should be more friendly."
"The call charges and the management cost should be more friendly. They can also include monitoring and management."
"The handling of data deletion and bulk servers setup could have been more straightforward and easier when dealing with data removal or setting up servers. I believe Huawei could enhance their solutions, especially managing storage, to provide a better experience for customers."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"Our company finds the pricing high, but it decreases over time."
"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."
"The only drawback for us is that it's a large upfront investment. This was a huge decision for a startup company to make. It took a bit for us to get over the line on it, but we have not regretted it."
"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 solution's licensing cost varies based on capacity and performance requirements."
"The general cost for a system like this is expensive. The total cost depends on your use case. You need to pay for every additional feature that you use."
"It is an expensive product with a high storage capacity suitable for large data requirements."
"The installation is expensive as they often come as a comprehensive package. The design is more integrated, and everything is bundled together as part of the solution. This is what contributes to the higher cost of their solutions because when you purchase one element, it often comes with additional features and components, and you end up paying for the entire package."
"It is cheaper than other solutions."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
University
13%
Computer Software Company
13%
Educational Organization
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise44
No data available
 

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 entity, the country policy does not allow direct purchases; it goes through a fo...
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 replacement. For large file replication from site to site, it takes a long time. This l...
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Also Known As

PowerScale, Dell EMC Isilon
OceanStor 9000 Scale-out NAS
 

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,
Piraeus, Clinique Univeritaires Saint-Luc, Absolut Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. Huawei OceanStor 9000 and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,976 professionals have used our research since 2012.