Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Panzura comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell PowerScale (Isilon)
Ranking in NAS
1st
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
File and Object Storage (3rd)
Panzura
Ranking in NAS
11th
Average Rating
7.6
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
File System Software (4th), Cloud Storage (12th), Cloud Storage Gateways (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2024, in the NAS category, the mindshare of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is 26.5%, up from 22.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Panzura is 4.5%, up from 3.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
NAS
Unique Categories:
File and Object Storage
8.0%
File System Software
18.5%
Cloud Storage
13.2%
 

Featured Reviews

YannisAlexandris - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 16, 2024
Addresses the customer's need for a global rather than discrete file system
The maintenance depends on the time you are willing to invest in learning about the platform. It varies for each individual, and if you have people eager to learn, it can make a significant difference. IBM built its sources of disk management which control costs. They don't rely on purchasing from vendors. For example, Dell PowerScale doesn't manufacture the disks; instead, they source them from suppliers or engage in patching. They do not produce the disks themselves; they procure them. IBM can utilize gateways that offer a similar file system to PowerScale. These gateways provide both block storage and file services. This is different from PowerScale because when purchasing PowerScale, you acquire building blocks including CPU and memory. This configuration lacks the flexibility to adapt to various infrastructures. While this setup can be configured, it may pose limitations. You can customize security settings within the tool, including access and file-level permissions. This focuses on enabling 'write once' capabilities, making it challenging to alter data without appropriate authorization. It would be impossible to tamper with unless an individual gains access by obtaining administrator credentials. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Anil Rahulwar - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 23, 2024
Offers features like Master Snapshot which are useful for recovering files and easy to use if you are familiar with familiar with NAS things and networking protocols
If you're considering Panzura, I'd actually recommend looking into DDN products. They're very stable. In fact, they're launching Infinea, which is totally cloud-based and uses Lambda and Kubernetes. It's a very good product. If you have basic IT concepts, it's very easy to understand. But if you're not familiar with NAS things and networking protocols like SMB or Linux, then it might be a bit difficult for new users. Linux understanding is very important to use Panzura. Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. Master Snapshot feature is the only exceptional feature, but the rest of the features are similar to other storage solutions.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution's scalability is very good."
"The solution has simplified management by consolidating our workloads. Rather than managing all the different workloads on different storage arrays, Windows Servers, etc., we just have one place per data centre where we manage all their unstructured data, saving us time."
"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 PowerScale is a scalable solution. It allows non-disruptive upgrades and maintenance of the system."
"The tool comes with cheap disks and works fast for video content."
"You plug in a new node and data starts migrating over to it, and IT spreads out the load. We've added multiple nodes to the system since deploying it. The process is pretty seamless, and we are able to do it with no downtime. It's a very easy process to do."
"It assists with eliminating storage silos because it provides SMB and NFS protocols. PowerScale has also helped free up our employee's time to focus on other business priorities."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the unlimited scalability. The tool has high availability and high storage capacity."
"The main thing in Panzura is that there are three key components: PanFS, NAS, and collaboration. These are strong features, and a big benefit is that you can access everything from anywhere."
"Its most valuable features are the collaboration, the file snapshots, and the data protection the solution provides."
 

Cons

"Data storage performance needs to be improved."
"The solution can be a bit complex for those not well versed in the technology."
"That said, for the other security features, it would be helpful if Tenable - and I know it's outside the scope of this question itself - had Isilon-specific plugins."
"Dell PowerScale's deployment is not easy."
"There is room for improvement with the updates. It can take a significant amount of time to do a major OS update. However, even though it takes multiple reboots, the cluster stays up. If we want to apply a newer version of the OS, we have to roll back some of the patches so that we can upgrade. It requires a few reboots just to do that. The cluster doesn't come down, everything is still running, but it's time-consuming, at times."
"The tool's support team and the way the cases are handled by the product's technical support team are both areas of concern where improvements are required."
"The price always has room for improvement."
"The solution isn't suitable for small environments or small customers."
"Master Snapshot feature is the only exceptional feature, but the rest of the features are similar to other storage solutions."
"It should be easy for people not on the network to connect and access their files."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Dealing with the product costs and licensing areas is getting easier since Dell is simplifying the licensing process and licensing packages offered to users."
"The pricing is expensive, but I think it's a fair value because it does manage itself. It definitely is much simpler than any of the other scale-out storage platforms that we've looked at in the past."
"Pricing for this solution is reasonable."
"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."
"The price of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is reasonable."
"It is a really expensive solution."
"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."
"Our company finds the pricing high, but it decreases over time."
"The solution's pricing is on the expensive side."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which NAS solutions are best for your needs.
793,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
24%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Construction Company
18%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
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)?
Dell PowerScale is expensive on the start-up side but we can recoup those costs quickly by not having to reapply the savings to other equipment.
What are the products that Panzura provides?
Panzura offers four main products: CloudFS, data services, smart apps, and global services. They call this "all-in-one solution" and it's for end-to-end cloud data management. Why is it called that...
What kind of industries does Panzura serve?
Hello, I think businesses from all industries that have their data on a cloud can benefit from Panzura. Especially if you have offices in various locations or your employees are working from home a...
Why was Panzura acquired? Is the acquisition going to cause a change?
I think Panzura may change in a positive direction now that it's been bought by Profile Capital. That's a very big investment company for technology businesses and I think it's an opportunity for ...
 

Also Known As

PowerScale, Dell EMC Isilon
Panzura Freedom
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not 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,
Petrofac, Komatsu, HCA Healthcare, Vanguard, Disney, Pokemon, US Department of Justice, Gensler, Fluor, AFRY, Milwaukee Tool, Navy Federal Credit Union, TechTarget
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. Panzura and other solutions. Updated: July 2024.
793,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.