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Dell PowerVault vs IBM SAN24B-4 Express 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell PowerVault
Ranking in Enterprise SAN
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
Fibre Channel (1st)
IBM SAN24B-4 Express
Ranking in Enterprise SAN
10th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.8
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Enterprise SAN category, the mindshare of Dell PowerVault is 15.3%, down from 29.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM SAN24B-4 Express is 4.9%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise SAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerVault15.3%
IBM SAN24B-4 Express4.9%
Other79.8%
Enterprise SAN
 

Featured Reviews

Storage has supported long-term CCTV archiving and improves on-premises application performance
I think it would be good regarding how Dell PowerVault could improve to have, in addition to the excellent support service that exists, some training courses, forums, and a training school for using these tools. Many people specialize only in this kind of equipment, and others have no idea how to configure them or how they work and always end up depending on people who have spent a long time working with these systems and know how to handle them more because of experience than because of information that can be easily obtained about using this equipment. Everything regarding additional aspects that could be improved in Dell PowerVault has already been mentioned.
Alejandro Rivas Detomasi - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager | Service Delivery Coordinator at kyndryl
It has short-wave and long-wave capabilities.
In my experience, it is one of the most reliable options in SAN switches. Let´s say that the SAN24 is the perfect combination between two great brands (IBM hardware and Brocade´s software). In my experience, Brocade´s software is the best for SAN implementation; easy to use and intuitive in every aspect. Brocade is always updating its IOS (operating system), adding new functionalities to its switches and correcting minor errors. If you add all these things to IBM hardware and support, you can trust that your SAN is going to have near-zero downtime.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The biggest advantage of the product that really stands out for me is its price and the comparison of price with performance; its price is very good, and the performance according to this price is sufficient based on backup requirements, so it is perfect."
"The initial setup was easy and simple."
"We've even used PowerVault series that we intended to use for five years for almost eight years, and it was still working fine, providing good ROI compared to any other brand, which are the overall advantages of Dell PowerVault."
"The solution is reliable and stable."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is that it is easy to manage and easy to use."
"In my company there are more than 100 users connecting to this server simultaneously and still the I/O operations are very smooth."
"PowerVault comes with free software that performs functions like data deduplication and replication, which is cost-effective and delivers added value to the product."
"I would say my favorite features of Dell PowerVault are that it's pretty easy to use, it has been pretty stable, firmware updates have been pretty easy to install, and replacing a bad drive is fairly simple."
"In my experience, it is one of the most reliable options in SAN switches."
 

Cons

"If we speak about the negative side of Dell PowerVault, I do see some areas for improvement."
"If you do not have an existing relationship with Dell or are exploring the market for the first time, the initial acquisition cost of Dell PowerVault is high compared to competitors such as Hitachi or IBM, which often undercut prices."
"Dell PowerVault is block-oriented storage only."
"The product is generally stable, but there have been instances, to my knowledge, where we faced issues in the controller during software upgrades. The availability is not at the desired level during these upgrade processes, as we sometimes need to shut down both controllers. This could be an area for improvement."
"Only once when the storage array seem to be very slow and caused VMware Hosts to not see the volumes."
"PowerVault doesn't integrate with Active Directory. Other storage solutions offer SAN and NAS unified storage in a single appliance, but PowerVault is only SAN."
"We've had some control issues."
"I would like Dell to improve the configuration of the disk groups. Only one group is expandable."
"This product can improve in the out-of-the-box features; for example, licensing 16 ports instead of 8."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is reasonable and we are satisfied with it."
"I rate the product price a nine on a scale of one to ten, where one is low, and ten is high."
"The product is inexpensive."
"I would rate the pricing model a nine out of ten, with one being expensive and ten being cheap."
"The cost, compared to other solutions, is on the higher end."
"The solution is more cost-effective than the competitors. It’s an affordable option for small businesses."
"I rate Dell PowerVault a six or seven out of ten for pricing."
"I rate the solution's pricing a seven to eight out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
16%
Computer Software Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Government
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise14
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerVault?
I think the price, implementation cost, and licensing of Dell PowerVault is reasonable. Considering the resources it delivers, the security, and the reliability the platform gives us, all the costs...
What needs improvement with Dell PowerVault?
I do not see the option for scheduled snapshots in Dell PowerVault because I did not find the information. However, I do use the snapshot option on Dell PowerVault to protect against cyber-attacks....
What is your primary use case for Dell PowerVault?
I work with Dell PowerStore, PowerEdge, and PowerVault, but not PowerProtect. I have been dealing with Dell PowerVault for one year. I use Dell PowerVault for backup storage, as this is the major u...
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Also Known As

PowerVault
SAN24B-4 Express
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Dayco, FAW Foundry, University of Cambridge, Finder, Stadtwerke Pforzheim GmbH & Co.
ADP, McKesson Technology Solutions, Migros Zurich, Mars Incorporated, Grupo Hefame, Williams-Sonoma
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco and others in Enterprise SAN. Updated: April 2026.
895,151 professionals have used our research since 2012.