FlexPod XCS vs Oracle SuperCluster comparison

NetApp and Oracle are both solutions in the Converged Infrastructure category. NetApp is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.3, while Oracle is ranked #8 with an average rating of 9.0. NetApp holds a 9.2% mindshare in CI, compared to Oracle’s 4.6% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of NetApp users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 84% of Oracle users who would recommend it.

FlexPod XCS

Read 295 FlexPod XCS reviews

1,703 Views
630 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Oracle SuperCluster

Read 13 Oracle SuperCluster reviews

350 Views
319 Comparison Views

84% willing to recommend

FlexPod XCS

Oracle SuperCluster

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 2, 2025

FlexPod XCS and Oracle SuperCluster are two competitive solutions in the converged infrastructure category. Based on the analysis, FlexPod XCS tends to have the upper hand in terms of deployment flexibility and support, while Oracle SuperCluster stands out with its high performance and seamless integration in Oracle environments.

Features: FlexPod XCS is recognized for its flexibility, scalability, and compatibility, allowing for seamless integration of various components and a certified architecture that eases support processes. Users appreciate features like single-vendor support, high availability, and ease of deployment. Oracle SuperCluster offers high performance and integrates components such as Oracle and Exadata well, providing a performance-oriented system mainly suited for Oracle environments.

Room for Improvement: FlexPod XCS could improve with unified management, streamlined certification processes, and better pricing structures. Users see potential enhancements in automation, cloud component integration, and a unified support model. Oracle SuperCluster could benefit from improved integration with non-Oracle systems and a better GUI for administration, alongside a more user-friendly interface and enhanced compatibility.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: FlexPod XCS is known for its verified architecture and excellent integration capabilities, which enhance deployment experiences. Customer service is generally responsive with a unified support model despite the occasional complexity. Oracle SuperCluster, primarily integrated within Oracle infrastructures, requires specific expertise for deployment. Customer service is comprehensive but focuses on Oracle-specific solutions.

Pricing and ROI: FlexPod XCS is often considered expensive, but its scalability, management ease, and reliability justify the costs for many users, who report efficiency and reduced operational costs but still have concerns about pricing. Oracle SuperCluster's pricing aligns with its rich features for Oracle ecosystems. Despite the cost, users value the performance benefits for Oracle-based workloads, making the decision dependent on specific business needs.

To learn more, read our detailed FlexPod XCS vs. Oracle SuperCluster Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

FlexPod XCS vs. Oracle SuperCluster

July 2025

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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

FlexPod XCS

Ranking in Converged Infrastructure

6th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

295

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Oracle SuperCluster

Ranking in Converged Infrastructure

8th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Converged Infrastructure category, the mindshare of FlexPod XCS is 9.2%, down from 10.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle SuperCluster is 4.6%, up from 3.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Converged Infrastructure

Featured Reviews

John Kevin

Deputy IT Manager at MBBank

Enforces standardized setup procedures following Certified Validated Design (CVD) guidelines and offers greater flexibility and control over the system compared to traditional systems

The GUI setup follows the right setup, meaning we have to follow the CVDi.e. Certified Validated Design. Everything is clear, because you can build CI yourself, but without rules, it can be messy. With FlexPod, there are rules to follow, making it more standardized. This helps with troubleshooting and compatibility assessments, simplifying troubleshooting significantly. We also use FlexPod pre-validated architectures to validate the design. It is very, very important to us because we had a bad case in 2015 where separate items integrated poorly due to no version or firmware compatibility certification. Troubleshooting became a nightmare. So, standards are crucial for us, and everything entering production should be verified or at least documented for certification.

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Shafiq Khan

Senior Manager IT Operations at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

Great performance all round, but lacking in certain cloud features

Speaking from a business perspective, our main problem is that our particular edition of SuperCluster is now at end-of-life status, making it obsolete and impossible to get support for. This presents a challenge for us, as finding a path to our next solution is not easy. When it comes to features, I know that Oracle has already done a lot on the software side of things, but everyone has their own wish list for their specific environment and in newer editions of SuperCluster I would like to see new EXAchk data in the cloud environment. In fact, I would prefer if SuperCluster could come with more functionality as seen in Oracle Cloud where it is easier to share data and other things across the board. SuperCluster is already a smart machine, so I understand that it might be difficult to implement all those features, but at a minimum I would appreciate Oracle including more cloud infrastructure functionality. Oracle's existing cloud machines are already able to provide all these cloud features that I would like, including the use of containers and hardware-sharing, and it would be great to have these on board for their customers and end-users of SuperCluster.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is innovative when it comes to compute, storage, and networking, because there are a lot of the storage efficiencies which allow us to keep a smaller footprint."

"FlexPod impacted us by making things easier to deploy. The solution is a private, hybrid, and multi-cloud environment. That's very important to us. We're doing a lot of hybrid cloud."

"We like it because everything is 10 Gig all the way through, from the storage to the switches to everything else, which is more than we need, and that's great."

"The biggest lesson that I have learned from this solution is the ease of actually setting it up and learning it."

"ONTAP is the core of FlexPod, so its most valuable features are: FlexClone, Snapshot, and SnapCenter."

"FlexClone allows you to create copies of volumes in seconds, and without occupying physical space."

"The data is available, compressed, and deduped."

"The guides that we use to install FlexPods are always up-to-date. This is really helpful, especially if there is a new product with NetApp moving so far forward and Cisco as well. For them to join together and update a centralized document for the install process, it is really good. It helps us understand if there are features from the first version that we installed while upgrading that we need to implement. Those are in the document. So, we find that document useful and helpful when moving forward."

More FlexPod XCS pros

"SuperCluster is basically a combination of Oracle, with Exadata and Compute node features, so it is a computing cluster that is integrated in a single infrastructure such that we don't need a separate solution for the application database, the data storage database, and everything else the application needs."

"Our primary use case is for E-Business Suite applications the applications for the government, and most of the applications that use an HCM."

"In this setup, the traffic is distributed among the nodes, enhancing the overall performance compared to a scenario where all traffic is directed to a single server."

"A valuable feature is the Exadata Storage appliance, optimized for database queries."

"Because it's classified as an engineered system, it's all integrated, it's all supported by one vendor. We don't have to go to multiple vendors for support, it's all integrated under Oracle."

"The two features that I find to be the most valuable are high availability and high performance."

"Unix is not as easy for the users, it needs more maintenance and costs extra."

"Scalability and technical support."

More Oracle SuperCluster pros

Cons

"On the NetApp side, there are definitely things to improve in terms of software updates."

"FlexPod XCS' pricing could be cheaper. You need to find the right person for support."

"I would like to see them reduce the complexity, that would be my number one request because. Right now, doing simple things is pretty complex. You have so many options. It might be better if it were more wizard-driven, as opposed to going through five hundred dials. It's not very easy or intuitive."

"Our environment does not always require this solution, so we are not reaping the optimal ROI."

"It would be helpful if they sold a pre-boxed option so that you can buy a rack and everything's already there, everything's connected."

"Not a ten because it could always be cheaper, it could always be faster."

"The solution could be improved by including automation for user updates."

"We have had some problems with SnapSuite and the replication functionality."

More FlexPod XCS cons

"If it had capabilities to integrate really well with DB2 or SQL Server or Hitachi SANs, those sort of things, that would be a real benefit. Right now, it's fully supported only under all Oracle infrastructure."

"Speaking from a business perspective, our main problem is that our particular edition of SuperCluster is now at end-of-life status, making it obsolete and impossible to get support for. This presents a challenge for us, as finding a path to our next solution is not easy."

"We have faced network connectivity issues."

"They may have made some improvements but based on the version that I am using, it is a little complicated because it is based on the Unix Operating system."

"If they had an application that centralized the administration, not about the monitoring, but for the configuration, it would be better."

"I would like to see control domain and zone management via a management console, similar to that of OVM."

"It would be more convenient if the Agta Logic worked within the SuperCluster with the Agta data, as it may boost the speed of the applications."

"Not a very user friendly solution."

More Oracle SuperCluster cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We can just swap in new equipment or hardware as we need, which has probably saved us several weeks."

"As a whole, it is inexpensive, and it uses the least amount of parts."

"The scalability is very good. I wish it was a more cost-effective, but you get what you pay for."

"The product's pricing is high and I would rate it a nine out of ten."

"It is cheaper than other products. For example, Dell EMC VxBlock is more expensive."

"Cost is the primary factor behind why I would not give this product a perfect rating."

"In terms of the cost, the last bill I saw was about $3.5 million, from the latest contract. That might have been for a five-year contract."

"We pay approximately $1,400 USD in total for between five-thousand and ten-thousand ports."

More FlexPod XCS pricing and cost advice

"For us, the licensing costs are a large amount, but we are also paying for the rack, the SLA, and other extras. When I look into our organization's requirements regarding performance, machine load, etc., I believe that, while expensive, SuperCluster is nevertheless good for us."

"Due to the multiple products involved in our use of SuperCluster (including different software, hardware, etc.), I cannot comment on the licensing aspect."

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Comparison Review

it_user244362

Managing Consultant with 51-200 employees

Aug 30, 2015

Nutanix vs. VMware EVO:RAIL vs. FlexPod

Originally posted at www.storagegaga.com/dont-get-too-drunk-on-hyper-converged/ I hate the fact that I am bursting the big bubble brewing about Hyper Convergence (HC). I urge all to look past the hot air and hype frenzy that are going on, because in the end, the HC platforms have to be aligned…

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

20%

Educational Organization

15%

Performing Arts

Computer Software Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about FlexPod?

The system is designed for easy scaling. Because we define everything clearly. So when we plug the system in, we apply the profile, and it scales easily.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FlexPod?

The pricing is not cheaper, but stability is more important for us now. We focus on business gains, not static numbers. Following XCS rules ensures a stable environment, which is crucial. For me, C...

See all answers

What needs improvement with FlexPod?

FlexPod should focus more on automation. Integrating an automation tool with FlexPod would enable customers to leverage automation capabilities. More automation would be helpful. Currently, we cont...

See all answers

What do you like most about Oracle SuperCluster?

In this setup, the traffic is distributed among the nodes, enhancing the overall performance compared to a scenario where all traffic is directed to a single server.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle SuperCluster?

The pricing is low as per performance but high as per synchronization. They justify the price. I rate the product’s pricing a four or five out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Oracle SuperCluster?

It would be more convenient if the Agta Logic worked within the SuperCluster with the Agta data, as it may boost the speed of the applications.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 23% of the time

Oracle Private Cloud Appliance vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 12% of the time

Dell PowerEdge VRTX vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 11% of the time

HPE Hyper Converged vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 9% of the time

Dell VxBlock System vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 9% of the time

More FlexPod XCS Competitors

Oracle Private Cloud Appliance vs Oracle SuperCluster

Compared 100% of the time

More Oracle SuperCluster Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

FlexPod XCS

August 2025

Download FlexPod XCS product report

Buyer's Guide

Oracle SuperCluster

August 2025

Download Oracle SuperCluster product report

Also Known As

No data available

Oracle MiniCluster, S7-2, M7, M6-32

Overview

FlexPod XCS is the secure platform your applications need from edge to cloud. Easily manage your suite of cloud-native, edge, and enterprise apps. Integrate advanced cloud services without compromising performance, security, reliability, or scale.

NetApp

Secure cloud infrastructure with the industry’s most advanced security, extreme performance, and a complete suite of efficiency enhancements, tools, and automation that work together to dramatically lower cost and complexity.

Oracle

Sample Customers

University of Sao Paulo, WD-40, The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group

Advania, Dimension Data, Atos, Etisilat Nigeria, HDFC, Specialized Bicycle Components, Uganda Revenue Authority, iQor, United Energy, Portic Barcelona, B Logistics, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, CSC, CNSI, REDISA

Buyer's Guide

FlexPod XCS vs. Oracle SuperCluster

July 2025

Free Report: FlexPod XCS vs. Oracle SuperCluster

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