Huawei OceanStor vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays comparison

Huawei and NetApp are both solutions in the All-Flash Storage category. Huawei is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.8, while NetApp is ranked #26 with an average rating of 9.5. Huawei holds a 2.2% mindshare in AFS, compared to NetApp’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Huawei users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of NetApp users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays and Huawei OceanStor compete in the premium storage solutions category. NetApp EF-Series appears to have the upper hand in speed and reliability, while Huawei OceanStor offers an advanced feature set.

Features: NetApp EF-Series includes high performance, low latency, and suitability for demanding workloads. Huawei OceanStor offers AI-based data management, active-active disaster recovery, and comprehensive capabilities.

Room for Improvement: NetApp EF-Series needs enhanced scalability options, better integration with third-party applications, and more intuitive management platforms. Huawei OceanStor requires a more intuitive management platform, improved technical documentation, and streamlined user experience.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: NetApp EF-Series is known for its straightforward deployment process and responsive customer service. Huawei OceanStor has a steeper learning curve but offers more extensive support services.

Pricing and ROI: NetApp EF-Series users highlight fair pricing and quick return on investment. Huawei OceanStor is more expensive upfront but justified by its extensive features and long-term value.

To learn more, read our detailed Huawei OceanStor vs. NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Huawei OceanStor vs. NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays

September 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

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the All-Flash Storage category, the mindshare of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is 1.0%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Huawei OceanStor is 2.2%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays is 0.7%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

All-Flash Storage Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Huawei OceanStor	2.2%
Pure FlashArray X NVMe	1.0%
NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays	0.7%
Other	96.1%

All-Flash Storage

Featured Reviews

Jaehoon Oh

Chief Technology Officer at Lambda256

Supports efficient storage management through volume snapshots and offers reliable non-disruptive upgrades

I have no specific improvements to suggest for Pure FlashArray X NVMe at this time. The performance statistics could be enhanced. I can see the performance statistics in the Pure Storage console, but it does not show the performance by 4K byte unit. It displays IOPS and bandwidth, but IOPS is about real use, and I want to know how many IOPS are currently running in 4K byte units. I cannot see that IOPS because most storage systems report their performance by 4K byte unit. I want to see Pure Storage performance by 4K byte unit to compare with other storage or other internal NVMe SSD.

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ChukwuemekaOnyemelukwe

Infrastructure Administrator - Server, Storage & Virtualization at MicroAccess Ltd

Uses a proprietary technology with simple interface and has easy deployment

If you are not generating a substantial amount of data, the available storage space might suffice, making scalability less of a concern. However, if your data generation increases and you require more storage, Huawei OceanStor offers solutions to expand your storage capacity. Expanding storage resources can involve additional costs and configuration efforts. Acquiring more storage solutions and ensuring their integration with your existing setup might require a significant investment of time and resources. While this process can be complex, it allows for seamless scalability as your data storage needs grow. I rate the solution’s scalability an eight out of ten.

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Tayo Olubanke

Managing Director at GCET

Offers flexibility and top-notch technology

You can go to bed peacefully if you have a NetApp. If you have NetApp within your data center, you get to know about power failure if you are using it. Your NetApp will still come alive. Even if it does not come alive, I can say that it is not like other tools when it comes to dealing with power failure. The tool is affordable, and the technology is top-notch. It is the only technology that has software for what we call inline compression and deduplication. All the products under NetApp are aiming to use AI. I know that you can achieve whatever you want to do with NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays. I rate the tool a nine out of ten.

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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

"What I really like about this program, is that it is easy to use and easy to configurate."

"Pure FlashArray X NVMe helps to improve our processing speed. It is user-friendly and easy to use."

"The high availability of the product is the most valuable feature."

"The Pure1 component is most valuable at this point in time when comparing it with EMC. Pure1 is where you can have your diagnostics in the cloud, so you can look at things from your mobile phone."

"It is very easy to install and configure. It has got excellent diagnostics. If you really need to see how the box is performing, the console gives you a lot of information. You can set thresholds as well as alerts based on the thresholds, which is a very powerful functionality. They are very proactive. They know how to monitor and manage the systems. They see a problem, and they are all over it before us. They see the problem before we see it, which is very good."

"The database workloads are pretty fast because I frequently move data from here to there."

"The latency is good."

"I use the tool for Oracle databases, Oracle virtual machines, and Oracle Linux databases. I'm on the storage side, not a database administrator."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pros

"I find the scalability features of OceanStor valuable. Additionally, installation is easy, and it only requires one person to install it. Maintenance is also easy and not a big issue."

"Huawei OceanStor has the capability of SSDs, high-performance disks, and higher disk support."

"We get a quick response in case any component defaults. We have seen the benefits mostly."

"Excellent and efficient support, and the product is a good price."

"Huawei OceanStor is stable."

"The most valuable feature is the availability."

"If your virtual machine that resides on it completely fills the storage space, thanks to it's built-in function of all-zero data space reclamation, you just have to ask to System Engineer to run a zero-free on hosts (thin provisioned) and you will get more space instantaneously."

"The solution has improved our organization by speeding up our operations."

More Huawei OceanStor pros

"The replication and mirroring features are very good."

"One of the most valuable features is the overall performance it provides. You're able to throw a pile of IOPS at it and it will handle that without much issue."

"This storage solution is both stable and scalable, and it works for our needs."

"The solution allows us to segregate one storage unit from another."

"Some of the valuable features include MetroCluster switchover, in terms of disaster recovery, it is easy to use, and flexible."

"Compared to Dell Unity XT, what I see as an advantage in NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays is the fact that it is more scalable...The performance of the product is good."

"Rapid deployment, easy integration management and cloning of areas."

"The stability, speed, and reliability are the solution's best features. The information is also very secure."

More NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays pros

Cons

"The software layer has to improve."

"We would like to see VNC integration or be able to use Pure Storage with VNC."

"The tool's portfolio is minimal. It is expensive."

"Every time I think of something that needs to improve, they're one step ahead, which I love. The only area I wish to see improve, I believe is coming, is in the FlashBlade product. Blade implementation fell short on a few of the services."

"Right now, the box itself is just strictly working as a backend storage system. It would be fantastic if we could access it directly like a NAS device through network access or SIS drives. I think they have an interface, but I am not sure how good it is. If we could address a box directly on the network without having to go through a server, it would be great. The replication schemas could be improved. We are not using replication on the storage level right now. We use a different type of replication. If their replication would be as good as the one that we have, I would probably run the replication schema because it might be faster, but I don't know that for a fact. So, I cannot say that they have good replication. All I can say is that they need to inform us better."

"I would like to see some AI features that would allow arrays to intelligently identify threats or unusual behavior in the data pattern and give an alert."

"If the customer only needs 500 terabytes and doesn't care how much data they'll put in the server, IBM is cheaper than Pure."

"It is on the expensive side."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe cons

"I would like to see more integration features with different platforms."

"In terms of marketing, they need to improve by putting more effort into making people aware of their products, especially in our region."

"The technical support has been a let down for us. It's something the company has to work on. We haven't been satisfied with their level of service."

"The deployment took a little longer."

"The overall price of the solution should be reduced."

"I would like to see the next generation all-flash, which could be combined."

"From a political perspective, there are issues selling Chinese brands to Western companies, as some may not be permitted to use them."

"The product must improve the local technical support in China."

More Huawei OceanStor cons

"This solution does not have any compression or deduplication."

"I would like to shrink it more, if we can. The smaller, the better."

"The support of the product is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."

"The management interface, while very reliable, it seems a little old now and could maybe use a little modernization."

"A little more manageability, a simpler management interface. It's not necessarily that it's way overly complex. It's just that it's not as easy as the FAS series."

"As far as the manageability, being able to port between the two and have to do less training in-house from a customer point of view, that would be the part to improve."

"I've observed an issue when creating a new storage solution with NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays."

"Things like the FlexClones, SnapVault, SnapMirror, all of that. Some of it's available on the EF series, but we like what we have in the FAS system."

More NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They can tout the functionality and cutting edge technology that they have, but that's where the price tag comes in. The cost is high, but I think as they grow their business and get more customers that it will probably go down a little bit."

"Pretty much everything that you need is licensed when you buy the product. Licensing to me is different than the maintenance cost, but they can bleed into one another. We buy the product, and we expect three years of support bundled into what we negotiate on our storage arrays. I would start to see maintenance costs going into the fourth year, but we're not there yet."

"The tool is an investment that we've budgeted for. While the prices may be higher than those of other vendors, we see it as a market leader with benefits. We don't regret purchasing it."

"We pay approximately $50,000 USD per year in licensing fees."

"The support cost per array is about $20,000 a year for 24/7 support."

"The product is expensive."

"The tool's pricing is cheap; I rate it a six to seven out of ten. Most of our sales are not subscription-based. We sell the hardware, and customers keep using it. They only renew the service part annually. The support can be a bit pricey, but the solution is more cost-effective than anything else out there."

"Its price could be better. It is not too expensive, but it is the high-end cost. It is kind of a Rolls-Royce. You pay a lot, but you get a lot out of it. So, the price pressure on the way down would be great, but at the end of the day, if you need to do the work, you just pay for it."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe pricing and cost advice

"It's roughly affordable."

"The price of the license is quite low, so it's not something special or expensive."

"I am satisfied with the tool's pricing, which is in the middle. It is overpriced. I rate it an eight out of ten."

"The product is cheap."

"We pay a monthly licensing fee for this solution. The price could be less expensive."

"Huawei OceanStor is priced very well but is a bit complicated."

"The price of Huawei OceanStor should be less expensive. It is expensive at the moment."

"The price of the solution could be less expensive. However, there are not any licensing costs."

More Huawei OceanStor pricing and cost advice

"The price point for EF is considerably lower than the alternatives."

"he price point that we're getting is very competitive in the market. Since we are buying in such a large quantity, they gave us a huge discount."

"Adding more capacity will increase the cost."

"The pricing of the solution is expensive, considering the initial investment required...At the end of the product's life cycle, it could get cheaper, but the initial investment in NetApp makes it one of the most expensive solutions."

"It's a way to get relatively low-cost, very high-performance, low-latency block storage as a point solution."

"The pricing is comparable with other competitors and similar in mid-range solutions, and for high range solutions, it would depend on our requirements or needs."

"NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays is an expensive product."

"Most of my customers pay for the license on a yearly basis. It can be expensive depending on the capacity number."

More NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

University

Computer Software Company

11%

Performing Arts

11%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	12

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	26
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	7

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	12
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	18

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

Pure FlashArray X NVMe helps to improve our processing speed. It is user-friendly and easy to use.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

The price of Pure FlashArray X NVMe is very expensive, though I do not know the actual price because I am using the E...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Pure FlashArray X NVMe?

I have no specific improvements to suggest for Pure FlashArray X NVMe at this time. The performance statistics could ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Huawei OceanStor?

Huawei OceanStor has the capability of SSDs, high-performance disks, and higher disk support.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Huawei OceanStor?

Huawei OceanStor's pricing is very aggressive, making it highly competitive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Huawei OceanStor?

Huawei currently lacks a solution for high-performance AI, unlike other companies like DDN, WekaIO, or IBM BlueStore....

See all answers

What do you like most about NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays?

Considering the cost, I find NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays to be the best storage available in the market.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays?

One has to opt for a perpetual-based licensing model for one year or three years. After three years, you need to rene...

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays?

The support of the product is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required. I want NetApp's supp...

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerStore vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 24% of the time

TrueNAS R-Series vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 16% of the time

Dell PowerMax vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 13% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 11% of the time

HPE Alletra Storage vs Pure FlashArray X NVMe

Compared 10% of the time

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe Competitors

Huawei OceanStor Dorado vs Huawei OceanStor

Compared 23% of the time

Dell PowerStore vs Huawei OceanStor

Compared 17% of the time

NetApp AFF vs Huawei OceanStor

Compared 13% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Huawei OceanStor

Compared 7% of the time

HPE StoreOnce vs Huawei OceanStor

Compared 7% of the time

More Huawei OceanStor Competitors

Dell PowerStore vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays

Compared 41% of the time

NetApp AFF vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays

Compared 20% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays

Compared 18% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays

Compared 10% of the time

NetApp ASA vs NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays

Compared 10% of the time

More NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure FlashArray X NVMe

August 2025

Download Pure FlashArray X NVMe product report

Buyer's Guide

Huawei OceanStor

September 2025

Download Huawei OceanStor product report

Buyer's Guide

NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays

August 2025

NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays report

Download NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays product report

Also Known As

Pure FlashArray//X NVMe, Pure FlashArray//X, FlashArray//X

OceanStor Dorado V3 All-Flash Storage System, OceanStor 18000 V3 Series Storage Systems, OceanStor 6800 V3 Storage System

NetApp EF540, NetApp EF-Series

Overview

Pure Storage FlashArray//X is the world’s first enterprise-class, all-NVMe flash storage array. It represents a new class of storage – shared accelerated storage, which is a term coined by Gartner – that delivers major breakthroughs in performance, simplicity, and consolidation.

Pure Storage

OceanStor Dorado V3 is the industry's first all-flash storage that puts NVMe into commercial use. It is specially designed for enterprises' mission-critical businesses, meeting the most-demanding performance and reliability requirements of databases, VDI, server virtualization, and SAP HANA.

Huawei

The NetApp EF560 all-flash array is an all-SSD storage system for applications that demand extremely high levels of performance and reliability. Requiring just 2U of rack space, the EF560 all-flash array combines extreme IOPS, microsecond response times, and up to 12GBps of bandwidth with leading, enterprise-proven availability features.

NetApp

Sample Customers

Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company

Piraeus, Clinique Univeritaires Saint-Luc

RP Data, Western Oregon University, Toei Animation

Buyer's Guide

Huawei OceanStor vs. NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays

September 2025

Free Report: Huawei OceanStor vs. NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays

Find out what your peers are saying about Huawei OceanStor vs. NetApp EF-Series All Flash Arrays and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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