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IBM SAN Volume Control vs NetApp OnCommand 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

IBM SAN Volume Control
Ranking in Storage Management
4th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NetApp OnCommand
Ranking in Storage Management
1st
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Storage Management category, the mindshare of IBM SAN Volume Control is 6.0%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp OnCommand is 8.3%, down from 11.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Storage Management
 

Featured Reviews

Nagendra Nekkala. - PeerSpot reviewer
A sustainable product that has ultra-low latency and reliable security features
Initially, we had some challenges with massive amounts of customer data. We have an airport segment where the passenger data are required, and it’s huge data. We needed a system that could store bulk data with low latency and provide a good customer experience. The solution is very famous. Ultra latency provides miraculous performance and productivity. It also enables advanced virtualization for good scalability. Anyone can opt to use the product. Overall, I rate the tool an eight out of ten.
Henry Aragon - PeerSpot reviewer
Versatile data protocols improve efficiency while execution capabilities need enhancement
The ease of configuring NetApp FAS series is noteworthy, as they support multiple standards like iSCSI, NFS, Fibre Channel, and NVMe. NetApp's data efficiency protocols are unmatched in the industry. ActiveIQ offers significant improvements in data monitoring and error notification. It provides crucial data management features and has versatile support for various protocols and standards, making it a one-size-fits-all storage solution.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The virtualization layer has been great."
"With SVC it is very easy to manage and to use for migration, meaning that when we want to move or to keep control of the volume or update a server database, it is very easy. That's why we use it."
"The solution is easy to use, easily configurable, and easy to upgrade, manipulate, and add new storage."
"The product has an ultra-low latency."
"The most valuable features of IBM SAN Volume Control are the copy services, performance metrics, and analysis. Additionally, they have upgraded and introduced visual volumes."
"In OnCommand Unified Manager, we can monitor the entire cluster as well as configure data protection through Unified Manager."
"The ease of configuring NetApp FAS series is noteworthy, as they support multiple standards like iSCSI, NFS, Fibre Channel, and NVMe."
"I am impressed with the product's ability to warn us whenever something is wrong with the system. It is connected with Active Directory and Exchange. Whenever there is anything wrong with NetApp, the solution will alert you to an event error, post which you can start to troubleshoot."
"Snapshot is a valuable feature."
"One of the main features is the ability to run the block and file storage from the same system."
 

Cons

"Patch management and upgrades must be made easier."
"IBM SAN Volume Control could improve by better integrations with other vendor systems. IBM SAN Volume Control can store the environment and are able to integrate with Veeam, but I don't know if they can integrate as well with SVC or other vendors' systems."
"I would like to see the usage of virtualized storage boxes improved. I'd like to see this feature fixed, especially for SVC controller, and to be able to hold more storage."
"IBM support can be very slow."
"They just need to put in the snap volume because now they use what is called a flash copy. This means that you have to take all the volume instead of NetApp which uses their snapshot."
"ActiveIQ only provides read access and does not allow making changes directly."
"The tool is not intuitive and the menus are confusing, especially the snapshot view."
"At present, OnCommand Unified Manager has just the monitoring and data protection features. It would be better to add some features for entire cluster management and storage management. Automation should also be included so that instead of separately accessing Unified Manager and OnCommand Workflow Automation, we can work in a single window. It is very much required."
"The solution lacks the ability to generate reports from Snapshot."
"There could be better performance in block storage and the GUI could be improved because not every operation is available. You need some operations in the CLI."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The initial price of IBM SAN Volume Control is steep."
"With SAN Volume Controller, we need to license by terabyte."
"The tool is cheaper than EMC but more expensive than HP and Pure Storage. I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
"When we compare with other similar kinds of products from Dell EMC and HP, the price of NetApp OnCommand is reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Energy/Utilities Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Government
20%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Insurance Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What advice do you have for others considering IBM SAN Volume Control?
Initially, we had some challenges with massive amounts of customer data. We have an airport segment where the passenger data are required, and it’s huge data. We needed a system that could store bu...
What do you like most about NetApp OnCommand?
I am impressed with the product's ability to warn us whenever something is wrong with the system. It is connected with Active Directory and Exchange. Whenever there is anything wrong with NetApp, t...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp OnCommand?
NetApp collaborates with us to provide deals when possible, optimizing storage based on business requirements, allowing us to save on costs for unnecessary storage space.
What needs improvement with NetApp OnCommand?
ActiveIQ only provides read access and does not allow making changes directly. Making it capable of executing changes to NetApp would be beneficial.
 

Also Known As

IBM SVC
NetApp Operations Manager, NetApp SANscreen
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Norfolk County Council, Yahoo Japan, Sheridan College, Citrix Systems, Avanade, Quasar Data Center, DG Khan Cement Co. Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM SAN Volume Control vs. NetApp OnCommand and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,963 professionals have used our research since 2012.