Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users
NetApp FAS Series Logo

NetApp FAS Series pros and cons

Vendor: NetApp
4.4 out of 5
Badge Ranked 1

Pros & Cons summary

Buyer's Guide

Get pricing advice, tips, use cases and valuable features from real users of this product.
Get the report

Prominent pros & cons

PROS

NetApp FAS Series offers excellent performance and cost-efficiency, providing long-term speed optimization without the typical performance degradation seen in other products.
The integration of SnapMirror and SnapVault significantly enhances data protection and recovery, facilitating seamless disaster recovery operations.
The system is highly stable and reliable, able to manage heavy loads without compromising performance, which is essential for 24/7 operations.
Its unified storage capabilities allow for the simultaneous use of multiple protocols, including block and file-level protocols, and the setup is straightforward and well-documented.
The advanced features like double-parity RAID, compression, deduplication, and exceptional reliability make it a preferred choice for comprehensive data management and protection.

CONS

NetApp FAS Series is expensive and the pricing should be made more competitive.
There is a need for improved SAN support and scalability.
The command line is often required, making it less user-friendly than expected.
Technical support and supply chain logistics need enhancements, especially regarding parts delivery and replication features.
Enhanced cloud integration and on-premise to cloud interface could be improved.
 

NetApp FAS Series Pros review quotes

reviewer2560449 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 24, 2024
It gives us the performance we need and the reliability we need to make sure that our systems have the uptime that our internal customers demand.
TW
Aug 10, 2023
The SnapMirror is a good tool because, as long as you're going NetApp to NetApp, it's ultimately the fastest way to move data. We replicate everything to another site for disaster recovery.
GA
Jan 17, 2022
Flexible and reliable storage solution with multiple features such as cloning, replication, and deduplication. Data migration can be done without any performance implications on the production systems.
Learn what your peers think about NetApp FAS Series. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2025.
871,688 professionals have used our research since 2012.
LS
Jul 27, 2020
For us, the greatest aspect of the solution is the fact that it just runs. It is amazingly resilient. That's very important to us, because we are basically, with some exceptions, have a 24/7 operation.
reviewer2689182 - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 9, 2025
In NetApp FAS Series, I appreciate the visibility.
Srikanth Purushothaman - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 8, 2025
An advantage we've seen with NetApp FAS Series is that snapshots provide very rapid backup and fast recovery.
AR
Sep 25, 2024
The ONTAP tools make managing VMware easier.
HT
Apr 17, 2025
The biggest advantage that makes NetApp FAS Series better is that we can use RAID technology on the storage.
Temitope Oladeji - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 22, 2021
I like the unified management feature because sometimes you end up running a single protocol on the entire system.
AdrianoSimao - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 3, 2022
The replication feature is noteworthy because it's faster than most and it uses little bandwidth. Then there's the friendly interface that the equipment offers. With this interface, it is very easy to manage.
 

NetApp FAS Series Cons review quotes

reviewer2560449 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 24, 2024
When we were going through all the MFA hardening and the anti-ransomware setup, I gave some feedback to our executive. The MFA process for getting that set up on the AFF systems was cumbersome compared to some of our other systems.
TW
Aug 10, 2023
NetApp systems are somewhat more complex, though not excessively so. If you're transitioning from a Windows server environment to NetApp, get training or education; otherwise, you might struggle with this solution.
GA
Jan 17, 2022
No other area for improvement comes to mind other than its price. Making the price more attractive will help this solution have a bigger market share.
Learn what your peers think about NetApp FAS Series. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2025.
871,688 professionals have used our research since 2012.
LS
Jul 27, 2020
The one aspect of the solution that's negative for us is also more unique to us due to the fact that we did a MetroCluster. The tiebreaker piece that does the monitoring of the two different locations, and determines if one is not talking to the network normally (or if it's truly down) is a little difficult. It feels like it was not designed from the beginning to fit well into the other pieces. It feels like it was thrown in at the last minute and it is not smooth.
reviewer2689182 - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 9, 2025
It was not possible to have a custom user inside ONTAP without the delete permission to delete the volume. We wanted others to be able to create a SnapMirror and volume, but have no volume deletion permission. In the newest version, it seems to already be in place, but there was a bug enabling this one in older versions 9.11, 9.10, or earlier.
Srikanth Purushothaman - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 8, 2025
The main area for improvement for NetApp FAS Series is price. Unfortunately, in India, NetApp price clearance takes longer than EMC.
AR
Sep 25, 2024
It's hard to find in-person training that fits our schedule in our area. They offer a lot of online training, but we need somewhere to go because we can't really get away from the office.
HT
Apr 17, 2025
Regarding the stability of NetApp FAS Series, I would rate it seven or seven point five because there are frequent panic messages.
Temitope Oladeji - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 22, 2021
Interfacing with the cloud environment could be better. I want to be able to move some cloud volume and integrate it seamlessly with my home on-premise storage. Sometimes I have issues with port permissions. NetApp probably needs to improve more on the integration side from on-premise to the cloud.
AdrianoSimao - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 3, 2022
I think this kind of infrastructure is mostly obsolete. To keep up with developments in this space, you need to move all these features to an All-Flash solution.