Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Veeam Backup & Replication comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell PowerScale (Isilon)
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
46
Ranking in other categories
NAS (1st), File and Object Storage (3rd)
Veeam Backup & Replication
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
329
Ranking in other categories
Backup and Recovery (1st), Cloud Backup (1st), Disaster Recovery (DR) Software (1st)
 

Market share comparison

As of June 2024, in the NAS category, the market share of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is 24.5% and it increased by 15.1% compared to the previous year. The market share of Veeam Backup & Replication is 0.7% and it decreased by 58.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
NAS
Unique Categories:
File and Object Storage
7.1%
Backup and Recovery
19.6%
Cloud Backup
15.1%
 

Featured Reviews

Balázs Gál - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 5, 2024
Performs well, meets our demands and easy to setup
The disk failure handling could be better. We had a few issues because one disk failed, which slightly impacted the whole node, but overall, the performance is stable. We had to expand and increase the storage capacity, but it turned out we needed a totally new cluster because we couldn't expand the current one due to software incompatibilities. We think the backend network should be upgraded from InfiniBand to Ethernet networking, and we had to buy a new cluster. Dell has significantly increased the prices of new nodes, by a lot. As a result, we're considering new vendors because if prices increase by 300%, then the clients will look elsewhere. The disc server handling is not the best. Maybe the tiering logic could be improved. It's based on our age or some other logic but not on disk usage. If you have a tier one, you don’t want to load it completely; it deserves some free space for new data, and you can’t manage that with the current tiering logic. That’s where this software or this solution could be improved.
DJIBRINE AGADJI - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 29, 2023
Has a straightforward backup process
It required 2-3 people to deploy. It is deployed in a hybrid manner. It took almost 2-3 hours for the process to complete. The deployment procedure begins by accessing the Veeam Backup website to download the necessary software. Subsequently, the software is managed on the server where installation is intended. Before proceeding with installation, it's recommended to have a backup, ensuring functionality on the server. The installation process itself is distinct, not combined with the backup sector. Each step is downloadable, contributing to the installation information. The final step involves creating a backup job. Users can choose the backup type they prefer, whether it's full, implemented, or differential. Following this, the backup can be saved on desired media, such as servers.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's easy to manage. The web UI is very intuitive, and there's CLI also that you can use to manage it."
"Dell PowerScale's performance is good."
"PowerScale has made it extremely easy to scale file data across our organization. We have two implementations of Isilon. One is a replica of the other. When scaling, we add nodes to each location and expand the cluster. The process is straightforward."
"The product's scalability feature is super easy to use."
"The most valuable feature we started using, beyond the initial scope for the solution, is the multi-protocol system that allows you to access the same set of files using different network protocols like NFS or SMB. PowerScale’s Unified Permission Model ensures that data security and access permissions are honoured regardless of whether the client is a Windows desktop or a Linux server"
"It assists with eliminating storage silos because it provides SMB and NFS protocols. PowerScale has also helped free up our employee's time to focus on other business priorities."
"PowerScale allows us to manage storage without managing RAID groups or migrating volumes between controllers. It has really simplified things. We're not having to worry about the underlying infrastructure. That takes care of itself. We just worry about the data. It's really easy for deploying and managing storage at the petabyte scale."
"The guaranteed performance, combined with the scalability through its scale-out capability, makes it an excellent choice."
"The solution does a good job with VM backups."
"I have found one of the most valuable features to be the integrity of the backups."
"The backup and replication features are most valuable."
"What I like most about this solution are the simplicity and the price-performance ratio."
"Initially setting up the product is easy."
"A quick-working solution that is very user friendly."
"Veeam Backup & Replication is definitely very useful and simple to learn, and the restoring processes are very straightforward, making it a very solid product."
"The initial setup was very easy."
 

Cons

"That said, for the other security features, it would be helpful if Tenable - and I know it's outside the scope of this question itself - had Isilon-specific plugins."
"The solution isn't suitable for small environments or small customers."
"The management and monitoring tools comprise a disparate suite of products and the roadmap is very unclear. We've got four different products that look after the Isilon, management-wise, and it's a bit of a mess."
"The only thing that I think PowerScale could do better is improving the HTTP data access protocol. At the present, you cannot protect access to data via HTTP or HTTPS the same way that you can secure data access through other protocols like NFS or SMB[...]the Unified Permission Model that would allow a user to authenticate before being able to access a private file, does not apply."
"Additional metadata reporting would be great. We have to use a separate tool to report on that. We would like to view the age of data and how long it has been since someone has accessed a file."
"Dell PowerScale's deployment is not easy."
"There is room for improvement with the updates. It can take a significant amount of time to do a major OS update. However, even though it takes multiple reboots, the cluster stays up. If we want to apply a newer version of the OS, we have to roll back some of the patches so that we can upgrade. It requires a few reboots just to do that. The cluster doesn't come down, everything is still running, but it's time-consuming, at times."
"The thing that they are working on now, and we are following closely is more native cloud integrations. The way that we envision workloads in the future is around moving compute to data instead of the other way around. So, we would like to have a single pane glass to manage storage across a variety of different platforms, including native cloud. That would be awesome."
"The ability to do more backups should be addressed."
"It is efficient but can improve security-wise."
"There should be better use of the external hard drives."
"Device backup could be improved."
"Cross-hypervisor replication can be improved."
"The Veeam backup application interface is application-based and not web-based."
"The licensing models, from a reseller's perspective, could be better."
"In terms of what could be improved, when creating a backup job with Veeam, you can create a daily backup, but it doesn't do it within that job. It does not give you the ability to also set the terms for monthly and/or weekly backups. It has to be a separate job. It gets clunky to manage the timeframes where you don't want a daily to run on this day and creating weeklies. And you don't want a daily to run on this day doing monthlies. That is hard to deal with. It would be really nice if you could do it through a single command line or a single interface."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Dealing with the product costs and licensing areas is getting easier since Dell is simplifying the licensing process and licensing packages offered to users."
"Dell PowerScale is an expensive solution compared to other products like Qumulo."
"We paid an additional fee to have Dell's ProDeploy Plus team implement it."
"This solution is priced slightly higher than others on the market but does offer good quality. With this solution's data reduction and compression, we were able to purchase less. Costs have dropped because of the data rate of compression and deduplication."
"The solution's licensing cost varies based on capacity and performance requirements."
"The only drawback for us is that it's a large upfront investment. This was a huge decision for a startup company to make. It took a bit for us to get over the line on it, but we have not regretted it."
"The price of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is reasonable."
"We use the TNA approach which is a great opportunity for us to better manage the licenses based on how much consumption is available for the different customers so we can use that approach and scalability."
"The price of Veeam Backup Replication is reasonable."
"The subscription-based pricing of Veeam Backup Replication is competitive."
"We try to use perpetual licensing, and there are no additional costs. They have recently moved to universal licensing, which is more expensive, and I would like them to go back to host licensing."
"Veeam products are less expensive than other products. The licensing costs are low and they're pretty affordable."
"We have a yearly perpetual license."
"The price of Veeam Backup Replication has been increasing their price and my customers are asking why. They have CPU-based licenses and a Universal License, the prices should be reduced."
"I don't know what the costs are for sure, but I think that it's on a yearly basis."
"The price is a bit high. Licensing type is VMware friendly, so it is easy."
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Comparison Review

it_user159711 - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 9, 2014
VMware SRM vs. Veeam vs. Zerto
Disaster recovery planning is something that seems challenging for all businesses. Virtualization in addition to its operational flexibility, and cost reduction benefits, has helped companies improve their DR posture. Virtualization has made it easier to move machines from production to…
 

Answers from the Community

GG
Nov 19, 2021
Nov 19, 2021
Assuming you want to keep the data within the datacenter, there are a few options: For Small deployments (~20-100TB's), you could mount share(s) on any backup (media) server and backup the data up over the network using a file-system agent - Veeam could easily support this. For Medium deployments (~100TB - 1PB), you could use any backup system that supports NDMP. Not sure if Veeam supports NDMP...
2 out of 5 answers
SimonClark - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 5, 2021
There are a number of alternative cloud solutions available e.g. Druva.  However, if the price is a key factor then you may benefit from by using an Managed Service Provider (MSP). MSP's white label large, credible & established platforms. They provide the same level of speed, uptime, resilience and security as a key brand name but can be as much as half the price. The management of the backup will be optionally yours or fully outsourced to the MSP.  Another benefit of the MSP model is that they will have other skills to complement your own internal resources potentially adding further layers of security and backend IT people to support your operation.
CvanderH - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 5, 2021
I have no experience with Dell EMC PowerScale though I do know that it is supported by Veeam.  A Veeam Scale Out Backup Repository can distribute the load across the PowerScale cluster via multiple Backup Repository Extents each defined to use a different cluster node DNS A record and path. When backups exceed the maximum file size limitation even with Veeam deduplication and compression, other considerations should be made.   Note:  Disable the write coalescer on the share directory and all sub-directories used by Veeam. PowerScale is a complex system and therefore I would advise you to contact Veeam experts on how to deploy Veeam in accordance with PowerScale. But a Scale Out Back Repository is an option, also XFS with reflink supports any Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon) configuration.  MSP's are fine too if you are comfortable with having data outside your datacenter.   dsmISI VEEAM (general-storage.com)
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
23%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?
The solution provides massive performance, scalability, efficiency, and ease of management.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?
It is a really expensive solution. I would rate the pricing a nine out of ten, with one being low price and ten being high price.
What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?
Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is a bit expensive compared to other products.
Major Differences Between These 4 Backup and Disaster Recovery Solutions?
Comparing the features of the four is not the right approach. You need to develop a list of requirements for backup and DR that are specific to your organization and then compare each of the four ...
How do the backup solutions of Veeam and Veritas compare?
Technically, Veeam is best for hyper-v & VMWare replications, snapshots, HA failover, also support for file system backups inside VMs., support for tape library & FC too. But Veritas Netbac...
How does Nakivo compare with Veeam Backup & Replication?
Nakivo is my favorite backup software. Below are the main benefits of Nakivo compared to Veeam 1. Low cost. 2. Backup storage with global deduplication (this is the main requirement of a backup sol...
 

Also Known As

PowerScale, Dell EMC Isilon
Veeam Backup and Replication, Veeam Availability Suite
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

OMRF, University of Utah, Translational Genetics Research Institute, Arcis, Geofizyka Torumn, Cyprus E&P Corporation, Colburn School, Columbia Sportswear, Harvard Medical School, University of Michigan, National Library of France,
Vodafone, American Standard Brands, Welch’s, University of Florida, Tata Global Beverages Limited, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Hirslanden Private Hospital Group, MacLean-Fogg Company
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