Dell Unity XT vs Huawei OceanStor comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Mar 1, 2023

We performed a comparison between Dell Unity XT and Huawei OceanStor based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: Users describe Dell Unity XT and Huawei OceanStor as easy and straightforward to deploy.
  • Features: Reviewers like Dell Unity XT because it has good performance and reliable replication, deduplication, compression, snapshots, vCenter integration, and Unity XT box features. The areas of the product that require improvement are related to monitoring and reporting. Huawei OceanStor is a scalable solution with valuable management, hybrid applications and storage, data performance, bandwidth, availability, and flexibility features. Its drawbacks include integration with other vendors, the user interface, and configuration.
  • Pricing: Dell Unity XT is an expensive solution but its users find that it is worth it because of the features it offers. According to its reviewers, Huawei OceanStor has a complex licensing model that can make the product a lot more expensive than competitors.

  • Service and Support: The support for both Dell Unity XT and Huawei OceanStor is good but requires improvements in their communication speed and quality.

Comparison Results: Based on the parameters we compared, Dell Unity XT came out ahead of Huawei OceanStor. Both products have similar deployment difficulty and support quality, but Huawei OceanStor has more features that need improvement and can get expensive, depending on the chosen licensing.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell Unity XT vs. Huawei OceanStor Report (Updated: March 2024).
770,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"Offers excellent features like efficient data reduction, a reliable SafeMode, and a great support model for continuous assistance and updates.""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.""Pure has signature security technology, which cannot be deleted, even if you are an administrator.""It's helped us because we've changed fundamentally what we talk about. We don't talk about storage and different tiers of storage anymore nor do we talk about servers. We talk now about applications and how applications impact the business and end users.""What I really like about this program, is that it is easy to use and easy to configurate.""It has good, reliable, fast storage.""The duplication algorithm allows us to get a lot more use out of less storage. We're running a five terabyte array right now and we're running probably about 30 terabytes on it. So the duplication rate is pretty phenomenal, without a cost to performance. It still runs pretty smoothly.""The most valuable feature of this solution is its ease of use."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe Pros →

"The Unity XT box is very strong. It doesn't break. The MTBF time is very large so you don't have to worry about faults or outages in your operations.""It's unified, it does block and file, so that is pretty important to my customers who might have file servers around their environment. I can roll them all up into a single array, as well as provide block storage for them on one array.""The UI itself is fantastic, and the ease of administration is far better than Unisphere or Navisphere ever were. It's very easy to manage. The fact that it has built-in APIs means our automation people can help us automate a lot of tasks, and that has been helpful. And, of course, it's really fast. Obviously, that doesn't hurt anything at all.""The Dell EMC unity interface is simple to manage. We manage it by ourselves. We create logs to store data.""It is great because it can work as a SAN and net storage.""We particularly like the user interface on cloud IQ with this product.""The way it takes the Snaps, that is one of the best features. Snapshot performance is what is key in the Unity, compared to a traditional VNX.""It has made deployment, configuration, and maintenance a lot simpler."

More Dell Unity XT Pros →

"The solution is easy to use.""Huawei OceanStor is easy to manage.""The most valuable feature of Huawei OceanStor is the hybrid applications.""The solution works well for non-critical applications that do not require a heavy workload. The tool's all features are valuable.""The initial setup was straightforward.""Huawei OceanStor is a good product. Its interface is very simple. The complexities we encounter with recovery points are gone. We just attach to remote storage, click the application, and it starts.""Great value for money.""The pricing is very reasonable."

More Huawei OceanStor Pros →

Cons
"In the future, I would like to see integration with enterprise backup systems.""We have run into a couple of instances recently where we are running out of space. So we have had to buy some more packs for it and they have deployed fine and it has increased smoothly.""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.""Many options to check performance, like read, writes, random writes, and random reads, are missing in Pure FlashArray X NVMe.""We would like to see more visibility into garbage collection and CPU performance in the GUI.""We need better data deduplication.""I'd like to see the product implement active replication for vehicles such as VMware."

More Pure FlashArray X NVMe Cons →

"One of the issues we've had is that controllers have crashed several times... We've had a lot of problems with the storage processor, SPBs. We've actually had them crash.""The uses of tools to communicate with EMC directly. With EMC, I am not able to connect and resolve issues without assistance, so they can't do unattended maintenance on devices, which would be a massive benefit if they could.""The biggest one for us, and the reason we don't use it more, is that we can't throttle the replication speed. If it's on, it's on. So we have to be a little more WAN-sensitive, in some applications, which means we can't put it everywhere. That's the biggest issue for us, by far.""Scalability of this solution could be improved.""Firmware Upgrades in EMC Unity require you to manually download OS and Drive firmware, this should be integrated (Nimble does this). When you order an EMC Unity, you have to specify the block size. This is weird for me and even weirder that you cannot change this afterwards, you should be able to specify per LUN/datastore (Nimble does this as well).""If you compare it with VMAX, where we communicate with the box through Solutions Enabler and there are a lot of commands and a lot of flexibility, the command line for Unity needs to enhanced.""Improve the administrative user interface so it is easier to work with. Currently, a simple task, such as removing a host from 100 LUNS, takes a lot of time. If they could improve LUN to host model to be more like the EMC VPLEX, for example, it would be great.""It isn't easy to find trusted partners for the product. The solution has issues with mid-level storage and does not come with enterprise storage."

More Dell Unity XT Cons →

"Huawei OceanStor should work on its saturation level and should be able to take up more load. It should give the same performance that it gives at 20 or 30 percent load for 80 percent as well.""I would like to see the next generation all-flash, which could be combined.""The duration of the built-in snapshot technology must be improved.""The deployment took a little longer.""The user interface is not so user friendly.""The solution needs to improve the compression side of the application.""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.""Its storage capacity could be better."

More Huawei OceanStor Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "With Pure Storage, we would like to continue seeing price reductions with flash storage. I don't think we're any different than anybody else when we continue to look to the industry for price reductions of both NVMe and traditional SSD storage. We would like to see these prices continue to decline and erode, even displacing large spinning disks."
  • "We pay approximately $50,000 USD per year in licensing fees."
  • "With VMware, we pay $300,000 annually."
  • "Our licensing fees are $500,000+ USD."
  • "As far as the licensing costs, everything is included in the license."
  • "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."
  • "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."
  • "The licensing is on a yearly basis."
  • More Pure FlashArray X NVMe Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The price is good for commercial grade storage arrays."
  • "This unit is one of the cheapest storage all-flash arrays in the market and it does well for what it is intended. It can be combined for both file and block storage."
  • "Licensing is easy since all the software is included."
  • "This product is cheaper than the EMC VNX solution. It is good for small businesses."
  • "It is shipped with all licensed, included for this product range, no need to buy additional licenses"
  • "The only improvement would be a lower cost per unit/disks, however on the whole we are very pleased with this product."
  • "For costing, you have to have a budget in mind because SANs can be fairly expensive and EMC offers a wide range of products."
  • "The pricing was quite okay compared to others. We probably got it cheaper because we were the first ones out of the gate, but I would say that it's good value for the money."
  • More Dell Unity XT Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "This product value matches its price."
  • "It's roughly affordable."
  • "Pricing is very fair."
  • "Huawei OceanStor is priced very well but is a bit complicated."
  • "The price of the solution could be less expensive. However, there are not any licensing costs."
  • "We pay a monthly licensing fee for this solution. The price could be less expensive."
  • "The pricing depends on the features the customer wants, such as storage, RAM, and processors, but in general, Huawei is much cheaper compared to Dell and Cisco."
  • "The price of Huawei OceanStor should be less expensive. It is expensive at the moment."
  • More Huawei OceanStor Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:The standout features for us in Pure FlashArray X NVMe are its robust DDoS protection, seamless transparent failover… more »
    Top Answer:I would rate the solution as an eight out of ten in terms of costliness.
    Top Answer:There is room for improvement in catering to midrange storage needs, especially for customers seeking Enterprise-class… more »
    Top Answer:I saw that you have doubts about what you chose. I have a lot of experience with the constructor, honestly I can… more »
    Top Answer:They’re both great solutions and I’ve used both EMC is being VERY aggressive on pricing which may be the undoing of… more »
    Top Answer:First of all the decision should be taken looking at similar products in terms of capacity and performance I will show… more »
    Top Answer:Huawei OceanStor has the capability of SSDs, high-performance disks, and higher disk support.
    Top Answer:Overall, the solution's pricing was cheaper. We need to pay for the solution's license. Users can configure the licenses… more »
    Top Answer:The solution’s reporting could be improved.
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Pure FlashArray//X NVMe, Pure FlashArray//X, FlashArray//X
    EMC Unity, Dell EMC Unity
    OceanStor Dorado V3 All-Flash Storage System, OceanStor 18000 V3 Series Storage Systems, OceanStor 6800 V3 Storage System
    Learn More
    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.

    Dell EMC Unity XT is one of the best all-flash storage arrays on the market today. Dell EMC Unity XT arrays are designed for performance, optimized for efficiency, and built for a multi-cloud world. In addition, they support digital transformation, enabling businesses to reach the full potential of their data capital quickly and easily. Dell EMC Unity’s All-Flash and Hybrid Flash storage platforms provide the performance, efficiency, enterprise-class software, and virtualization integrations required for running a wide range of virtualized applications.

    Dell EMC Unity XT Features

    Dell EMC Unity XT has many valuable key features, including:

    • Unified storage flexibility: With Dell EMC Unity XT you can consolidate separate storage platforms into a single Unity XT unified storage system via a simple and intuitive (HTML5) management GUI that also connects you to CloudIQ.

    • All-inclusive data protection: Dell EMC Unity XT offers a reliable way to protect application data with all-inclusive data protection services, including snapshots, data-at-rest drive encryption, replication, thin clones, and dynamic pools.

    • Software-defined solutions: Dell EMC Unity XT provides software-defined storage and HA for on-prem and in the cloud solutions.

    • Multi-cloud alignment: With Dell EMC Unity XT you have the ability to build and manage an effective data-first multi-cloud strategy. It allows you to consolidate public and private cloud resources that align with your business goals.

    • Metro node: This feature enables automated business continuity with zero RPO and RTO. It also provides greater flexibility through multi-platform support and replication to any array and has zero performance impact on the storage array.

    • Scalable file system: Dell EMC Unity XT is built with a robust 256TBu file system. The UFS64 file system includes up to 256 independent VMDK clones, 16 thin clones, space efficient snapshots with a simple space reclaim and low IO impact, file system shrink that can reclaim free blocks, simplified Quotas for User, and much more.

    • DevOps integrations: Dell EMC Unity XT supports the Container Storage Interface (CSI) plugin to run Kubernetes workloads.

    Dell EMC Unity XT Benefits

    Some of the benefits of using Dell EMC Unity XT include:

    • High-speed data access
    • Low latency
    • Dual-active controller architecture
    • Multi-cloud
    • Intuitive user interface
    • Cost efficient
    • Solid performance

    Reviews from Real Users

    Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by Dell EMC Unity XT users.

    A Systems Engineering Manager at a manufacturing company says, "It is definitely one of the most robust, solid, well-performing products that I have dealt with. It is set it and forget it, which is pretty amazing." He also mentions, “We can do both block and file storage on one unit without purchasing a separate device.”

    Peter S., Senior Technical Specialist at a healthcare company, states, “The most valuable feature is reliability. At the end of the day, it just runs. This solution is easy to work with and easy to maintain.”

    PeerSpot user Melvin T., Senior Systems Engineer at Prosperity Bank, explains that the solution is “easy to use and we can add LUNs or space without interruption to end-users. We're able to access it from just about anywhere, as long as we have access to a browser. That feature is really neat because sometimes we will go to a different data center or a different site, and if we need to access it to see a LUN or to see any type of storage, we can do that. That's one of the big takeaways with Unity."

    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.

    Sample Customers
    Fremont Bank, Judson ISD, The Nielsen Company
    Draper, Rio Grande Pacific, Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre
    Piraeus, Clinique Univeritaires Saint-Luc
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company23%
    Financial Services Firm18%
    Manufacturing Company18%
    Comms Service Provider14%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Financial Services Firm13%
    Manufacturing Company10%
    Government6%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm17%
    Healthcare Company13%
    Manufacturing Company11%
    Energy/Utilities Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization65%
    Computer Software Company6%
    Manufacturing Company4%
    Government3%
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider21%
    Manufacturing Company21%
    Recreational Facilities/Services Company16%
    Computer Software Company16%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Financial Services Firm13%
    Comms Service Provider9%
    Manufacturing Company9%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business38%
    Midsize Enterprise28%
    Large Enterprise34%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business23%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise60%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business30%
    Midsize Enterprise24%
    Large Enterprise46%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business9%
    Midsize Enterprise70%
    Large Enterprise21%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business65%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise15%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business22%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise61%
    Buyer's Guide
    Dell Unity XT vs. Huawei OceanStor
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Unity XT vs. Huawei OceanStor and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    770,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Dell Unity XT is ranked 4th in All-Flash Storage with 189 reviews while Huawei OceanStor is ranked 12th in All-Flash Storage with 31 reviews. Dell Unity XT is rated 8.4, while Huawei OceanStor is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of Dell Unity XT writes "Easy to set up with good data compression technology and useful deduplication". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Huawei OceanStor writes "User-friendly and robust storage solution with good performance and easy setup". Dell Unity XT is most compared with Dell PowerStore, NetApp AFF, HPE Nimble Storage, Pure Storage FlashArray and Huawei OceanStor Dorado, whereas Huawei OceanStor is most compared with Huawei OceanStor Dorado, NetApp AFF, Dell PowerStore, IBM FlashSystem and HPE Primera. See our Dell Unity XT vs. Huawei OceanStor report.

    See our list of best All-Flash Storage vendors.

    We monitor all All-Flash Storage reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.