Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs FreeNAS comparison

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Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 7, 2024

FreeNAS and Dell PowerScale compete in the network-attached storage category. Dell PowerScale appears to have the upper hand due to its enhanced scalability and enterprise features, appealing to large-scale environments.

Features: FreeNAS is appreciated for its support of the ZFS file system, data protection features, and flexibility in hardware deployment. Dell PowerScale offers advanced data management, seamless scalability, and high-performance tuning options suitable for significant storage demands.

Room for Improvement: FreeNAS could improve in terms of their user interface design, automated updates, and increasing official support options. Dell PowerScale might enhance integration with lower-tier storage solutions, reduce hardware costs, and provide better licensing transparency.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: FreeNAS is known for its straightforward setup on diverse hardware and a supportive community, although it may necessitate more technical expertise. Dell PowerScale is favored for its smooth integration processes and comprehensive support services, easing enterprise-level deployments.

Pricing and ROI: FreeNAS presents an economical setup due to its open-source nature, promising substantial ROI for smaller deployments. Dell PowerScale demands higher initial investment but offers long-term value and performance, appealing to enterprises with larger financial plans aiming for extended returns.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. FreeNAS Report (Updated: March 2026).

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. FreeNAS

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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

Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Ranking in NAS

2nd

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

File and Object Storage (2nd)

FreeNAS

Ranking in NAS

14th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the NAS category, the mindshare of Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is 15.5%, down from 17.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of FreeNAS is 3.1%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

NAS Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Dell PowerScale (Isilon)	15.5%
FreeNAS	3.1%
Other	81.4%

NAS

Featured Reviews

Bill Engelmeyer

Systems Engineer at Unisity LLC

Flexibility and reliability have supported seamless data growth

I cannot think of anything to improve about Dell PowerScale (Isilon). The hardest challenge we have is due to how we've bought things over time. The way that we moved to the PowerEdge platform for the newer systems creates a scale problem as I still buy the older style systems, which are more dense storage. They're different chassis, so the problem we run into in the data center is the depth of the actual equipment. The newer equipment, if we buy an FX910 or a 900, it's a lot shorter in scale than if I buy an 83,000, which is much bigger. This makes it more complicated for deployment.

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Vincenzo D'Aniello

Software developer at TREXON S.R.L.

Open-source with great disk management and task synchronization

The system itself allows you to add any feature. The only bad thing is that this maybe depends on FreeBSD, and sometimes finding documentation is difficult. For example, we knew that previous versions automatically enabled the Linux kernel, yet with the recent version, this was no longer the case. Now, there was the possibility of being able to create Debian-based jails, and finding the documentation was not easy or fast. That said, in the end, we succeeded. If you find the documentation, it is always incomplete and fragmented.

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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

"The most valuable feature of Dell PowerScale is its scalability."

"It has allowed us to have more consistent quality controls. It has also allowed us to expand the number of servers in clients processing and accessing data, allowing us to get a lot bigger projects out the door."

"The flexibility and the user-friendly interface are the most valuable features."

"There are also the policies that you set up on replication and purging files, and policies for something called WORM. That's a "write once, read many," where you can't overwrite certain files or certain data. It puts them in a "protected mode" where it becomes very difficult for someone to accidentally delete. We use that for certain files or certain directories, because we're dealing with video and some video has to be protected for chain-of-custody purposes. The WORM feature works great."

"The single pane of glass for both IT and for the end-user is a valuable feature. On the IT side, I can actually control where things are stored, whether something is stored on solid-state drives or spinning drives... The single pane of glass makes it very easy to use and very easy to understand. We started at 100 terabytes and we moved to 250 and it still feels like the exact same system and we're able to move data as needed."

"Dell PowerScale overall is easy to use."

"On a scale of one to ten, with one being worst and ten being best, I would rate Dell PowerScale (Isilon) a ten."

"My experience when deploying Dell PowerScale (Isilon) was very straightforward, as we had Dell come on site to do all the actual setup, which was a big help."

More Dell PowerScale (Isilon) pros

"The ease of use of the 'jail', the management of backups, and copies to easily create test and pre-production scenarios have speeded up the development and distribution of business apps."

"What I like about it is that I can work on it from any computer or any device. The initial setup is very simple. The setup wizard is really helpful."

"It has the best storage capacity."

"FreeNAS is much simpler and easier to use than other solutions, but we don't have the complete range of features that come with the full version."

"It integrates well into either Windows or Linux environments."

"Its stability is the most valuable. It is reliable, and we don't have to worry too much about it."

"The solution has been very stable so far."

Cons

"The tool's support team and the way the cases are handled by the product's technical support team are both areas of concern where improvements are required."

"There is room for improvement in its handling of object storage."

"We lost our technical sales reps about two years ago. We haven't gotten one assigned to us and we'd love to have one."

"PowerScale is not suitable for virtual environments."

"The pricing could be reduced."

"We're still fairly new with it. It's been a pretty positive experience thus far. However, they could improve implementation, as we had to rack and stack it ourselves."

"There aren't many templates still coming out for it. They need to provide templates so we can copy and paste what we've done in the past to future, new things."

"I think Dell PowerScale (Isilon) can be improved, as the cost models are quite expensive for administration."

More Dell PowerScale (Isilon) cons

"They can improve the integration with PSA systems. This functionality could be better."

"The one thing that I find difficult to do which is very time-consuming is that I like to have a backup of the important files."

"If you find the documentation, it is always incomplete and fragmented."

"They should include clustering for the solution."

"The support for S3 needs to be improved."

"FreeNAS should be better prepared for clustering."

"The latest version of the dashboard doesn't work as good as the previous version."

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."

"Our company finds the pricing high, but it decreases over time."

"The solution is expensive; it is not the cheapest solution out there. If you look at it from a total cost of ownership perspective, then it is a very compelling solution. However, if you're looking at just dollar per terabyte and not looking at the big picture, then you could be distracted by the price. It is not an amazing price, but it's pretty good. It is also very good when you consider the total cost of ownership and ease of management."

"Dell PowerScale is an expensive solution compared to other products like Qumulo."

"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."

"Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is an expensive solution."

"It's a high-cost offering amounting to three or four million Swedish kronor, or about $400,000 or euros, for approximately 480 terabytes of storage."

"The price of the solution is high."

More Dell PowerScale (Isilon) pricing and cost advice

"We use the free version of the program."

"For our configuration, we pay a little bit less than €10,000 ($12,000 USD) per year."

"Its licensing cost is based on the hardware capacity."

"Its price is okay. It suits our needs."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Comms Service Provider

13%

Performing Arts

12%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	20
Large Enterprise	44

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Large Enterprise	2

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.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?

As I mentioned before, we did not purchase Dell PowerScale (Isilon) directly. Since our organization is a government entity, the country policy does not allow direct purchases; it goes through a fo...

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What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?

I have experienced a RAM failure in some of the nodes of Dell PowerScale (Isilon), and that required hardware replacement. For large file replication from site to site, it takes a long time. This l...

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Comparisons

NetApp FAS Series vs Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Compared 20% of the time

Everpure FlashBlade vs Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Compared 11% of the time

Qumulo vs Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Compared 7% of the time

VAST Data vs Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Compared 4% of the time

Dell ObjectScale vs Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

Compared 4% of the time

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NetApp FAS Series vs FreeNAS

Compared 11% of the time

QNAP NAS Storage vs FreeNAS

Compared 11% of the time

StarWind Storage Appliance vs FreeNAS

Compared 9% of the time

Buurst SoftNAS vs FreeNAS

Compared 9% of the time

HPE Sonexion vs FreeNAS

Compared 7% of the time

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Product Reports

Dell PowerScale (Isilon)

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Also Known As

PowerScale, Dell EMC Isilon

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Overview

Dell PowerScale leads in unstructured data management with unified file and object storage, massive scalability, security, and cloud adaptability, enhancing AI, analytics, and enterprise applications with exceptional performance and resilience.

Dell PowerScale Isilon provides a comprehensive platform for unstructured data, excelling in scalability, management, and performance. With features like single-pane management, SyncIQ, and SmartQuotas, it handles large datasets with flexibility and robust security. Its multi-protocol support and seamless expansion improve operational efficiency. While it offers strong data protection, enhancements in cloud integration, cybersecurity, and performance are sought. Users note potential for cost reductions and streamlined configurations and mention desired improvements in object storage handling and NFS support.

What are the key features of Dell PowerScale Isilon?

Single-pane management: Simplifies data control and monitoring through a unified interface.
SyncIQ: Ensures efficient data replication for business continuity.
SmartQuotas: Provides intelligent quota management for optimized storage allocation.
Multi-protocol support: Facilitates cross-platform data access and integration.
Seamless storage expansion: Allows effortless scaling to accommodate growing data needs.

What benefits should users consider when reviewing Dell PowerScale Isilon?

Operational efficiency: Reduces workload with easy management and automation.
Enhanced security: Offers comprehensive data protection and recovery options.
Scalability: Supports large-scale data storage with flexible growth capabilities.
Performance: Delivers high-speed data processing for demanding applications.
Integration flexibility: Adapts to on-prem and hybrid cloud environments for diverse deployment needs.

Organizations across industries utilize Dell PowerScale Isilon for large-scale unstructured storage, supporting applications like video archiving, genomic data storage, and high-resolution imaging. Educational institutions, research centers, and media enterprises rely on its scaled-out storage capabilities, providing centralized, secure storage for diverse applications in hybrid, cloud, and on-prem environments.

Dell Technologies

FreeNAS is an operating system that can be installed on virtually any hardware platform to share data over a network. FreeNAS is the simplest way to create a centralized and easily accessible place for your data. Use FreeNAS with ZFS to protect, store, backup, all of your data. FreeNAS is used everywhere, for the home, small business, and the enterprise.

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,

Morroni Technologies Inc., Creative Integrations

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs. FreeNAS