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Dell PowerScale vs Huawei OceanStor 9000 comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 7, 2024

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
Ranking in NAS
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
81
Ranking in other categories
File and Object Storage (2nd)
Huawei OceanStor 9000
Ranking in NAS
17th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the NAS category, the mindshare of Dell PowerScale is 14.5%, down from 17.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Huawei OceanStor 9000 is 2.0%, down from 2.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
NAS Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerScale (Isilon)14.5%
Huawei OceanStor 90002.0%
Other83.5%
NAS
 

Featured Reviews

BE
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.
ChukwuemekaOnyemelukwe - PeerSpot reviewer
Infrastructure Administrator - Server, Storage & Virtualization at MicroAccess Ltd
An entry-level, flash-based storage system designed for enterprise-class applications
It took significantly longer to set up the solution with Huawei compared to other options. But when creating servers for VMware virtualization in one data center, it was a relatively quick process. The Huawei's solution, even with the assistance of an engineer, took more than one month, possibly extending to two months. Chinese engineers were involved in the process, which contributed to the delays.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The system is robust, has had a big impact on the efficiency of our organization, and serves as storage for our core application, which is a revenue-generating application that plays a key role in our business."
"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."
"This solution offers flexibility in supporting various data workloads and is very easy to work with, making it our go-to solution for all data storage."
"It's easy to manage. The web UI is very intuitive, and there's CLI also that you can use to manage it."
"This has really changed the way our company can acquire and process data in the field, allowing us to differentiate ourselves against all our competitors."
"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."
"Ability to scale the number of nodes without having to build additional clusters."
"I don't have to rebuild the cluster to add a node."
"It has many options for scalability, and it is stable."
"It has many options for scalability, and it is stable."
"The storage capacity is really one of the most valuable features. Also, the GUI is very friendly and the switches gives high performance. The technology used in storage is RAID which as helped us a lot to expand and store various items ."
 

Cons

"Some improvements to the NFS support would be of interest to us."
"We used to have a chat feature available on the support site. It's not available to us anymore."
"Since our Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is our own on-prem in-house built system, we don't have many up-to-date resources, and we're still a few years behind."
"We're struggling with the UID mapping and how to configure mapping-related things."
"There is room for improvement with the updates. It can take a significant amount of time to do a major OS update."
"In the past year, it hasn't been as great. They seem to just follow KBS."
"The product needs to improve CLI since commands are complex. The search option is also difficult since you must give the full path."
"Isilon has limitations on the number of files that can be generated."
"The call charges and the management cost should be more friendly. They can also include monitoring and management."
"The handling of data deletion and bulk servers setup could have been more straightforward and easier when dealing with data removal or setting up servers. I believe Huawei could enhance their solutions, especially managing storage, to provide a better experience for customers."
"The call charges and the management cost should be more friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution is high."
"Pricing for this solution is reasonable."
"It is a really expensive solution."
"The solution's licensing cost varies based on capacity and performance requirements."
"Price was also a significant factor in our decision to go with PowerScale. The team at EMC, now Dell EMC, came through with a highly competitive offer that tipped the scales towards their solution. There was only one other solution around the same price point, but it could not match PowerScale on features. That other solution is no longer on the market."
"It is an expensive solution."
"Dell PowerScale (Isilon) is an expensive solution."
"The pricing for this solution is reasonable."
"It is cheaper than other solutions."
"The installation is expensive as they often come as a comprehensive package. The design is more integrated, and everything is bundled together as part of the solution. This is what contributes to the higher cost of their solutions because when you purchase one element, it often comes with additional features and components, and you end up paying for the entire package."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
University
12%
Educational Organization
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise46
No data available
 

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)?
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...
What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerScale (Isilon)?
I think Dell PowerScale (Isilon) could improve some functions such as Apache S3 or containerized storage support, as these aspects are not well-developed. Their support system is weak; many issues ...
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Also Known As

PowerScale, Dell EMC Isilon
OceanStor 9000 Scale-out NAS
 

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,
Piraeus, Clinique Univeritaires Saint-Luc, Absolut Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerScale vs. Huawei OceanStor 9000 and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,438 professionals have used our research since 2012.