EXAScaler vs Nasuni comparison

DataDirect Networks and Nasuni are both solutions in the File System Software category. DataDirect Networks is ranked #8 with an average rating of 9.0, while Nasuni is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.0. DataDirect Networks holds a 1.6% mindshare in FSS, compared to Nasuni’s 18.2% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of DataDirect Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Nasuni users who would recommend it.

EXAScaler

Read 1 EXAScaler review

460 Views
97 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Nasuni

Read 36 Nasuni reviews

5,782 Views
1,503 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

EXAScaler

Nasuni

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between EXAScaler and Nasuni based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about CTERA, Nasuni, Panzura and others in File System Software.

To learn more, read our detailed File System Software Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

File System Software

March 2026

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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

EXAScaler

Ranking in File System Software

8th

Ranking in NAS

16th

Ranking in Cloud Storage

17th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Storage Performance (3rd), Cloud Master Data Management (MDM) (11th)

Nasuni

Ranking in File System Software

2nd

Ranking in NAS

10th

Ranking in Cloud Storage

13th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Migration (7th), Cloud Backup (39th), Disaster Recovery (DR) Software (23rd), Cloud Storage Gateways (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the File System Software category, the mindshare of EXAScaler is 1.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nasuni is 18.2%, down from 26.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

File System Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Nasuni	18.2%
EXAScaler	1.6%
Other	80.2%

File System Software

Featured Reviews

reviewer2544219

Chief Architect at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Solution enables exceptional performance and immense scalability for AI cluster training

I am a system integrator, and my customers are using EXAScaler as the de facto parallel file system for Google Cloud. They primarily use it for large AI cluster training EXAScaler provides amazing performance in terms of sequential read and random access, and it has a significant scalability…

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SwapnilDaga

Infrastructure Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees

Cloud data management that achieves cost efficiency with advanced data protection features

I am currently using Nasuni for seismic data. We have a huge data size, and we want to reduce costs. Nasuni acts as a caching solution, so we put some data into the cache, and the rest goes to the blob, which helps us save on costs. We use it for applications like Petrol and Tech Log, where 3D…

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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 customers who use DDN EXAScaler are happy, especially when using large AI clusters for training."

"EXAScaler provides amazing performance in terms of sequential read and random access, and it has a significant scalability advantage as it is scalable to petabytes."

"The most valuable feature is the simplicity of the backup and restore functions."

"Continuous File Versioning is one of the best features because it helps you to restore at any point in time. That means you don't have to worry about a ransomware attack. Even if that attack happens, you can restore all the data to five minutes ago and save everything."

"We use Nasuni's continuous file versioning feature and it fully protects us. With the ability to version files and have continuous recovery, it helps in terms of resiliency. If we have an incident then we would be able to easily recover from it by using the technology."

"Nasuni has helped to eliminate on-premises infrastructure. We were using about eight to 10 different types of vendors or small storage boxes for provisioning and shared access for users. We got rid of all those. That has eliminated operational overhead and footprint at our data center. We don't have to worry about any hardware or monitoring particular devices, and hundreds of devices have been decommissioned. Now, for provisioning, everything is on Nasuni. I assume this has made a big difference in costs."

"We have less downtime and fewer trouble tickets from users who cannot access their shared files. Nasuni has reduced the friction and noise associated with file management because the devices are more reliable."

"The global file locking feature is valuable. The ability to quickly deploy new sites is also valuable."

"My clients are happy with Nasuni because the transmission is seamless, and it consolidates all the existing file servers into one location. Also, Nasuni has no boundaries. It's infinitely expandable. They don't have to rely on the service provider for backup and restoration. It's self-serve."

"The most important feature is that things are backed up automatically in AWS. We have a lot of remote sites where there is a tiny server onsite and, in a lot of cases, we really don't have to back them up because the data is automatically copied to AWS. The cloud replication is the most useful functionality for us."

More Nasuni pros

Cons

"One challenge with EXAScaler is during upgrade time, as it can be problematic when upgrading node by node. Additionally, it is not multi-protocol by nature, requiring additional hardware to support various protocols like NFS or object storage."

"One challenge with EXAScaler is during upgrade time, as it can be problematic when upgrading node by node."

"I would like to see them improve their tools in regards to accessing data using smartphones, tablets, and iPads. I think the Nasuni app could be improved to make access to the data cleaner and more efficient."

"It is difficult to configure Nasuni. Adding a filer is an easy task, but deciding where to add them, how many to add, and what size to add takes a lot of time. I have to analyze my existing storage to understand how many users are going to access which folders. I have to design the Nasuni architecture accordingly."

"As administrators, we are used to having control equal to managing an on-prem device. In terms of log analysis and other things we want to do, Nasuni has some limitations limitation on what you do on the Nasuni. Nasuni could add some features to the GUI that make administration a little easier. It's tough when I have to move from one filter to another because there is no way to search it. We have to scroll up and down to find the name of it."

"The Nasuni file storage platform doesn't work well when there are a high number of small files. This is the case when a directory structure contains more than 10,000 or 20,000 small files, e.g., 5 KB, 10 KB, or 15 KB. When the user is accessing these files from another geographical location, they might face a slow response or timeouts when connecting to the shares, and then to the files. This is because the file size is small. There is a scope of improvement with this solution when it comes to accessing a large number of small files."

"The performance monitoring could be improved."

"One thing to consider is that Nasuni will have the same limitations that a traditional file storage solution will have, although that is because they are taking the place of a traditional architectural model. For example, Office 365 supports collaboration on documents such as Excel files and Word documents, but because Nasuni is a traditional file server, in that sense, it can't make use of that functionality."

"One area that we've recently spoken to Nasuni about is single sign-on. Another is integrating Nasuni with Azure Active Directory. In our particular case, that would allow for third-party consultants to access our Azure Active Directory environment as opposed to coming to our on-premises environment."

"Some applications may not be suited for the Nasuni environment. You may need something with better performance. Otherwise, if you want to run daily operations or some file system, it's a good bet."

More Nasuni cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"Nasuni pricing is average; it's not too high or too low."

"Its pricing can get a tad expensive. When we first took Nasuni out, we were just paying for the service. We got storage at a reduced rate. It has now changed, and they're now more of an all-in-one type of thing. It can be quite expensive, but it works out. Apart from that, licensing-wise, it's very simple."

"I would not say it is economically priced, but it is affordable. If you can afford to pay for it, it is worth the money, but it is definitely not overpriced. It is priced about where it needs to be in the market. We were satisfied with the way they did their licensing and how they handled it. I believe they actually license by data size. It is based on how much data is being held on the machine and replicated, and that's completely understandable. So, for us, their pricing was as expected and affordable."

"The cost is based on the capacity, which is approximately $100 USD per terabyte."

"It has a license fee as well as hardware costs, which we would incur if we want to use Nasuni Cloud Storage Gateway for upgrades."

"Nasuni should provide small-scale licenses, like a 20 TB license. Currently, the smallest is a 30 TB license."

"It is around $850 per terabyte per year. Any additional costs that you would incur are for the local caching devices that you'll need to access Nasuni. You kind of provide your own virtual machines or compute to access the data. You also pay for the object storage. So, there are three parts to it. There is the Nasuni license per terabyte. You would also pay for the actual object storage in the cloud, and then you would pay for virtual machines to access the storage."

"It's cheaper than a lot of alternatives but it's not cheap."

More Nasuni pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	24

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for EXAScaler?

EXAScaler is a bit expensive, particularly when comparing the total cost of ownership.

See all answers

What needs improvement with EXAScaler?

One challenge with EXAScaler is during upgrade time, as it can be problematic when upgrading node by node. Additionally, it is not multi-protocol by nature, requiring additional hardware to support...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for EXAScaler?

I am a system integrator, and my customers are using EXAScaler as the de facto parallel file system for Google Cloud. They primarily use it for large AI cluster training.

See all answers

Does Nasuni have a good pricing model?

Based on the experience of my organization, Nasuni is definitely worth the money, since it gives you an all-in-one solution where you'd usually need several programs. About the cost, there isn't a ...

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Is it easy to restore files with Nasuni?

As someone who has used this feature of Nasuni I can tell you - yes, it's good for file recovery and you'll definitely benefit from very quick times. I can't tell you if it's the best one because I...

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What features and services does Nasuni offer?

Hi, if you pick Nasuni, you'll be benefiting from many services for a good price. Well, it's a personalized price you get after an agreement with the company but in my organization's case, it is a ...

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Comparisons

CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform vs EXAScaler

Compared 53% of the time

DDN A3I vs EXAScaler

Compared 25% of the time

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs EXAScaler

Compared 23% of the time

More EXAScaler Competitors

CTERA Enterprise File Services Platform vs Nasuni

Compared 11% of the time

Panzura CloudFS vs Nasuni

Compared 7% of the time

Egnyte vs Nasuni

Compared 6% of the time

Qumulo vs Nasuni

Compared 5% of the time

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Nasuni

Compared 4% of the time

More Nasuni Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

File System Software

March 2026

Download EXAScaler product report

Buyer's Guide

Nasuni

March 2026

Download Nasuni product report

Overview

Applications are evolving to meet the needs of an automated and connected society. The onslaught of data and the need to move it, store it and process it is quickly overwhelming current infrastructure.

Regain control of your data, streamline workflows and deliver the ultimate performance to reduce time to discovery and unlock new ways to innovate.

DataDirect Networks

Nasuni is a file data services enterprise focused on assisting firms with their digital transformation, global expansion, and information awareness. The Nasuni File Data Platform is a suite of cloud-based services designed to enhance user productivity, ensure business continuity, provide data intelligence, offer cloud options, and simplify global infrastructure. This platform and its auxiliary services are projected to replace conventional file infrastructure such as network attached storage (NAS), backup, and Disaster Recovery (DR), with an expandable cloud-scale solution. By storing file data in scalable cloud object storage from multiple providers, Nasuni positions itself as a cloud-native alternative for traditional NAS and file server infrastructure. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, Nasuni serves sectors like manufacturing, construction, technology, oil and gas, financial services, and public sector worldwide, offering its services in more than 70 countries.

Reviews from Real Users

James J., IT Manager at a marketing services firm, says Nasuni’s management dashboard is helpful because he's able to view all of the different filers at once rather than check each one of them individually. He values the software’s security, reliability, good performance, helpful alerting, and responsive support.

According to a Server Engineering Services Lead at a mining and metals company, Nasuni offers good OR and DR capabilities, performs well, offers data security, and continuous file versioning helps recover from hardware failures.

The Managing Director of IT at a construction company appreciates Nasuni because it eliminates a lot of work that was previously done when managing backing up and restoring data files.

Nasuni

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

American Standard, CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield, E*TRADE, Ithaca Energy, McLaren Construction, Morton Salt, Movado, Urban Outfitters, Western Digital

Find out what your peers are saying about CTERA, Nasuni, Panzura and others in File System Software. Updated: March 2026.

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