FreeNAS vs. NetApp ONTAP Data Management Software

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
FreeNAS
Score 6.2 out of 10
N/A
FreeNAS is an open source operating system that allows nearly any hardware serve as a network-attached storage device. It was developed by iXsystems.N/A
NetApp ONTAP Data Management Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
NetApp's ONTAP Data Management Software is a storage and data management and protection solution. ONTAP 9 allows users to build an intelligent hybrid cloud that is the foundation of a NetApp Data Fabric that spans flash, disk, and cloud. Flexibly deploy storage on a choice of architectures—hardware storage systems, software-defined storage (SDS), and the cloud—while unifying data management across all of them.N/A
Pricing
FreeNASNetApp ONTAP Data Management Software
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
FreeNASNetApp ONTAP Data Management Software
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
FreeNASNetApp ONTAP Data Management Software
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
FreeNASNetApp ONTAP Data Management Software
Small Businesses
DiskStation
DiskStation
Score 8.8 out of 10
Cyberduck
Cyberduck
Score 9.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Dell Unity XT Unified Storage
Dell Unity XT Unified Storage
Score 9.9 out of 10
Cisco UCS Manager
Cisco UCS Manager
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Dell Unity XT Unified Storage
Dell Unity XT Unified Storage
Score 9.9 out of 10
Cisco UCS Manager
Cisco UCS Manager
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
FreeNASNetApp ONTAP Data Management Software
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(7 ratings)
9.0
(7 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
FreeNASNetApp ONTAP Data Management Software
Likelihood to Recommend
iXsystems
FreeNAS is well suited for most storage serving scenarios, whether it be for an office file server, backup destinations, data replication across the internet, or as backend storage for virtual machines. It can serve various types of clients via a plethora of standard protocols and can easily integrate with existing infrastructure using LDAP authentication and so on. It's pretty simple to use (it helps to have at least a basic understanding of the underlying technologies) and almost maintenance-free. One scenario that springs to mind that it may not be appropriate for (yet) is as S3 storage. However, S3 functionality was added in a recent release and may have improved greatly since then. I'm sure it will eventually work very well for this.
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NetApp
I have highly benefited from the performance of this great tool. Storage and data management programs have been running as planned since we deployed this system. Under NetApp ONTAP Data Management Software our data and customers contacts are always secure. It has helped our company in reducing storage costs as we can safely use cloud storage services. It gives us continuity guarantee even after our systems fail to function due to strong backup system.
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Pros
iXsystems
  • The FreeNAS web interface is modern looking. It makes tasks like provisioning drives into raid volumes easy.
  • The ZFS raid option allows you to add in an SSD as a cache drive to increase performance.
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NetApp
  • Cloud tool for easy multiple data management.
  • Creating reports is incredible through the package.
  • Data transportation and the real-time data analytics, this tool is the best ever.
  • Data threats Protection capability is amazing.
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Cons
iXsystems
  • Not good for beginners as it requires deep understanding of networking and storage.
  • Most of the good and required features are not available in free version.
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NetApp
  • More details on network interfaces are available in CLI. Would like to see similar visibility on the GUI.
  • Deleting volumes that have been snapmirrored have to be released at the snapmirror destination first. Would be nice to have that feature at the source where you are deleting the volume.
  • When creating a volume in the GUI it adds to the default junction point. Would be nice to choose the junction point as you were creating the volume (this is a feature available in the CLI).
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Support Rating
iXsystems
There were some things that can be found by other users on forums and Google and some things that were not.
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NetApp
NetApp support is always second to none. That being said I have never once had to contact support for the NetApp System Manager software. It is simple, stable and easy to use. Given that their support is stellar in all other areas I don't see how this would be any different
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Alternatives Considered
iXsystems
FreeNAS effectively uses all resources really well and it is highly recommended for in premises NAS. It has unlimited ROI as it is really free and open-source. The only payment we need to pay is when we need any support from those guys. FreeNAS helps us to effectively do our work with the legacy systems as it manages all the components really well. FreeNAS although rebranded to TrueNAS will still be there until our legacy systems run.
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NetApp
I have only used NetApp ONTAP Select platform in our organization in data storage and file management. It has efficiently managed all data-related problems and gives us the right roadmap of managing data from all sources effectively. Data migration from our company to the cloud storage datasets has been easy and secure. It provides reliable intelligence from all information gathered from our data sources that enhances better operations and smart decisions.
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Return on Investment
iXsystems
  • Low-Cost Network Attached Storage
  • Provides additional network storage to support client & business operations
  • FreeNAS secures our data using custom encryption keys
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NetApp
  • Previously were were running with just locally attached storage across all of our estate. With this tool we are not able to simplify the management of storage saving on resource usage across our Ops teams allowing us to focus on "more important" tasks.
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