Data Management Glossary
Isilon Migration
Isilon migration is the moving of unstructured file data workloads from Dell PowerScale, formerly known as Ision, to another NAS (network-attached storage) environment.
Isilon Systems, now known as Dell PowerScale, was originally acquired by EMC on December 21, 2010, for $2.25 billion. This acquisition was aimed at enhancing EMC’s scale-out NAS capabilities, particularly for big data and high-performance computing (HPC) environments. Read: EMC Buys Isilon To Fortify High-End NAS Line.
Isilon storage has gone through several name changes and branding updates, especially after EMC was acquired by Dell in 2016. Here are the different names it has been known by:
- Isilon: The original name when it was an independent company before being acquired by EMC in 2010.
- EMC Isilon: After the acquisition by EMC, the brand remained “Isilon” but was under the EMC umbrella.
- Dell EMC Isilon: Following Dell’s acquisition of EMC in 2016, Isilon was rebranded under the Dell EMC name.
- Dell EMC PowerScale: In 2020, Dell officially rebranded the Isilon product line as PowerScale, marking a shift to a more unified storage branding strategy.
Despite the name change, PowerScale still uses OneFS, the same scale-out file system that powered Isilon. The hardware models also transitioned from Isilon-branded nodes (e.g., X410, A200, F800) to PowerScale-branded nodes (e.g., F200, F600, H700, A300, A3000).
Why migrate from Isilon?
Migrating from Isilon (Dell EMC PowerScale) can be driven by several factors, depending on an organization’s needs. Some common reasons include:
- End-of-Life (EOL) or End-of-Support (EOS): Older Isilon models (like X410, NL400, etc.) may no longer receive firmware updates, security patches, or hardware support.. Companies often migrate to newer PowerScale models or alternative solutions before reaching EOS.
- Performance and Scalability Needs: Older Isilon hardware may not support modern workloads like AI/ML, high-performance computing, or hybrid cloud environments. Performance limitations in older Isilon nodes (HDD-based) might drive a shift to all-flash or more scalable solutions from vendors like Pure Storage.
- Transition to Cloud & Hybrid Architectures: Isilon is mostly on-premises, and many organizations are moving toward cloud or hybrid cloud solutions (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud). While PowerScale can integrate with the cloud, some may prefer fully cloud-native storage solutions.
- Cost Optimization: Isilon can be expensive, especially for organizations looking for more cost-efficient storage solutions (e.g., object storage like Amazon S3, Azure Blob). Some companies move to alternatives with lower total cost of ownership (TCO).
- Vendor Consolidation & Strategic IT Decisions: Some organizations move away from Dell EMC products to consolidate with a single storage vendor (NetApp, Pure Storage, etc.). Others prefer open-source or software-defined storage (e.g., Qumulo, VAST Data).
- Feature Gaps or Modernization: Some organizations want better analytics, data protection, or multi-protocol support. Alternative solutions may offer better deduplication, compression, or security features than older Isilon versions.
Smart Migration from Isilon with Komprise Elastic Data Migration
Unlike Isilon CloudPools, Komprise puts you in control of your data, keeping your data in native file format in and ensuring you’re not locked into proprietary vendor systems. By tiering cold data first, Komprise customers realize immediate cost reductions and reduce the data footprint for migration. This is in stark contrast to point migration tools that must treat all data the same. Komprise maintains app and user access without stubs and stays out the hot data path for zero impact to primary data workloads.
Learn more about Smart Data Migrations from Isilon.
Learn more about Komprise Elastic Data Migration.
