Differences and proper use of FSx for OpenZFS and FSx for NetApp ONTAP

I recommend looking at our Choosing an Amazon FSx File System to learn more about how to choose the best file system for your needs, based on: 1) moving from a familiar file system; or 2) workload requirements.

While both "Amazon FSx for OpenZFS" and "Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP" are members of the AWS FSx family, there is a common misconception in your premise: FSx for OpenZFS does NOT run on ONTAP. They are two distinct file system technologies. ONTAP is a proprietary operating system by NetApp, while OpenZFS is an open-source, next-generation file system and volume manager.

Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP "Proper Use Case":

• Migrating enterprise applications (SAP, Oracle, VMware) from on-premises to AWS.
• Workloads needing both Windows (SMB) and Linux (NFS) access to the same data.
• Block Storage: It is the only FSx service that supports iSCSI, making it suitable for shared block storage needs like SQL Server.

FSx for OpenZFS "Proper Use Case":

• High-Performance Computing (HPC): Financial modeling, machine learning, and media rendering.
• Dev/Test Environments: Using "ZFS Clones" to instantly spin up 10 copies of a database for testing without doubling your storage costs.
• ZFS "Power": Leverages the open-source OpenZFS file system, known for instantaneous snapshots and zero-copy clones.