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File Storage · head to head

Ceph vs Veritas NetBackup

Ceph logo

Ceph

File Storage

Open source distributed storage providing object, block and file from one cluster

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Veritas NetBackup logo

Veritas NetBackup

File Storage

Scalable enterprise backup and recovery

From
$100/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Ceph has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Ceph ceph assumes an operator who understands placement groups, CRUSH rules and recovery tuning, so organisations without dedicated storage staff routinely end up with a cluster that works until the first failure and then does not.; Veritas NetBackup listed on UK G-Cloud at £5,000 per unit per month by supplier Logicalis UK Limited (unit not further defined in the listing)
  • They diverge on capability: Ceph covers RADOS object store, Veritas NetBackup covers Auto image replication.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ceph and Veritas NetBackup actually diverge.

Attributes where Ceph and Veritas NetBackup differ
AttributeCephVeritas NetBackup
Starting priceFree$100/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinuxWindows, Linux, Web
FoundedUnknown1983

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (File Storage).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Ceph

  • RADOS object store
  • RADOS Gateway
  • RBD block devices
  • CephFS
  • CRUSH placement
  • Erasure coded pools

Only in Veritas NetBackup

  • Auto image replication
  • Instant access
  • Cloud catalyst
  • Parallel streaming
  • Flexible deployment
  • Resiliency platform
  • VMware
  • Hyper-V

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Ceph

  • Backing a private cloud where virtual machine disks, shared filesystems and an S3 endpoint all need the same hardwarenot Veritas NetBackup
  • Growing past the point where a proprietary array upgrade costs more than a rack of commodity serversnot Veritas NetBackup
  • Research and media environments with petabytes of data and staff who can operate storagenot Veritas NetBackup
  • Providing an S3 endpoint on premises with multi site replication under your own controlnot Veritas NetBackup

Veritas NetBackup

  • Data protectionnot Ceph
  • Disaster recoverynot Ceph
  • Business continuitynot Ceph
  • Ransomware protectionnot Ceph
  • Compliancenot Ceph

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Ceph

  • Ceph assumes an operator who understands placement groups, CRUSH rules and recovery tuning, so organisations without dedicated storage staff routinely end up with a cluster that works until the first failure and then does not.
  • Small clusters are inefficient: three way replication means a third of raw capacity is usable, and erasure coding needs enough failure domains to be safe, so the economics only work above a certain size.
  • Recovery and rebalancing generate heavy internal traffic, so a failed disk can degrade client latency across the cluster unless backfill is throttled correctly beforehand.
  • Upgrades must follow a strict daemon order across monitors, managers, OSDs and gateways, and a mistake in that order on a live cluster is difficult to reverse.
  • Because it is self hosted, every byte served to the internet is transit you pay for on your own links, so the free licence does not mean free egress and bandwidth planning becomes your problem rather than the providers.

Veritas NetBackup

  • Listed on UK G-Cloud at £5,000 per unit per month by supplier Logicalis UK Limited (unit not further defined in the listing)

Pricing, plan by plan

Ceph

Free
  • CephFree
    • Full functionality, no capacity limit
    • Object, block and file interfaces
    • Community support via mailing list and Slack

Veritas NetBackup

$100/month
  • NetBackup Enterprise$100/month
    • Unified data protection
    • Auto image replication
    • Instant access

Which should you pick?

Choose Ceph if

  • You need rados object store.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want rados gateway.
Ceph review

Choose Veritas NetBackup if

  • You need auto image replication.
  • You work on Windows, Linux, Web.
  • You also want instant access.
Veritas NetBackup review

Questions people ask

Is Ceph or Veritas NetBackup better?
Neither clearly leads. Ceph starts at Free and Veritas NetBackup at $100/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ceph or Veritas NetBackup?
Ceph has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Ceph and $100/month for Veritas NetBackup.
Does Ceph or Veritas NetBackup run on more platforms?
Ceph runs on Linux. Veritas NetBackup runs on Windows, Linux, Web.
Can I use Ceph for free?
Yes. Ceph has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Veritas NetBackup starts at $100/month.
What is Ceph best used for?
Ceph is most often used for backing a private cloud where virtual machine disks, shared filesystems and an s3 endpoint all need the same hardware, growing past the point where a proprietary array upgrade costs more than a rack of commodity servers, research and media environments with petabytes of data and staff who can operate storage, providing an s3 endpoint on premises with multi site replication under your own control. Of those, backing a private cloud where virtual machine disks, shared filesystems and an s3 endpoint all need the same hardware and growing past the point where a proprietary array upgrade costs more than a rack of commodity servers are not what Veritas NetBackup is typically brought in for.
What can Ceph do that Veritas NetBackup cannot?
Ceph covers RADOS object store, RADOS Gateway, RBD block devices, CephFS. Veritas NetBackup covers Auto image replication, Instant access, Cloud catalyst, Parallel streaming.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ceph: How many nodes do I need to start?

Three is the practical minimum for a replicated cluster with real fault tolerance, and most production advice starts at five once you account for maintenance windows.

Ceph: Is it faster than a SAN?

Not on single stream latency. It wins on aggregate throughput and on growing without a forklift upgrade, which is a different property from raw speed.

Ceph: Can I buy support?

Yes. IBM sells IBM Storage Ceph and SUSE and others have offered supported builds; the upstream project itself is free.

Ceph: Should I use it just for S3?

If object is all you need, a dedicated object store is simpler to run. Ceph earns its complexity when you need block and file as well.

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