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What's the Difference Between Amazon FSx for OpenZFS and Amazon FSx for Windows?

Compare Amazon FSx for OpenZFS and Amazon FSx for Windows side by side — features, pricing, and ideal use cases to help you choose the right product.

Compare side-by-side

Comparisons
Amazon FSx for OpenZFS
Amazon FSx for Windows
Category

Storage, File Storage

Storage, Windows File Storage

Description

Fully managed, elastic, scale-out file systems for NAS workloads

Fully managed Windows shared file systems with full SMB support

Best for
  • Linux workloads
  • Web serving
  • DevOps
  • Data analytics
  • Media processing
  • Windows file shares
  • Home directories
  • CRM applications
  • ERP workloads
  • .NET applications
Key features
  • NFS protocol
  • Snapshots
  • Data compression
  • Low-latency
  • Point-in-time clones
  • SMB protocol
  • Active Directory integration
  • DFS namespaces
  • Data deduplication
  • Multi-AZ
Pricing model

Pay per GB provisioned + throughput

Pay per GB provisioned + throughput capacity

Free tier

No

No

Expert take

“Amazon FSx for OpenZFS delivers high-performance file storage with instant snapshots, compression, and data cloning. It supports workloads migrating from on-premises ZFS environments.”
— Giovanni Lauria, re:Post Top Contributor [profile]

“FSx for Windows provides fully managed Windows file shares with Active Directory, DFS, and shadow copies. It replaces on-premises Windows file servers with zero application changes.”
— Gary McLean, re:Post Top Contributor [profile]

Product page

When to use Amazon FSx for OpenZFS or Amazon FSx for Windows

Use Amazon FSx for OpenZFS when:

  • Linux workloads
  • Web serving
  • DevOps
  • Data analytics
  • Media processing

Learn more about Amazon FSx for OpenZFS »

Use Amazon FSx for Windows when:

  • Windows file shares
  • Home directories
  • CRM applications
  • ERP workloads
  • .NET applications

Learn more about Amazon FSx for Windows »

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