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Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] vs StarWind Virtual SAN comparison

Cisco and StarWind are both solutions in the HCI category. Additionally, 89% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of StarWind users who would recommend it.
StarWind Virtual SAN
Read 191 StarWind Virtual SAN reviews
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  • 1,367 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary
We performed a comparison between Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] and StarWind Virtual SAN based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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Buyer's Guide
HCI
March 2025
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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [...
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
StarWind Virtual SAN
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
191
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Storage (SDS) (1st), HCI (4th)
 

Featured Reviews

Nuno Mendes - PeerSpot reviewer
High performance solution that makes it easy to efficiently manage VM resources
In our case as a credit recovery company working with the state, our infrastructure is fixed and stable as we don't have the same need for growth as other types of companies. That said, one of the biggest problems with HyperFlex HX is that if you want to adjust your solution in terms of processing power, memory, or disk capacity, you have to buy completely new hosts. From a financial perspective, it can be very expensive to do so, and from a legal perspective, there are all kinds of compliance issues we would have to sort out before buying any new solution or application. Since we as a company will only be operating for perhaps the next ten years, when our HyperFlex solution comes to its end-of-life in 2024 our next step will likely not be with HyperFlex or any other solution from Cisco. Instead, from a financial point of view, we will likely turn toward a cloud solution because, that way, we won't have to spend so much money on physical infrastructure. We are, after all, only a small company and HyperFlex can be very expensive for other companies of our size, whether in Portugal or elsewhere like the United States. One other area for improvement is in regard to HyperFlex's integration with VMware. HyperFlex integrates with a specific version of VMware in such a way that HyperFlex doesn't always resolve security issues with VMware at the same pace as what you see in native implementations of VMware. This has happened in one or two situations in the past. On the other hand, the integration is otherwise adequate, especially in terms of availability and virtualization features (such as being able to split up each of our four hosts within VMware).
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WJHG - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamless integrations, high availability, and offers a free version
Although I am generally satisfied with VSAN and its performance, there are some areas that could be improved to enhance its effectiveness even further. One area that could benefit from improvement is scalability. While the tool works well in its current configuration, allowing for greater ease and flexibility in adding new nodes to the cluster without complications would be very beneficial, especially in growing environments. Additionally, I would like to see additional features in the next version, such as better support for automated resource management. This could include proactive suggestions for optimizing storage and memory usage, as well as preventive alerts about the health status of the servers. A more intuitive interface or an improved dashboard for monitoring the cluster would also be helpful, as it would facilitate performance tracking and help identify potential issues before they affect services.
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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Overall, the solution is extremely easy, flexible and secure."
"It's very easy to use and quite a mature product."
"You can administer things easily. E.g., if you need more power, you can add a system."
"It is a solution that best suits thre needs of our organization."
"It is a complete package. For any kind of on-premises hyper-converged solution, we usually have to separate networks, but Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series is a complete solution. It has its own network and storage. The storage part is the most valuable feature."
"Its most valuable feature is its flexibility."
"The technical support has been very good for this solution."
"The integration between the storage and the server applications is the most valuable feature of this solution. It cuts down on the necessity to buy a secondary storage system.. It saves money in the long-run."
More Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] pros
"The ability to run a two-node cluster without a dedicated witness has made this an excellent product for small deployments, which is right on target for our needs in regional offices."
"The StarWind Virtual SAN provides a clever and unique solution to the Computing Split Brain problem."
"In the three years that we have been using StarWind, the product has yet to cause us any problems."
"The product creates opportunities with hybrid on-premise solutions."
"The software is easy to setup and manage, and the support is excellent."
"We went from "no way DB applications would have good performance" to "Wow! We can now actually have a DB running and have some VMs running at the same time.""
"It also provides a high degree of mobility, as the virtual SAN can be moved relatively painlessly between on-site devices and the cloud."
"Besides being 80% cheaper than the other alternatives, the simplicity makes reconfiguration and support much easier."
More StarWind Virtual SAN pros
 

Cons

"I would rate the installation of Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series an eight out of ten. It can be complex."
"The scalability could use improvement."
"Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series could improve by having the documents be more readily available and the support could be more flexible."
"The initial setup of profiles and templates could be improved. Maybe some end profiles that you can use based on your type of deployment would be good."
"The product needs work in the area of deduplication which currently is inefficient."
"The pricing is pretty expensive."
"I would like it to be easier to manage the server, create VMs, and manage the VMs on the client."
"We are working with a lot of different technologies and trying to manage them with one tool. The API could be improved for better integration with other systems."
More Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] cons
"You have to do a "full" sync on write-back cache disks instead of a quick sync if there is an issue."
"Proper training sessions should be included with the licensing."
"For improvement, I would like to see how the software determines which networks to use for which purpose. It seems like the naming terminology changes a bit from here to there."
"StarWind Virtual SAN architecture is slightly complex and requires the team to carefully identify and study how the solution integrates with VMware vSphere."
"Some of the documentation seems to be a bit older and refers to deprecated items."
"We don't really have any issues with this product."
"I'd love to see native export of metrics (via Prometheus or something of that nature) to allow us to get more metrics available on our existing dashboard software."
"With data verification, I would like to know how does the solution perform validation of data being synced between two VSANs."
More StarWind Virtual SAN cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"One of the challenges we have with HyperFlex is that they have a subscription fee for the operating system that runs on it, and if I remember correctly, it costs approximately $15,000 USD per month."
"There is a license required to use this solution."
"The pricing is a bit expensive."
"It is highly priced compared to other vendors."
"For customers in the private sector, this product can have a very high return on investment."
"We would not have invested if we didn't feel the return was there for our customers."
"It's roughly $30,000 per Hyperflex license, so that would be about $60,000 a year."
"The cost is expensive, but there is a chance to save money in the future."
More Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] pricing and cost advice
"The setup cost, pricing, and licensing are very straightforward. They are exactly what you expect."
"This solution is very accessible and the pro-level for support is well worth the cost."
"We found that the pricing was perfect; simple and clear."
"There are two tiers of support and in my opinion, support is worth the cost."
"This solution has a great price for the functionality."
"This solution has competitive prices and the implementation is very easy."
"I would suggest that you download the free version, deploy in your lab, and play with it."
"StarWind is best price/performance for SMB."
More StarWind Virtual SAN pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
26%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How do I choose between Cisco Hyperflex HX Series and Nutanix Acropolis AOS?
Cisco HyperFlex HS series vs Nutanix Acropolis AOS Cisco HyperFlex gives extended hyper-convergence functions from core to edge and multi-cloud environments. It helps IT and OT teams deploy hyper...
See all answers
How does VxRail compare with Cisco HyperFlex HX Series?
VxRail provides stable solutions for technical problems while at the same time not being too expensive for a company to invest in. Even if you are working with a limited budget, this platform offer...
See all answers
What do you like most about Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series?
It's easy to get the tool started.
See all answers
What do you like most about StarWind Virtual SAN?
It is easy to use and can monitor system synchronization and check Storage status. StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN) combines flash and disks of the cluster and forms a virtual shared storage “pool” acce...
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for StarWind Virtual SAN?
I can't give a sincere opinion on the installation and licensing costs because, as I have mentioned repeatedly, I am currently using the free version. However, I can say that I have submitted a req...
See all answers
What needs improvement with StarWind Virtual SAN?
Although I am generally satisfied with VSAN and its performance, there are some areas that could be improved to enhance its effectiveness even further. One area that could benefit from improvement ...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Compared 30% of the time
VxRail vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] Logo
VxRail vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL]
Compared 23% of the time
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] Logo
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL]
Compared 21% of the time
HPE SimpliVity vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] Logo
HPE SimpliVity vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL]
Compared 14% of the time
Dell PowerFlex vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] Logo
Dell PowerFlex vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL]
Compared 12% of the time
More Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] Competitors
VMware vSAN vs StarWind Virtual SAN Logo
VMware vSAN vs StarWind Virtual SAN
Compared 25% of the time
Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct vs StarWind Virtual SAN Logo
Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct vs StarWind Virtual SAN
Compared 18% of the time
StorMagic SvSAN vs StarWind Virtual SAN Logo
StorMagic SvSAN vs StarWind Virtual SAN
Compared 17% of the time
Red Hat Ceph Storage vs StarWind Virtual SAN Logo
Red Hat Ceph Storage vs StarWind Virtual SAN
Compared 11% of the time
DataCore SANsymphony vs StarWind Virtual SAN Logo
DataCore SANsymphony vs StarWind Virtual SAN
Compared 9% of the time
More StarWind Virtual SAN Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL]
March 2025
Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] reportDownload Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] product report
Buyer's Guide
StarWind Virtual SAN
March 2025
StarWind Virtual SAN reportDownload StarWind Virtual SAN product report
 

Also Known As

No data available
StarWind SAN & NAS
 

Overview

The Cisco HyperFlex HX Data Platform is a purpose-built, high-performance, scale-out file system with a wide array of enterprise-class data management services. The data platform’s innovations redefine distributed storage technology, giving you complete hyper-convergence with enterprise storage features:

  • Enterprise-class data management
  • Continuous data optimization
  • Securely encrypted storage
  • Dynamic data placement
  • Clusterwide parallel data distribution
  • Linear and incremental scaling
  • API-based data platform architecture
  • A simplified approach
Cisco

StarWind Virtual SAN provides high availability and fault tolerance for virtualized environments without the need for dedicated SAN hardware. It allows for real-time replication between servers, shared storage for Hyper-V clusters, and enables vMotion and High Availability features for VMware vSphere. The solution reduces costs and leverages existing hardware while providing a scalable and reliable infrastructure. Valuable features include ease of use, scalability, top-tier support, hardware agnosticism, and the ability to use off-the-shelf standard servers to increase storage space. StarWind VSAN has helped organizations improve performance, data availability, and data security while reducing downtime and providing cost-saving storage options.

StarWind
 

Sample Customers

BluePearl Veterinary Partners, Ready Pac Foods, Bryant University, Bellevue Group, KPIT Technologies, City Harvest
Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School
Buyer's Guide
HCI
March 2025
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