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Dell PowerFlex vs Dell VxBlock System comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

StarWind Virtual SAN
Sponsored
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.1
Number of Reviews
189
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Storage (SDS) (1st), HCI (4th)
Dell PowerFlex
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
HCI (5th)
Dell VxBlock System
Average Rating
7.8
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Converged Infrastructure (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

HCI
Converged Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmed Hosni - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 24, 2024
Provides a cost-effective way to run an HCI storage platform for almost any hypervisor
You can maintain and update it with little to no fuss, even the free version is incredibly capable whilst it brings the cost of a Highly Available HCI solution down to a very cost-effective point. Having used Starwind Virtual SAN for many years both for clients and for internal systems, it has always done exactly what it set out to do. It provides a cost-effective way to run an HCI storage platform for almost any hypervisor, but it is most effective with Hyper-V. It's simple and easy to use, The software monitoring should be web-based to be reachable from any VLAN workstation.
Ayodeji  Oyewole - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 12, 2024
A hyper-converged infrastructure that is like a mini data center of its own
Dell PowerFlex is used for on-prem cloud solutions. It's a hyper-converged infrastructure, which means you can integrate it directly into your core network. You get all the computing and storage you need without bothering much about the network connection between the servers because all that comes…
AKINJIDE OKE - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 24, 2024
Useful for virtualized environment, node management, configuration deployment, and system management with artificial intelligence
I've worked with Dell and had the privilege of working with many OEMs. I started my career as a system engineer, working with HPE as a partner, and then moved to other OEMs like IBM and Lenovo. Currently, I work with a small team. I don't believe any solution is bad. It's just that you might not have identified what the solution is addressing. It's about choosing the right solution for your needs. In terms of hardware or infrastructure, it's an Intel platform. What differentiates everyone is the additional value they can provide. Dell has many values that meet customer needs. I look at the customer's objectives and requirements as an IT professional to find the best solution. I haven't seen any drawbacks regarding the infrastructure deliverables or the value built into the tool. However, Dell as an organization could improve its channel management. For example, we've been trying to resolve an issue with our portal for two weeks. I'd like to see more simplification regarding integration, deployment, and connectivity for future releases. In deployment, I'd like to see simplification in creating VNets and positioning VMware across nodes. I want a template that simplifies the creation of VNets and VMware positioning. I'd push for more simplification and an intuitive graphical GUI that simplifies things with just a click.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It provided the much-needed HA on an extremely low budget."
"The ease of reaching the support team and their promptness for support is great."
"The top-notch support before, during, and after deployments are better than any other vendor I have come across."
"It allows you to use ANY consumer or enterprise HDDs and SSDs, and that's a really great thing!"
"It's quite easy to manage."
"The StarWind VSAN is always up and allows us to move VMS to other nodes for maintenance, without interruption to service."
"I have found the graphical user interface to be the most useful thing about Virtual SAN."
"StarWind saved us about 80% of our storage costs over our old solution."
"The solution is scalable."
"Dell PowerFlex is a one-stop-shop solution. Storage, compute, network, application monitoring, and support cases are all combined into one solution. It's very easy to administer compared to when you have a reference architecture where you need to design and build everything yourself. You would also then have to work with multiple vendors."
"The solution was connected to alternate storage. It provides great scalability and reliability."
"The tool's most valuable features are its price and flexibility. It has high performance."
"The solution is quite stable."
"The support is highly responsive."
"The integration with AWS is a valuable feature."
"The program is stable."
"Virtual machines for the infrastructure."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the speed."
"In comparison to traditional file load systems, Dell VxBlock System can be deployed quickly and results in monthly cost savings."
"The monitoring and management parts are the most valuable. Monitoring is specifically valuable because you have one console to monitor everything. This console is called Vision."
"Its performance is very good."
"With a converged infrastructure, it's easy to troubleshoot from network to server issues from a single point of reference."
"Customers use the Dell VxBlock System for new applications or solutions. For example, I'm working on a new mixing solution for a whole country in Africa. When we talk about it, there are many locations, and we're looking for efficiency, utilization, and solutions that can expand the application database we're deploying. It's used a lot for server consolidation and to consolidate environments into new ones for easy management. It's also used in health environments where they need to create infrastructure for products or solutions they want to launch to the market quickly."
"VxBlock has good performance, so that is an advantage."
 

Cons

"The interface of the management console of the StarWind Virtual SAN is complex, and it's difficult for the novice user to interact with the management having less knowledge or training in the product."
"Server-side snapshots are one thing the Linux appliance can't do yet."
"I would like to see improvements in the documentation area."
"You have to do a "full" sync on write-back cache disks instead of a quick sync if there is an issue."
"They need to improve the speed of the interfaces, thus allowing for better traffic on the network."
"I would love to see more vendor selection to be available for the HCA/vSAN appliances."
"I would like an automated installation/configuration despite the fact that their service is very collaborative, a customer should be able to deploy the solution by themselves."
"They require more media visibility."
"The tool is a bit difficult to configure, making it an area where improvements are required."
"I am not really impressed by the technical support of this solution."
"I think there might be some room for improvement when it comes to pricing, because although I know how to convert customers, at the end of day, it's quite expensive. Sometimes your feature architecture is still coming out much cheaper than hardware costs for your infrastructure."
"They need to work on improving the overhead for protecting the data."
"There should be more functionality available for routing."
"Including instrumentation would be a helpful improvement."
"I would like to see a more user-friendly interface."
"Licensing restrictions can be frustrating."
"We are finding it a bit challenging in terms of the management of a specific VxBlock component. Currently, we have different units as a part of the block storage. We have one for Cisco equipment and one for Dell. When we have an issue in the infrastructure, Dell EMC VxBlock System should automatically detect it and send a notification to VC support, but, unfortunately, it is doing that only for one unit. It is not working for Cisco components. We have informed them about this area of improvement, and they are working on this. The way different parts are integrated should be improved. We should have one console to log in to see all the infrastructure in terms of each machine and hardware."
"The solution could use a clearer description of working methods to tell people more about its use cases."
"The only thing that I can say is when you procure the VxBlock, obviously you have to complete detailed questionnaires about your architecture including the configuration, et cetera. If you make a mistake on the implementation, then you need to rebuild the entire VxBlock. That is just a point of consideration rather than a flaw. You need to be absolutely sure and validate the upfront configuration information that you provide because your VxBlock comes delivered and built, according to that exact information."
"The consistency of disc quality could be improved."
"It is a good product, but for us, it is like a black box. We are not really sure about its internal components, and how to do the terminal upgrade, and how to make sure about the security of the device. We understand how it works, but in order to do the upgrades, we have to get help from the company. We cannot do it ourselves. In another model that we had, the internal team could do the upgrade but not in this one. There is no clear process for a new upgrade or update. They should provide a software intelligence tool that has a dashboard where you can see the current firmware, the latest firmware, and the documentation and the process for the upgrade. For VxBlock, we have different management consoles. There is no single management console that you can use to manage all components inside VxBlock. Their scale up and scale out process is also not clear. Their support is also a little bit slow in responding to the cases."
"I'd like to see more simplification regarding integration, deployment, and connectivity for future releases. In deployment, I'd like to see simplification in creating VNets and positioning VMware across nodes. I want a template that simplifies the creation of VNets and VMware positioning. I'd push for more simplification and an intuitive graphical GUI that simplifies things with just a click."
"Does not support different kinds of mixed applications."
"This solution does not support Hyper-V, and we would like the new version to be supported and certified to work with Hyper-V."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The premium support from StarWinds is a must have. The ability to have access to a storage engineer 24/7 is a must for a production environment."
"The cost, including OPEX, is lower compared to other solutions."
"Licensing is easy and the whole package is cost-effective."
"The StarWind VSAN business model is very cost-effective."
"The cost seems a bit steep, and I wish it was less expensive."
"This is the best priced solution for an SMB."
"It's priced fairly. It was definitely cheaper than the competition. The licensing terms are straightforward and reasonable."
"This is a good, economical solution compared to data storage systems."
"I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
"The price could be improved."
"The price of the solution is fair, it is priced in the average range amongst competitors."
"The cost of this solution is fair."
"The solution is expensive and I give the cost a two out of ten."
"The pricing for this solution is good."
"From my perspective, pricing is expensive. If they can reduce the pricing or offer more customer incentives, it would attract more users."
"The solution's pricing could be much cheaper and affordable."
"We purchased this solution with a ten-year manufacturer warranty, and we have a three-year warranty with our local partner."
"Its price is high. That's why people are now moving to hyper-converge."
"Compared to other solutions, Dell VxBlock System is more expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Government
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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) combin...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for StarWind Virtual SAN?
If you are comfortable with the solution and you feel that you don't need support, you can begin with the free licenc...
What needs improvement with StarWind Virtual SAN?
Areas for improvement in StarWind Virtual SAN include simplifying the setup process, especially for users with limite...
What are the major differences between VxRail and Dell EMC PowerFlex?
VxRail vs. Dell EMC PowerFlex VxRail provides stable solutions for technical problems while at the same time not bein...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC PowerFlex?
If one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the price as eight and a half. The tool is expensive.
What do you like most about Dell EMC VxBlock System?
With a converged infrastructure, it's easy to troubleshoot from network to server issues from a single point of refer...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC VxBlock System?
Compared to other solutions, Dell VxBlock System is more expensive.
What needs improvement with Dell EMC VxBlock System?
I've worked with Dell and had the privilege of working with many OEMs. I started my career as a system engineer, work...
 

Also Known As

StarWind SAN & NAS
VxFlex, VxRack FLEX, PowerFlex
VxBlock, VCE VxBlock System, Dell EMC VxBlock, VxBlock 1000
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School
Canopy, 8x8Inc., Atos, Canadian Pacific, City of Denton, CenturyLink, BNP Paribas, Asyaport, EDF, CSC, Fox Sports, Insight, Hunter, KPIT, Paetec, Rosetta Stone, Sonda, Xerox
Atos, Canadian Pacific, IDS, City of Denton, CenturyLink, BNP Paribas, Asyaport, EDF, CSC, Fox Sports, Insight, Hunter, KPIT, Paetec, Rosetta Stone, Sonda, Switch, Xerox
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, VMware, Nutanix and others in HCI. Updated: November 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.