Dell PowerFlex vs Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure comparison

Dell Technologies and Huawei are both solutions in the HCI category. Dell Technologies is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.5, while Huawei is ranked #14 with an average rating of 10.0. Dell Technologies holds a 12.6% mindshare in HCI, compared to Huawei’s 1.1% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 80% of Huawei users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

Dell PowerFlex and Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure compete in the hyper-converged infrastructure category. Dell PowerFlex tends to offer a slight advantage in terms of support and pricing, while Huawei FusionCube is recognized for its feature set and perceived value.

Features: Dell PowerFlex boasts versatility, scalability, strong data protection, and storage capabilities. Huawei FusionCube provides integrated compute, storage, and network resources for seamless hyper-convergence and efficient management.

Room for Improvement: Dell PowerFlex can benefit from simplifying its deployment process, improving integration with third-party tools, and enhancing automation features. Huawei FusionCube could improve by offering more competitive pricing, expanding third-party compatibility, and refining its documentation for ease of use.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Huawei FusionCube is praised for its straightforward deployment and excellent customer service, providing robust support and integration assistance. Dell PowerFlex offers strong customer service but has a more complex deployment process requiring additional technical expertise.

Pricing and ROI: Dell PowerFlex presents a competitive setup cost, balancing expense and ROI, making it financially accessible. Huawei FusionCube, despite a higher initial setup cost, provides strong ROI due to its comprehensive features and performance benefits.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell PowerFlex vs. Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure Report (Updated: October 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerFlex vs. Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

October 2024

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Categories and Ranking

StarWind Virtual SAN

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the HCI category, the mindshare of StarWind Virtual SAN is 2.3%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerFlex is 12.6%, up from 7.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure is 1.1%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

HCI

Featured Reviews

Ahmed Hosni

Senior System Engineer at Giza Systems

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.

Read full review

Ayodeji Oyewole

Managing Director at Atlantic factorial

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…

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VISHWAJITSHAH

Sr. Cloud Architect at Intuitive Technology Partners

Feb 19, 2024

Combines network, storage, and compute functions in one place

The best thing about the solution is that it combines network, storage, and compute functions in one place. Unlike the traditional three-tier setup, you don't need to buy separate devices for each part. This makes it much easier to control and manage everything in one go without switching between…

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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

"This has helped to improve the reliability of service and operation in all departments, without having to stop in case of emergency situations."

"StarWind Virtual SAN (vSAN) offers a significant breadth of features."

"We test live failovers every week, and so far, everything has been running smoothly without anything unexpected."

"You can turn your local disk storage into high-availability iSCSI storage."

"Training is also easy as it is just one system to learn."

"The support team is available to solve any problem efficiently."

"The features that I found most valuable are ease of use of the software that StarWind offers - with the first setup being a bit painful."

"It also provides a high degree of mobility, as the virtual SAN can be moved relatively painlessly between on-site devices and the cloud."

More StarWind Virtual SAN pros

"The most valuable feature is the overall integration and just seeing the three different layers which make up the machine software. Altogether, it's something that I would say is much better than any other solution that I have experienced before."

"The solution was connected to alternate storage. It provides great scalability and reliability."

"Dell PowerFlex improves our latency which allowed us to reduce a lot of our Microsoft Enterprise SQL licenses."

"Perfectly suits customers dealing with the combination of future storage needs and, at the same time, keeping up their computing power."

"The resiliency and data protection are the most valuable features."

"The solution's most valuable feature is the storage space it offers."

"The setup was very straightforward."

"Saves us a lot of space in the data center."

More Dell PowerFlex pros

"The solution is stable and everything is taken care of through the Huawei support center. They ensure everything is running smoothly. It's been very good."

"The best thing about the solution is that it combines network, storage, and compute functions in one place. Unlike the traditional three-tier setup, you don't need to buy separate devices for each part. This makes it much easier to control and manage everything in one go without switching between different places for different tasks."

"The product is very reliable. We haven't had any major issues with the product since we bought it."

"The pricing of the solution is excellent. It's one of the main reasons a customer chooses Huawei. It's much, much better than VMware."

"The most valuable feature of Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure is the relocating of resources."

Cons

"Having more support plan options would be nice."

"It runs until it does not - and disaster recovery documentation is sparse and mostly unclear."

"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."

"I wish there was online support because email return takes a long time and a faster solution should be found."

"It would be helpful if StarWind provided more precise and detailed documentation explaining how to configure the solution in various scenarios, including the advantages and disadvantages of each."

"StarWind currently has a Windows native application that it uses for management. There is not a web-based GUI at this time."

"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."

"I would say that the documentation is mostly great, however, some features could be expanded upon a bit."

More StarWind Virtual SAN cons

"There should be more functionality available for routing."

"It would be great to get earlier access to beta builds because we have to develop providers on our own. The APIs and enablers for custom automation could also be improved."

"I am not really impressed by the technical support of this solution."

"Including instrumentation would be a helpful improvement."

"They need to work on improving the overhead for protecting the data."

"The biggest issue with the solution is that it doesn't support Hyper V. It's a big problem."

"The installation is complex."

"They should provide continuous support for data migration."

More Dell PowerFlex cons

"Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure could improve the security of the solution. However, we are comfortable using it. Additionally, there could be more information provided for the solution and the interface could be more user-friendly."

"t would be helpful if the solution was able to collaborate or integrate with other well-known monitoring tools. Right now, you have to work hard to get it configured. It would be a good selling point for them if they could open up their solution to more integrations."

"Technical support needs improvement. There's a lot of language barriers."

"The solution currently does not have cloud integration."

"I want the product to be used more efficiently and for our system to connect easily with cloud services like AWS, Oracle, and IBM. We can also improve by adding advanced features like snapshots, replication, and encryption, allowing for more growth. Introducing features such as data duplication, data analytics, and AI-driven insights will improve its deployments."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I think that purchasing StarWind Virtual SAN Professional Edition would be optimal for most."

"The licensing is straightforward, with free and trial versions available."

"I would suggest that you download the free version, deploy in your lab, and play with it."

"The cost takes into account the number of nodes, so the size of the storage is not important."

"The setup cost, pricing, and licensing are very straightforward. They are exactly what you expect."

"The Price/Performance ratio for this solution is outstanding!"

"The license is reusable. We can always rebuild it and apply the license. Then, boom, we get new servers, apply the license, and we're back up and running."

"This solution is very accessible and the pro-level for support is well worth the cost."

More StarWind Virtual SAN pricing and cost advice

"We have a good contact in Dell and he prepared all the information and provided everything to us."

"From my perspective, pricing is expensive. If they can reduce the pricing or offer more customer incentives, it would attract more users."

"The solution is expensive and I give the cost a two out of ten."

"The solution's pricing could be much cheaper and affordable."

"The price of the solution is fair, it is priced in the average range amongst competitors."

"If one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the price as eight and a half. The tool is expensive."

"The pricing for this solution is good."

"The solution's price is medium."

More Dell PowerFlex pricing and cost advice

"The price of Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure is very good. There is a perpetual license for the solution, there are not any additional costs for the hardware. We have a license in case there is any new functionality that is required."

"I rate Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure's pricing a six out of ten."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

18%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Government

Computer Software Company

23%

Government

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What needs improvement with StarWind Virtual SAN?

Areas for improvement in StarWind Virtual SAN include simplifying the setup process, especially for users with limite...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about Dell EMC PowerFlex?

The support is highly responsive.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What do you like most about Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure?

The best thing about the solution is that it combines network, storage, and compute functions in one place. Unlike th...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure?

I rate Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure's pricing a six out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure?

I want the product to be used more efficiently and for our system to connect easily with cloud services like AWS, Ora...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct vs StarWind Virtual SAN

Compared 17% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs StarWind Virtual SAN

Compared 13% of the time

DataCore SANsymphony vs StarWind Virtual SAN

Compared 6% of the time

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VxRail vs Dell PowerFlex

Compared 50% of the time

VMware vSAN vs Dell PowerFlex

Compared 15% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Dell PowerFlex

Compared 9% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs Dell PowerFlex

Compared 6% of the time

HPE Alletra dHCI vs Dell PowerFlex

Compared 5% of the time

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Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

Compared 30% of the time

VMware vSAN vs Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

Compared 28% of the time

Sangfor HCI - Hyper Converged Infrastructure vs Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

Compared 13% of the time

VxRail vs Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

Compared 12% of the time

More Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

StarWind Virtual SAN

October 2024

Download StarWind Virtual SAN product report

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerFlex

November 2024

Download Dell PowerFlex product report

Buyer's Guide

HCI

November 2024

Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure report

Download Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure product report

Also Known As

StarWind SAN & NAS

VxFlex, VxRack FLEX, PowerFlex

FusionCube 6000, FusionCube 6000C, FusionCube 2000, FusionCube Virtual SAN-Ready Nodes

Learn More

StarWind

Dell Technologies

Huawei

Overview

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.

VxRack System consists of hyper-converged rack-scale engineered systems, with integrated networking, to achieve the scalability and management requirements of traditional and cloud native workloads. The VxRack series is purposely designed to enable customers to quickly deploy Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and/or Private Cloud architectures. VxRack Systems tightly integrate hardware with software and management layers.

The result is a fully tested, pre-configured, hyper-converged system with simplified operations at data center and Service Provider scale. VxRack Systems support the deployment of a variety of application workloads, allowing IT to rapidly deliver new services while improving overall agility and efficiency.

Huawei FusionCube is a hyper-converged infrastructure, which consists of computing, storage, network, virtualization, and management systems.

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

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerFlex vs. Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

October 2024

Free Report: Dell PowerFlex vs. Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerFlex vs. Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.

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