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Dell PowerFlex vs Sangfor HCI - Hyper Converged Infrastructure comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

Customer Service

Sentiment score
8.5
StarWind Virtual SAN offers highly responsive, 24/7 support with quick resolutions and expert guidance, ensuring a stress-free experience.
No sentiment score available
Dell PowerFlex support offers 24/7 assistance; opinions vary, with praise for reliable resolution but concerns about delays and communication.
No sentiment score available
Sangfor HCI customer service is largely praised for responsiveness but occasionally faces language barriers and documentation concerns.
 

Room For Improvement

Sentiment score
6.8
StarWind Virtual SAN requires improved documentation, enhanced tools, user interface, management features, and better cross-platform and cloud integration.
No sentiment score available
Dell PowerFlex users desire enhanced monitoring, reporting, integration, user interface, flexibility, automation, cloud migration, and improved documentation.
No sentiment score available
Sangfor HCI needs improvements in performance, compatibility, security, interface, third-party integration, ERP compatibility, and support services.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
StarWind Virtual SAN excels in scalable growth with flexible, efficient handling and enhanced performance through licensing for evolving needs.
No sentiment score available
Dell PowerFlex is praised for its scalability, easily accommodating large environments, despite minor scalability enhancement needs.
No sentiment score available
Sangfor HCI is praised for scalability and adaptability, though faces challenges with power consumption and component mismatches during updates.
 

Setup Cost

Sentiment score
8.4
StarWind Virtual SAN offers flexible, cost-effective pricing with scalable, low-cost setup and valued support, ideal for budget-conscious enterprises.
No sentiment score available
Dell PowerFlex pricing is competitive with medium-range affordability, valued for flexibility, but users seek better cost management and incentives.
No sentiment score available
Sangfor HCI offers cost-effective pricing and comprehensive features compared to VMware and Nutanix, with straightforward licensing.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.9
StarWind Virtual SAN offers reliable performance and support, excelling in uptime and data management even amidst hardware failures.
No sentiment score available
Dell PowerFlex offers stable, reliable performance for small to mid-sized environments, though less ideal for high-end needs.
No sentiment score available
Sangfor HCI is highly stable with minimal downtime, though some report compatibility issues and occasional crashes, depending on implementation.
 

Valuable Features

Sentiment score
8.4
StarWind Virtual SAN excels in high availability, seamless integration, cost-effectiveness, and performance, ensuring uninterrupted operations and scalability.
No sentiment score available
Dell PowerFlex enhances management, scalability, and performance with strong VMware integration, improving efficiency, reliability, and data protection.
No sentiment score available
Sangfor HCI offers scalability, data protection, and user-friendliness with robust features, enhancing security and simplifying management through its GUI.
 

Categories and Ranking

StarWind Virtual SAN
Sponsored
Ranking in HCI
4th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.1
Number of Reviews
189
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Storage (SDS) (1st)
Dell PowerFlex
Ranking in HCI
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sangfor HCI - Hyper Converg...
Ranking in HCI
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Management (14th)
 

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 Sangfor HCI - Hyper Converged Infrastructure is 3.5%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
HCI
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmed Hosni - PeerSpot reviewer
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
A hyper-converged infrastructure that is like a mini data center of its own
There are two categories, namely, the appliances and the racks. The partners are able to set up the Dell PowerFlex appliances, but not fully. The partners are able to physically set up the appliances, while the OEM will set them up logically. The PowerFlex racks are fully set up by the OEM, both physically and logically. The solution's initial setup is not pretty straightforward in emerging markets at the moment.
KashifAli - PeerSpot reviewer
User-friendly GUI, capable technical support team but complicated license mechanism
Sangfor HCI's license mechanism is too complicated. The license agreement is a distributed license. Within the HCI platform, Sangfor HCI has multiple licenses in terms of services. Sangfor HCI has a separate license for the security services, a separate license for the Doctor services, and application services. They have multiple SKUs in separate forms. As per local market requirements, I think they need to couple up these or bundle up the license model.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
7%
 

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?
Choose StarWind Virtual SAN, it is the most flexible, reliable and cheap solution.
What needs improvement with StarWind Virtual SAN?
While using StarWind Virtual SAN so far, I have not found anything missing. It is true that we are using it in a very...
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?
From my perspective, pricing is expensive. If they can reduce the pricing or offer more customer incentives, it would...
What do you like most about Sangfor HCI?
It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten... Scalability-wise, I rate the solutio...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sangfor HCI?
I rate the pricing of Sangfor HCI at a five, as it is thirty to thirty-five percent more efficient than other solutio...
What needs improvement with Sangfor HCI?
I would like Sangfor to have a presence on some public cloud offerings, such as Azure or AWS, to build disaster recov...
 

Also Known As

StarWind SAN & NAS
VxFlex, VxRack FLEX, PowerFlex
No data available
 

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
TOSHIBA TEC Singapore, J&T Express Indonesia, Crowne Plaza Vietnam, Hermina Hospital Indonesia
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerFlex vs. Sangfor HCI - Hyper Converged Infrastructure and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
816,192 professionals have used our research since 2012.