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Dell vSAN Ready Nodes vs Sangfor HCI - Hyper Converged Infrastructure comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024
 

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 vSAN Ready Nodes
Ranking in HCI
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
16
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 vSAN Ready Nodes is 2.6%, down from 3.4% 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
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.
Saleh Khalid - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 24, 2024
Efficient consolidated storage and plug-and-play with room for more flexibility
We use Dell vSAN Ready Nodes for our insurance systems and employee systems, to host everything in one environment Using Dell vSAN Ready Nodes has consolidated our storage, which lifts most of the heavy work. The most beneficial feature is the consolidated storage which is the vSAN. It handles…
KashifAli - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 2, 2024
User-friendly GUI, capable technical support team but complicated license mechanism
I mainly used it for virtualization. Primarily virtualization and security groups For infrastructure management, Sangfor HCI bundles the hardware with their software. This means if you buy the bundle solution with Sangfor HCI and hardware, then they allow us to contribute as a command-line…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features are high availability and real-time replication between two servers."
"It has allowed me to effectively and confidently manage the maintenance of hosts where I can power off a host and have its VMs migrate to another one."
"Although StarWind Virtual SAN free is fully functional and can be used in production, the support that comes with the license is priceless."
"Implementing Starwind in our organization has been a game-changer, particularly in terms of cost savings. By leveraging Starwind's virtual tape library (VTL) solution, we have been able to use virtual tapes for our backups, which are then saved in Azure Blob storage."
"It provides shared storage to multiple hypervisor hosts. Times had changed, however. StarWind Virtual SAN is the “software replaces hardware” for SAN. We have access control and CCTV systems up and running using Microsoft clustering and shared storage"
"Ten gigabit Ethernet compatibility, support, ease of use, and management are some positive features."
"This product now allows us to migrate virtual machines between nodes as if we had a dedicated $100,000 SAN in the mix without the additional cost and management of the SAN."
"It has great free trials that allow end users to test a large variety of their products before deciding to buy the full product."
"The most valuable feature of Dell vSAN Ready Nodes is the flexibility of the nodes. Additionally, if there are any critical issues they update us through emails. The issues are taken care of remotely on the system."
"The product is useful for DR and other things."
"The most valuable feature of Dell vSAN Ready Nodes is file sharing."
"The tool's most valuable feature is high availability."
"We find the initial implementation process simple and straightforward."
"If I consider the overall product, I would say that it is an excellent solution that offers very good performance and stability."
"The solution immediately expands storage area when you add nodes."
"It is easy to install."
"I would rate the user-friendliness an eight out of ten."
"The initial setup isn't hard."
"Unlike VMware, Sangfor offers a straightforward solution with rich features and an easy-to-use interface. Its ease of management and strong integration capabilities make it a compelling choice."
"The manageability feature is the most important aspect of the solution."
"The Continuous Data Protection (CDP) feature is one of the good features."
"Sangfor HCI's best features are the ability to scale to a bigger size and the roadmap, whereby if they need to replicate their production to disaster recovery, they can do so on the same platform."
"The most valuable feature of Sangfor HCI is the built-in recovery functionality. The migration is simple to do from other solutions, such as VMware."
"You can get almost all the features of the tool at a low cost. The tool also has built-in backup mechanisms. It also has a physical firewall for internet management which other competitors lack."
 

Cons

"Management tools could be improved, sometimes the usage seems to be slowed down and confusing. A native web interface could also be an option. I love to see in the future port of the software on a general Linux distribution like RedHat or Ubuntu in order to avoid windows license costs. I would also like to see features like erasure coding implemented. On the VSAN software, I would like to see some improvements in the storage pools (eliminate the usage of the file as a data container and use the raw partition)."
"I would love to see more vendor selection to be available for the HCA/vSAN appliances."
"It would be helpful to have a little more insight into what kind of performance the VSAN cluster is utilizing; something that would be more proactive on our side, versus their ProActive Support."
"The product can include a more simple way of synchronization after a forced shutdown as the current process has a few more steps to check that hosts have synchronized and this can be automated."
"It is difficult to control all of the hardware components."
"The number of different ways you can set it up can make it a little daunting."
"The system performs as expected, but we're always looking for performance improvements regarding the best utilization of NVMe disks."
"I would definitely like to see quite a bit more on the monitoring side of things."
"The Dell VxRail solution is based on vSAN Ready Nodes, but the Dell VxRail is fully automated. It would be helpful if this automation feature could be added to the Dell vSAN Ready Nodes. For example, we need to install VMware ESXi, and manually expand the cluster."
"Upgrades are carried out manually."
"The solution should provide daily task alerts for data recovery maintenance, usage, and other instructions to ensure the systems are in a good status."
"The deployment is done by doing it one by one and could be simplified."
"Scalability is an area that could be improved. We are looking at a maximum of 32 nodes now in a cluster, but going to 64 or 128 would be a major advantage."
"Dell vSAN Ready Nodes' deployment is complex."
"This product is not sufficiently scalable."
"Dell EMC vSAN Ready Nodes is a great hyper-converged system that is a perfect platform for supporting any kind of workload. The only workload that it's not designed to support is big data."
"There is a feature to upgrade multiple VMs simultaneously, but it crashes."
"Sangfor HCI could be improved with certification and the right ecosystem for ISVs like Oracle and SAP."
"The interface could be a little bit better."
"Sangfor could improve its built-in CAP system. Right now, we need to use an external tool for CAP."
"There are certain aspects of sizing of the solution that need improvement."
"The cost must be improved."
"Sangfor’s hypervisor is not mature enough to handle all the flavors related to industrial needs."
"The error reporting needs to be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This solution is very accessible and the pro-level for support is well worth the cost."
"StarWind is best price/performance for SMB."
"The licensing is straightforward, with free and trial versions available."
"If you are looking at a traditional SAN for a small cluster, give StarWind vSAN because you will save thousands without any compromise."
"Cost is affordable and licensing is smooth."
"I would suggest that you download the free version, deploy in your lab, and play with it."
"I think that purchasing StarWind Virtual SAN Professional Edition would be optimal for most."
"This solution has competitive prices and the implementation is very easy."
"We have a four-year contract to use Dell EMC vSAN Ready Nodes."
"The price of the solution was reasonable."
"Comparing the price of Dell vSAN Ready Nodes to other solutions it is not expensive."
"The solution is more expensive than a traditional array. The prices are skyrocketing."
"The tool's pricing is competitive compared to others. The tool's licensing is based on annual subscriptions."
"There is a problem, which is the lack of an integrated price structure."
"My company makes yearly payments towards the licensing charges attached to the solution. The solution is expensive."
"The price of Sangfor is cheaper than other competing products."
"The tool’s pricing is better when compared to VMware or Nutanix. The product’s licensing is on a yearly basis."
"The solution is affordable."
"From a business perspective, we use Sangfor HCI due to its competitive pricing compared to other competitors such as Nutanix."
"The solution is very cheap."
"The solution is on-premise which does not have a subscription. However, there is a need to purchase support. The solution is on a perpetual license model. There is not any extra cost other than the standard licensing fees."
"I would say its pricing is between cheap and reasonable and would rate it as three out of five."
"Sangfor needs to be more aggressive because this is a new market or territory for Sangfor. Nepal is a very price-sensitive market, so Sangfor needs to be a little more aggressive with its pricing. I would rate them 3.75 out of five in terms of the price."
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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%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
18%
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?
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 do you like most about Dell vSAN Ready Nodes?
If I consider the overall product, I would say that it is an excellent solution that offers very good performance and...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell vSAN Ready Nodes?
Comparing it with similar solutions, it was more pricey. Including the VCF solution, it was at a higher price point.
What needs improvement with Dell vSAN Ready Nodes?
The solution should offer more flexibility and freedom for the customer. Currently, it's like a black box that only D...
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
vSAN Ready Nodes
No data available
 

Learn More

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School
Rackspace
TOSHIBA TEC Singapore, J&T Express Indonesia, Crowne Plaza Vietnam, Hermina Hospital Indonesia
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell vSAN Ready Nodes vs. Sangfor HCI - Hyper Converged Infrastructure and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.