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HPE SimpliVity vs Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series 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)
HPE SimpliVity
Ranking in HCI
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
153
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series
Ranking in HCI
18th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

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 HPE SimpliVity is 9.7%, down from 10.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series is 0.7%, up from 0.5% 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.
Xavier Perez - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 3, 2024
Has a deployment phase that is straightforward but needs improvement in the area of scalability
The main issue with HPE SimpliVity is that you are very attached to VMware or VMware dependencies because the tool works with VMware technology. HPE SimpliVity is an add-on from VMware. Nowadays, my company has a lot of concerns about VMware's licensing policy. Another big concern of the tool is related to security because one has to continuously update patch vulnerabilities that are appearing continuously in VMware's different versions. Actually, the foundation of all the architecture is VMware and that is one of the main issues with the tool. My company is analyzing our virtual infrastructure strategy to see if we can move to Nutanix because maybe it may work better and might have another approach. Nutanix is absolutely independent of VMware. I could add that since HPE SimpliVity is very precisely dependent on VMware, it is not open to containers unlike Nutanix, for example. The aforementioned area is a concern that needs to be resolved by HPE.
Adeel Hashmi - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 27, 2023
With an easy deployment phase, the tool offers good scalability and stability
Suppose you don't compare Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series with the newest features available in the other variants of the product, then everything is pretty standard, so I cannot pinpoint any areas of issue in particular. With Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series, the firmware from VMware or Nutanix takes time to be made available compared to other products that we use in our company's IT environment. If you want to go to a certain version of VMware and check what Nutanix offers, you see that both the offerings don't go hand in hand, and you have to wait for a quarter or two quarters until you see the same versions of both being made available for the other products, like Dell or HPE. There is a delay in the availability of similar versions of firmware from both the products, which are VMware and Nutanix for Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series, due to the delayed releases from both products, maybe by a quarter or so. The aforementioned area can be considered for improvement in a solution. In future releases of the product, I may want some improvements to be made in the products from Nutanix and VMware.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It has a nice, simple control panel. You can clearly see the state and health of storage along with the synchronization."
"The most useful aspect is the hyper-converged SD SAN and the ease to expand it by just adding cheap SSD or NVME disks."
"The ability to keep data accessible even in the event of hardware failures is highly valued, as it ensures business continuity."
"The product creates opportunities with hybrid on-premise solutions."
"Starwind made it easy to deploy fully redundant, highly available storage at a low cost."
"Given the high availability of the server cluster, we were able to reduce separate physical servers onto one hyper-converged cluster - this saved in OPEX and CAPEX costs immediately, along with licensing costs of the Windows Server licenses."
"The most valuable features are high availability and real-time replication between two servers."
"Having support is also very valuable to us as we are a small team."
"The replication from the different centers (the main to the secondary) has been very great. It is good value for us."
"Dedupe, compression, and replication of primary and secondary data, locally and remotely."
"It is a very stable solution."
"Looking at the way that our infrastructure team works now, we don't think about infrastructure, storage, or compute anymore. The solution just works. It is same with the backup and replication side of things, as it just works on schedule. We don't have to manage it tightly, like we used to."
"There is no single feature that's the most valuable. All of SimpliVity's components work together to make daily operations easier for our customers."
"What I appreciate most about HPE SimpliVity is its seamless integration of hardware."
"We have not had any problem with customer support at SimpliVity."
"The solution's simplicity is its most valuable feature. The usability is also good."
"The most valuable features of the Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series are the ease of use and simple configuration."
"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that the product's deployment phase is pretty easy."
"The initial setup is simple. We were able to deliver the hyper-convergence solution in a very good time."
 

Cons

"I'm sure it needs bug fixes..."
"It would be nice if we could designate pools, or tiers, for storage of different speeds, and then assign rules to new VMs that would automatically place them into the proper pool."
"Including their own hyper-visor would be a valuable improvement over simply integrating with Hyper-V."
"I'd prefer it if a remote console was provided."
"Our company was hoping for deduplication and encryption across HCI. That is currently not supported."
"I would say that the documentation is mostly great, however, some features could be expanded upon a bit."
"The documentation can be better for the free tier."
"I would like to see more advanced free versions."
"The local support in Argentina is not good. This is a new technology and HP doesn't have a lot of technology specialists here in Argentina. It's very hard to find the specialist here."
"The solution wasn't able to connect to the cloud, and there's no micro-segmentation. The configuration of this solution is also complex."
"The solution could improve by adding better support of the VMware add-ons and a more intuitive user interface for administrators."
"HPE SimpliVity should cost less."
"The initial setup was complex. It took a few months to integrate and adapt to the new platform."
"One thing that I would like to see improved is the flexibility of the node expansion."
"They could have better-specialized support for more countries."
"In the next release of the solution, they should make updating the solution easier. Currently, we have HPE doing it for us but I would like to be able to do it."
"There is a delay in the availability of similar versions of firmware from both the products, which are VMware and Nutanix for Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series, due to the delayed releases from both products, maybe by a quarter or so."
"Here in Nigeria, the only challenge that we have, which I think is also experienced globally is the delay in bringing in the spare parts. This is a challenge facing our country, such as the Forex market. However, this is beyond the control of Lenovo themselves."
"Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series could improve by having better integration with the solutions from VMware and vCenter"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This solution has competitive prices and the implementation is very easy."
"I think the bang for the buck is much better with StarWind Virtual SAN."
"The cost takes into account the number of nodes, so the size of the storage is not important."
"The cost, including OPEX, is lower compared to other solutions."
"Once you buy the license, you are free to build your own hardware solution based on your needs."
"This is the best priced solution for an SMB."
"I think the cost of this solution is quite fair."
"The StarWind VSAN business model is very cost-effective."
"It has helped to reduce our VMware licensing costs due to host consolidation."
"The pricing of HPE SimpliVity is comparable with other solutions so the price is good."
"The licenses from the product are expensive compared to the other solutions in the market."
"The pricing is very high."
"Its licensing is yearly."
"It's about $10,000 monthly."
"The price of the solution is reasonable. We have purchased a five-year license with all the support and upgrades."
"For the VMware licensing, it is approximately $10,000 a year."
"Price-wise, it is a pretty good product. The product's price was one of the main criteria that made my company choose it over the other products in the market."
"When comparing this solution to other OEM solutions it is relatively inexpensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
57%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
5%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Computer Software Company
19%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Retailer
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

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...
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...
How does HPE Simplivity compare with VMware vSAN?
HPE SimpliVity is a hyper-converged infrastructure solution that is primarily geared to mid-sized companies. We resea...
What do you like most about HPE SimpliVity?
The solution's technical support is good.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE SimpliVity?
The price is almost equal to VMware vSAN, making it not much cost saving. However, the time-saving during upgrades is...
What do you like most about Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series?
The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that the product's deployment phase is pretty easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series?
Price-wise, it is a pretty good product. The product's price was one of the main criteria that made my company choose...
What needs improvement with Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series?
Suppose you don't compare Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series with the newest features available in the other variants of the...
 

Also Known As

StarWind SAN & NAS
SimpliVity, HPE HCI
Lenovo HX Series, ThinkAgile HX Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School
Red Bull Racing, Mandarin Oriental, Brigham Young University, UCLA, Merlin Entertainments, Sasa Cosmetics, Travelport, St. John’s Riverside Hospital, Princess House
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Find out what your peers are saying about HPE SimpliVity vs. Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,763 professionals have used our research since 2012.