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Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Oracle Sun ZFS Storage Appliance 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)
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructur...
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
196
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Storage (SDS) (3rd), HCI (3rd), Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) (1st), Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms (4th)
Oracle Sun ZFS Storage Appl...
Average Rating
7.6
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

HCI
Modular SAN (Storage Area Network)
 

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.
Sisir Ghosh - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 17, 2023
Scales easily, helps with consolidation, and enables us to clone a VM
Usually, there are separate administration teams that take care of servers, but in our organization, servers are usually looked after by the application owner. However, the application owners cannot reinstall the software, OS, and other things. That only aligns with the role of the HCI administrator. If these rights can be provided, it will be very easy. Previously, it was there, but after certain updates, we found that they have withdrawn those services. For example, you requested a VM, and based on the business use case, I approved it and gave you a bare-metal server. Now you are the owner of that particular VM, so whatever you need, you should be able to do over there, but currently, you have to request me for the installation of the OS that you need, and I have to do it. It is an overhead for the HCI administrator. If that can be offloaded to the VM owners, that will be much easier for us. I have already shared this feedback with Nutanix.
RM
Sep 21, 2021
A stable unified storage system that enables quick access to data
We use Oracle Sun ZFS Storage Appliance for storage management.  I like its storage capacity, quick access to the data, speed, and overall storage management. The main thing Oracle can improve is the cost. It would be better if Oracle opened up the system to enable integration with other vendors.…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is also quite flexible. As an example, other vSAN solutions that we looked at had more stringent requirements regarding mixed HDD/SSD storage which wouldn't have worked in our environment."
"The StarWind VSAN is always up and allows us to move VMS to other nodes for maintenance, without interruption to service."
"Starwind made it easy to deploy fully redundant, highly available storage at a low cost."
"The install itself is easy as pie."
"The most useful aspect is the hyper-converged SD SAN and the ease to expand it by just adding cheap SSD or NVME disks."
"Having the ability to migrate machines live in our environment was made possible by this software."
"The StarWind Virtual SAN management console is intuitive and easy to use."
"User friendly interface and straight forward implementation."
"A lot of features are there, but for us, on the server administration side, creating a clone of the VM is valuable because many times, we have to deploy security patches. For deploying these patches, it helps to have a clone so that if something goes wrong, we can discard that VM and put back the clone VM. That is a very cool feature."
"The scalability is great."
"The solution remains stable across versions."
"Acropolis has a great interface and lots of management features packaged with it at an affordable price."
"Scaling is very easy and no limitations are set."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"It supports multi-cloud integration that includes AWS, Google, and Azure."
"Nutanix Acropolis AOS is flexible and has helped people to work from home during the pandemic."
"I like its storage capacity, quick access to the data, speed, and overall storage management."
 

Cons

"The only thing that I have any difficulty with is that in order to perform upgrades, it is required that the SANs be detached from the Hosts before that can happen."
"I would like to see an extensive set of cmdlets that could allow for easier automation as well as status management."
"Improvements in documentation and support resources could enhance the user experience."
"There is no Italian-language version of the software available."
"Perhaps more reporting features on the utilization, usage, and performance of the configured high-availability images and underlying physical disks would be helpful."
"I would like additional documentation regarding possible networking configurations with 10GbE switching."
"An extended trial period would serve as a way to get clean insights into the technology's adaptability and alignment with their specific needs before committing to long-term integration."
"Security on the ISCSI protocol could be improved by adding features like OS-type control access, especially for the data center environment."
"They need to improve the look and feel of the interface. The functionality is fine, but the appearance could be better."
"The GUI for this solution needs improvement."
"The product requires a lot of resources."
"The initial setup can be a bit difficult."
"Usually, there are separate administration teams that take care of servers, but in our organization, servers are usually looked after by the application owner. However, the application owners cannot reinstall the software, OS, and other things. That only aligns with the role of the HCI administrator. If these rights can be provided, it will be very easy."
"I would like to see more Kubernetes and container-related workflows and multiple cloud-partner management. I would also like to see how they will synergize all these AI/ML functionalities that are available on other platforms."
"It was not a great fit for really large databases that required high-end or lots of compute. They might already have addressed this concern around very high-end databases that require high-end compute. In the past, it wasn't a great fit for them."
"Setup can be a little difficult"
"The main thing Oracle can improve is the cost. It would be better if Oracle opened up the system to enable integration with other vendors. Whether it's the database, application server, or storage appliance, they should make it easy to integrate them. They need to open up more to ensure that it can work in any environment and IT ecosystem."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We found that the pricing was perfect; simple and clear."
"This solution is very accessible and the pro-level for support is well worth the cost."
"The support contract is well worth it. The price for it was very reasonable and their team has been very engaged whenever we reach out."
"This is the best priced solution for an SMB."
"Cost is affordable and licensing is smooth."
"We are happy with the price."
"The cost seems a bit steep, and I wish it was less expensive."
"Their pricing seems pretty good, and their licensing structure is pretty straightforward."
"This product is less expensive than some of the competing HCI solutions."
"AHV is free! This is a great feature that should be taken advantage of."
"Cost-wise, it is very good. It is like the hypervisor cost is not there. We only need to pay for the system and AOS licenses."
"This product is expensive, but they do have discounts. At one point, I saw that they were giving a 70% or 80% discount, which is a good thing, but maybe they should have a more realistic price and then a 5% to 10% discount."
"There is a license required for this solution and my clients usually purchase a two-year license with extended support. The price of the solution could be reduced, it is more expensive than competitors."
"It is slightly more expensive compared to a standard, on-prem, bare-metal configuration. There is about a 30 percent overhead there."
"Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure's core licensing needs to have an upper limit since processors are coming out with incredible numbers of cores on them."
"The price of the solution is high."
"The price could be better. We have many competing products now like Huawei and Dell EMC, and these are slightly cheaper."
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Comparison Review

it_user244362 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 30, 2015
Nutanix vs. VMware EVO:RAIL vs. FlexPod
Originally posted at www.storagegaga.com/dont-get-too-drunk-on-hyper-converged/ I hate the fact that I am bursting the big bubble brewing about Hyper Convergence (HC). I urge all to look past the hot air and hype frenzy that are going on, because in the end, the HC platforms have to be aligned…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
33%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Construction Company
9%
 

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...
What is the biggest difference between Nutanix Acropolis and VMware vSphere?
We found the reduced power consumption with Nutanix Acropolis AOS a very attractive feature. We also like the interfa...
How do I choose between Cisco Hyperflex HX Series and Nutanix Acropolis AOS?
Cisco HyperFlex HS series vs Nutanix Acropolis AOS Cisco HyperFlex gives extended hyper-convergence functions from ...
Which would you choose - Nutanix Acropolis AOS or VMware vSAN?
We found the reduced power consumption with Nutanix Acropolis AOS a very attractive feature. We also like the interfa...
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Also Known As

StarWind SAN & NAS
Nutanix Acropolis AOS, Nutanix AOS, Nutanix Acropolis
Sun ZFS Storage Appliance
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School
St. Lukes Health System, the City of Seattle, Yahoo! Japan, Sligro, Empire Life, Hyundai AUS, and many others.
Translational Genomics Research Institute, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, CyberSolutions Inc., Y-Telecom, First Alliance Bank Zambia Limited, AZ Sint-Jan Brugge-Oostende, Mutlinet Pakistan, TDC A/S, Digi-Key Corporation, Thurgau Cantonal Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, VMware, Nutanix and others in HCI. Updated: November 2024.
814,763 professionals have used our research since 2012.