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Red Hat Ceph Storage vs VMware Software Defined Storage comparison

Red Hat and VMware are both solutions in the Software Defined Storage (SDS) category. Red Hat is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.8, while VMware is ranked #14 with an average rating of 8.5. Red Hat holds a 20.3% mindshare in SDS, compared to VMware’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 81% of Red Hat users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of VMware users who would recommend it.
Red Hat Ceph Storage
Read 25 Red Hat Ceph Storage reviews
  • 3,301 Views
  • 2,829 Comparison Views
81% willing to recommend
VMware Software Defined Sto...
Read 7 VMware Software Defined Storage reviews
  • 261 Views
  • 151 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 5, 2024

Red Hat Ceph Storage and VMware Software Defined Storage compete in the software-defined storage market. VMware often has the upper hand due to its comprehensive enterprise-level features and virtualization capabilities, despite Ceph's scalability and open-source integration.

Features: Red Hat Ceph Storage provides scalability, open-source compatibility, and seamless cloud integration, ideal for large-scale data environments. VMware Software Defined Storage offers advanced virtualization features, enterprise-grade security, and integration within VMware's ecosystem for improved virtual environment functionality.

Room for Improvement: Red Hat Ceph Storage could enhance its enterprise support and virtualization features, while simplifying management tools. VMware Software Defined Storage might improve open-source compatibility, reduce pricing for broader accessibility, and enhance scalability options beyond VMware environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Red Hat Ceph Storage provides flexible deployment with strong support for integration and troubleshooting. VMware Software Defined Storage offers a streamlined deployment within VMware environments, with efficient customer service tailored to enterprise needs, making the process smoother for clients.

Pricing and ROI: Red Hat Ceph Storage's competitive pricing reflects its open-source nature, offering quicker ROI for those leveraging open-source infrastructure. VMware Software Defined Storage, while more costly, provides substantial ROI through enhanced management and virtualization efficiencies, appealing to enterprises seeking comprehensive benefits.

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To learn more, read our detailed Red Hat Ceph Storage vs. VMware Software Defined Storage Report (Updated: January 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Red Hat Ceph Storage vs. VMware Software Defined Storage
January 2025
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Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Red Hat Ceph Storage
Ranking in Software Defined Storage (SDS)
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
File and Object Storage (2nd)
VMware Software Defined Sto...
Ranking in Software Defined Storage (SDS)
14th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Software Defined Storage (SDS) category, the mindshare of Red Hat Ceph Storage is 20.3%, down from 20.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Software Defined Storage is 0.9%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined Storage (SDS)
 

Featured Reviews

ANDRE VINICIUS HAMERSKI - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers cost-effective scalability through open-source storage integration
Ceph Storage allows us to add value related to cost and offers a unique experience compared to traditional storage. We appreciate the scalability of the open-source solution, allowing us to address our growing data needs without encountering major issues. Having used it as a pilot system in Brazil, we gained significant knowledge and the ability to manage our infrastructure as code.
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RashidAnwar - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable solution that can be used for database applications and virtualization for multiple locations
VMware Software Defined Storage is used for database applications and virtualization for multiple locations VMware Software Defined Storage gives higher availability against data corruption. Redundancy and scalability are the other valuable features of the solution. You can scale it on the go,…
Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's a very performance-intensive, brilliant storage system, and I always recommend it to customers based on its benefits, performance, and scalability."
"Without any extra costs, I was able to provide a redundant environment."
"The ability to provide block storage and object storage from the same storage cluster is very valuable for us."
"I would definitely recommend Red Hat Ceph Storage. It is a complete solution for cloud-native storage needs."
"We have not encountered any stability issues for the product."
"Ceph Storage allows us to add value related to cost and offers a unique experience compared to traditional storage."
"Red Hat Ceph Storage is a reliable solution, it works well."
"I like the distributed and self-healing nature of the product."
More Red Hat Ceph Storage pros
"VMware Software Defined Storage gives higher availability against data corruption."
"The single management panel is the main feature that is wonderful for the customer."
"The solution is simple to configure and provides good performance and less footprint."
"This is an easy-to-use product for adding flexibility to your storage solution."
"The most valuable features of the solution are that it is easy to deploy and the support is really good."
"The most valuable features of VMware Software Defined Storage are scalability, high availability, and performance."
"The most valuable features of VMware Software Defined Storage are scalability, high availability, and performance."
"The best part of the solution is that you can actually scale up to a large number of operating systems without additional hardware."
 

Cons

"It needs a better UI for easier installation and management."
"Geo-replication needs improvement. It is a new feature, and not well supported yet."
"Ceph is not a mature product at this time. Guides are misleading and incomplete. You will meet all kind of bugs and errors trying to install the system for the first time. It requires very experienced personnel to support and keep the system in working condition, and install all necessary packets."
"The storage capacity of the solution can be improved."
"Rebalancing and recovery are a bit slow."
"The product lacks RDMA support for inter-OSD communication."
"It takes some time to re-balance the storage in case of server failure."
"Ceph does not deal very well with, or takes a long time to recover from, certain kinds of network failures and individual storage node failures."
More Red Hat Ceph Storage cons
"The solution has some limitations in terms of replication to remote sites or cloud infrastructure, which need improvement."
"Simplifying the licensing model and making it cheaper would improve the solution."
"VMware Software Defined Storage should include a shared database on a standard version."
"The performance is not as good as some competing products and reporting can be improved."
"It doesn't have the ability to be deployed on any kind of hardware and network connectors."
"There is room for more integrations and plugins into more storages."
"The license model of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"I'd like to see improved hardware compatibility"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Most of time, you can get Ceph with the OpenStack solution in a subscription​​ as a bundle.​"
"The other big advantage is that Ceph is free software. Compared to traditional SAN based storage, it is very economical."
"The operational overhead is higher compared to Azure because we own the hardware."
"There is no cost for software."
"The price of Red Hat Ceph Storage is reasonable."
"If you can afford a product like Red Hat Ceph Storage then go for it. If you cannot, then you need to test Ceph and get your hands dirty."
"We never used the paid support."
"I rate the product’s pricing an eight out of ten."
More Red Hat Ceph Storage pricing and cost advice
"The product is quite expensive and is among the most expensive for this type of solution."
"I believe there is a yearly licensing fee of around $2000 - $5000. I don't think there are additional costs above that but it depends on the type of infrastructure you're booting."
"The solution is very expensive."
"A single socket costs you around US $6,000 for three years. At a minimum, you have a three load cluster for a medium or enterprise-scale company. It can get quite expensive because you're likely to need four to six sockets on the other side. It comes to around $30,000."
"VMware Software Defined Storage is a slightly expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How does Red Hat Ceph Storage compare with MiniO?
Red Hat Ceph does well in simplifying storage integration by replacing the need for numerous storage solutions. This solution allows for multiple copies of replicated and coded pools to be kept, ea...
See all answers
What do you like most about Red Hat Ceph Storage?
The high availability of the solution is important to us.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Red Hat Ceph Storage?
While the documentation for Ceph Storage is helpful, it could be improved. There are instances where we needed to consult additional online forums and communities for solutions to particular issues.
See all answers
What do you like most about VMware Software Defined Storage?
VMware Software Defined Storage gives higher availability against data corruption.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Software Defined Storage?
The solution is very expensive. We can buy a full hardware solution with the money we spend on the software.
See all answers
What needs improvement with VMware Software Defined Storage?
The license model of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required. The tool's licensing model has been changed to a new license scheme, and the price has almost gone up by fort...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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NetApp StorageGRID vs Red Hat Ceph Storage
Compared 5% of the time
Dell PowerFlex vs Red Hat Ceph Storage Logo
Dell PowerFlex vs Red Hat Ceph Storage
Compared 3% of the time
Portworx Enterprise vs Red Hat Ceph Storage Logo
Portworx Enterprise vs Red Hat Ceph Storage
Compared 3% of the time
More Red Hat Ceph Storage Competitors
No data available
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Software Defined Storage (SDS)
February 2025
Red Hat Ceph Storage reportDownload Red Hat Ceph Storage product report
Buyer's Guide
VMware Software Defined Storage
February 2025
VMware Software Defined Storage reportDownload VMware Software Defined Storage product report
 

Also Known As

Ceph
VMware SDS
 

Overview

Red Hat Ceph Storage is an enterprise open source platform that provides unified software-defined storage on standard, economical servers and disks. With block, object, and file storage combined into one platform, Red Hat Ceph Storage efficiently and automatically manages all your data.
Red Hat

VMware software-defined storage is a simple, yet intelligent, storage data center architecture that aligns with business and application demands—eliminating static, purpose-built and inefficient hardware with dynamic, agile and automated solutions.

VMware
 

Sample Customers

Dell, DreamHost
Helse Nord, Sky
Buyer's Guide
Red Hat Ceph Storage vs. VMware Software Defined Storage
January 2025
Free Report: Red Hat Ceph Storage vs. VMware Software Defined Storage
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