Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Sangfor HCI - Hyper Converged Infrastructure vs Scale Computing Platform comparison

Sponsored
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

StarWind Virtual SAN
Sponsored
Ranking in HCI
4th
Average Rating
9.6
Number of Reviews
187
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Storage (SDS) (1st)
Sangfor HCI - Hyper Converg...
Ranking in HCI
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Management (15th)
Scale Computing Platform
Ranking in HCI
16th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2024, in the HCI category, the mindshare of StarWind Virtual SAN is 2.2%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor HCI - Hyper Converged Infrastructure is 3.4%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Scale Computing Platform is 1.2%, up from 1.0% 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.
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…
Benjamin Bodenehim - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 19, 2023
The solution is user-friendly, stable, and easy to deploy
The primary use case is to create our own cloud and virtualization out of the cloud The most valuable feature of the solution is the nice GUI. The solution has a lot of user-friendly features. The snapshot technology takes up 500 times more space compared to other solutions. The snapshots are…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We have been able to use more on-prem hardware to reduce cost and also use old disks that we do not trust enough for ordinary RAID or usage."
"StarWind Virtual SAN (vSAN) offers a significant breadth of features."
"StarWind Virtual SAN offers high availability and data resilience features to prevent data loss if hardware fails."
"Highly available storage is the most valuable feature. The entire rollout is hyper-converged and requires no extra storage further than the hosts in which Hyper-V is running. Another feature that has been great is the support from StarWind in general. We have their proactive support package on the main cluster that employs Starwind Virtual SAN."
"StarWind allows us to move virtual machines from one physical host to another, which greatly reduces the downtime required for maintenance."
"The iSCSI protocol is quite simple to configure."
"In the three years that we have been using StarWind, the product has yet to cause us any problems."
"The instant failover, with vSAN copying data to the second node, allowed for the continuous availability of our applications."
"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."
"Very user-friendly and simple."
"I am impressed with the product's firewall and virtualization."
"I find the simplicity of Sangfor very valuable. It is easy to configure and user-friendly. The overall user experience as well as the usability of Sangfor is outstanding."
"It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten... Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"It is flexible like a hyper-convergence system. You can add nodes, and you can scale to have better performance and stability. I also like the backup feature, the recovery system, and the web interface GUI to handle everything."
"The most valuable feature is the three nodes and the free hypervisor."
"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."
"I like that Scale Computing HCR is slimmed down and gives me the features I need and not features that I don't need."
"The product's initial setup phase is too easy."
"The solution is scalable."
"I rate Scale Computing support 10 out of 10. They're accessible and responsive."
"The most valuable features are the appliance-type feel and that you don't need additional licenses as everything is built-in."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the nice GUI."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"The most valuable feature of Scale Computing HC3 is if one of the devices fails, you won't even notice, the service maintains operation. The customers don't have to waste two, or three days on delays. Additionally, you do not have to waste time with recovery software, it is a lot easier."
 

Cons

"If there was one feature I would like to see it would be a built-in subsystem for managing UPS backups shutdown procedures providing a way to initiate VM shutdown on all host servers, shut down the host servers, then put the fault-tolerant mirroring in standby, and finally shut down the StarWind SANs."
"In the next release, Starwind should include enhanced integration with cloud services for more seamless hybrid cloud operations. Advanced analytics and reporting tools would improve monitoring and decision-making."
"I had issues locating the documentation that applied to my version of StarWind vSAN."
"When you will cease your contract with StarWind (for support) your product won't be updated and that is a big selling point, especially for us, as we have loads of products from StarWind."
"The console is something that I feel could be improved. There is nothing technically wrong with it, but it can be jazzed up and/or made to be a little more intuitive."
"Besides not being able to use any filesystem, I do not have any additional cons."
"It would be nice to see a new UI for the windows client, as it is not the easiest to find settings."
"Feature-wise we are only waiting for the release of a "planned disaster" feature that would allow us to patch a hypervisor node without having to take the full storage offline."
"It should have object storage. It already has network virtualization and micro-segmentation, but it is missing object storage. It does not have object storage. vSAN also does not have object storage, but Nutanix has object storage, and it is natively integrated into its HCI. So, if you pay for the object storage license, you have that module pre-built."
"One question that has come up frequently in the last week is whether or not the renewal cost for Sangfor's HCI solution is too high."
"I would want the product to include Continuous Data Protection (CDP) which can help to easily retrieve the data."
"There are certain aspects of sizing of the solution that need improvement."
"We have faced multiple types of challenges with the integration."
"My company faced some issues with the product, as our virtual machines crashed, and we had to face some security issues."
"Support may be an issue for customers in some industries. For example, financial institutions may require 24/7 support."
"As far as I know, no hyper-convergence solution includes security, so you have to buy security from another brand. For example, you buy SimpliVity or Nutanix. They don't really have a security solution inside the product. It would be good if there is a security solution inside this solution so that it is not only for the virtualization of CPU, RAM, disk, and network but also for security."
"There could be an easier way to see which servers are on each node"
"Scale Computing HC3 said in an announcement they were going to integrate with a backup service which would be good. If they could do this it would be beneficial."
"Scale HC3 improvements would involve literally fixing up the replication."
"I've had so many issues with the sales team when I was looking to make some improvements, and improve the performance. They would create so many excuses to force me to buy new nodes all the time and not let me add more memory to each node."
"I would like bigger clusters with more than eight nodes."
"On the fly, you cannot do anything on Scale Computing HC3, though it is a very rarely needed area."
"The product struggles to cope with bigger workloads. In the next release, I'd like some backup solutions to be added."
"The product could use a better control center."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is the best priced solution for an SMB."
"We evaluated other options and this one was the most cost-effective."
"I think that purchasing StarWind Virtual SAN Professional Edition would be optimal for most."
"Their pricing seems pretty good, and their licensing structure is pretty straightforward."
"For two nodes, it cost us $10,000, and we spend $2,000 a year on support."
"The scalability limitation for us is its licensing. At some point in the fairly near future, we will probably have to upgrade our license so we can store eight terabytes instead of four. We are currently at four terabytes, but we're starting to knock on the door of that capacity."
"The license is reusable. We can always rebuild it and apply the license. Then, boom, we get new servers, apply the license, and we're back up and running."
"We found that the pricing was perfect; simple and clear."
"Sangfor HCI - Hyper Converged Infrastructure is a reasonably priced product."
"The price of Sangfor is cheaper than other competing products."
"It is in the middle range as compared to other hyper-converged infrastructure solutions. There is a three-year warranty on the hardware. The license also includes other features. Sangfor has included Continuous Data Protection (CDP) and a built-in firewall with the license. Other top brands, such as VxRail and VMware, require a separate license for such features."
"Considering the capabilities provided, the product is expensive."
"The pricing of Sangfor is very competitive."
"The solution is very cheap."
"The solution is affordable."
"Its price should be better, but I don't think they will change the price list. You have to pay for licenses, and you have to pay for support, so you have an annual fee. You can use the product without the fee, but it's really dumb because you need support. We are an IT company. We provide the product, and we need the support too for our customers."
"rate HC3's pricing a five out of ten since it is affordable."
"I pay for Scale Computing HC3 and it includes customer service for one year. We paid for an additional year for customer service but that includes the updates and everything for the software. Additionally, the licensing is for Windows, which is the same for everybody."
"The product is worth the money, but I would not say it's very cheap or very expensive."
"I give the pricing a nine out of ten."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which HCI solutions are best for your needs.
813,266 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Educational Organization
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
39%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
5%
 

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 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?
Initially, Sangfor was very competitively priced compared to other leading HCI solutions. Now, while the pricing has ...
What needs improvement with Sangfor HCI?
Initially, there were issues with wrong sizing and certain features being locked, although these have been fixed. The...
What do you like most about Scale Computing HC3?
The product's initial setup phase is too easy.
What needs improvement with Scale Computing HC3?
There could be an easier way to see which servers are on each node. It shows you a small graphical interface, but you...
 

Also Known As

StarWind SAN & NAS
No data available
Scale Computing HC3
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School
TOSHIBA TEC Singapore, J&T Express Indonesia, Crowne Plaza Vietnam, Hermina Hospital Indonesia
Resorts World Las Vegas, Stena, Telford Offshore, Goodwill, Sandals, Jerry's Enterprises, Mendard's Royal Farms, Delhaize, Benchmark Electronics, Classic Hotels, Genting Casino, Lindt, Sainsbury's, Landmark Cinemas, Golden Queen Mining, Coca Cola. Holiday Inn, Iron County School District, Sevier County Bank, City of St. Cloud Minnesota, Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly, KIB Electronics, Brake Masters, Lincoln County Hospital, Ohio Summit County Board of Elections
Find out what your peers are saying about Sangfor HCI - Hyper Converged Infrastructure vs. Scale Computing Platform and other solutions. Updated: September 2024.
813,266 professionals have used our research since 2012.