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

Scality RING vs StarWind Virtual SAN comparison

Sponsored
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 5, 2024

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

Pure Storage FlashBlade
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
All-Flash Storage (17th), File and Object Storage (6th)
Scality RING
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Storage (SDS) (13th), File and Object Storage (14th)
StarWind Virtual SAN
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
191
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Storage (SDS) (1st), HCI (4th)
 

Featured Reviews

Eric Black - PeerSpot reviewer
The ability to leverage multi-tenancy along with immutability is a huge benefit for us
The only thing I feel FlashBlade is missing is the SOS API. If it had SOS API, that would put it well over the top. Veeam Backup specifically has started to streamline their API, and they are doing that with SOS API. They have optimized it. Any of the S3 devices out there that support this SOS API can have far more API calls at once. On our side, that translates to better restoration. With SOS API, it can leverage far more restorations at a single given time or read from the device in simple terms. That results in maximizing the output and throughput from the device itself.
Guillaume Lapouge - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers UTIPI (Unified Tiered Infrastructure Per IOPS) feature in billing but lacks extensive testing
It's a very good product, but for large-scale usage, it has limitations. Scality RING's lack of extensive testing and potential hidden limitations. While Scality provides precise architecture guidelines for sizing the storage infrastructure, Orange utilizes a different processor architecture for its Ovi servers, requiring additional optimization beyond what Scality offers. In essence, the product lacks third-party optimization capabilities.
WJHG - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamless integrations, high availability, and offers a free version
Although I am generally satisfied with VSAN and its performance, there are some areas that could be improved to enhance its effectiveness even further. One area that could benefit from improvement is scalability. While the tool works well in its current configuration, allowing for greater ease and flexibility in adding new nodes to the cluster without complications would be very beneficial, especially in growing environments. Additionally, I would like to see additional features in the next version, such as better support for automated resource management. This could include proactive suggestions for optimizing storage and memory usage, as well as preventive alerts about the health status of the servers. A more intuitive interface or an improved dashboard for monitoring the cluster would also be helpful, as it would facilitate performance tracking and help identify potential issues before they affect services.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The performance of FlashBlade is excellent. It does not necessarily leverage the SOS API that some of the newer products leverage, but I found its speed pretty much on par and comparable. It is fast, and it does what it is supposed to do."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is performance."
"I would rate Pure Storage FlashBlade a ten out of ten."
"The most valuable features of this solution are the rewrite speed and the nonstop services."
"The product is scalable and easy to expand."
"What I like best about Pure Storage FlashBlade is its object storage functionality, plus it has fast underlying hardware. Pure Storage FlashBlade is also very stable. I find its stability one of its valuable features."
"It helps simplify our storage, because the user interface is very simple and the installation is easy."
"I like its size. It is smaller than the other competitors. We can plug in many blades, and we can have data up to one terabyte."
"Another feature I like is the life cycle management that helps me with data storage efficiency."
"I think it's the economic factor. This solution has the lowest cost for storage systems."
"The most valuable feature of Scality RING8 is its performance and good interface."
"The license price is one of the cheapest in the market."
"Immediately we noticed huge performance gains, even on older hardware and once we implemented a 10GB link between both servers, the sync was near-instant after the initial sync was complete."
"Active-active work mode leads to true redundancy of storage and allows us to distribute the load between multiple nodes."
"A great feature is that I basically set it and forget it, as everything is automatic."
"You can build cheap, reliable, replicated virtual machines clusters using simple servers with an all flash disk or SAS\SATA hybrid tiered by performance storage."
"The failover protection and the ability to expand storage and nodes with no downtime are by far the best physical features we have benefited from."
"Integration with Microsoft clustering has been perfect, allowing us to leverage our investment in MS server licensing to the fullest."
"Although StarWind Virtual SAN free is fully functional and can be used in production, the support that comes with the license is priceless."
 

Cons

"Recently, while upgrading the version code, one of the controllers failed. Replacing the controller took between 14 to 20 days."
"I have not seen ROI."
"On our dedupe during our initial buy, we were expecting a number a little higher like 4x. However, we are getting about 3.6. While it is close enough, it doesn't quite hit the numbers. So, this has been a challenge."
"I want efficiency. FlashBlade doesn't have efficiency now."
"There could be improvements in public cloud integration."
"The documentational aspect of FlashBlade needs improvement."
"Pure Storage FlashBlade should improve on more cloud integration."
"The only thing I feel FlashBlade is missing is the SOS API. If it had SOS API, that would put it well over the top."
"Scality RING is not easy to learn for someone new. It is a little bit difficult. There are a lot of components to it, and you also need to understand them to work with it effectively."
"Scality RING8 could improve by having more features. We have to use two automation tools to meet our needs. We would prefer to use only one."
"When we used this solution in 2015, it was not scalable at all. I don't know if they have improved on that, but at the time, scalability was just horrible."
"I did not see any indication that StarWinds vSAN is a usable solution with non-GUI instances of Hyper-V."
"StarWind currently has a Windows native application that it uses for management. There is not a web-based GUI at this time."
"It would be great to have more automated tooling around managing the iSCSI connections in Windows"
"The most disappointing side of the application is the free edition. There used to be GUI attached. That has recently changed to only CLI management of the application."
"Being able to run StarWind vSAN on top of any free UNIX operating system to build a resilient iSCSI/FTP/SMB storage system would be useful."
"The setup and documentation for the installation with the free version could definitely be improved."
"While we had no problems setting the system up, and service technicians from StarWind could assist us very well, they could provide some form of in-depth documentation."
"I am expecting to see it more user-friendly in the future."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Support is a separate line item. Support is a different cost, but whatever your support is now, that's what you're going to pay forever. If your support's $100 today, six years from now it's $100. It doesn't fluctuate unless you upgrade it, or change it, etc."
"I understand that it is competitively priced compared to other brands."
"The price of this solution could be made more affordable."
"The pricing for FlashBlade is between cheap and moderate."
"The product is very expensive."
"Pure Storage FlashBlade is a hardware appliance, and it's very expensive if you compare its price with other solutions. You can get the same features and benefits from its competitor, VAST Data, but for half the price of Pure Storage FlashBlade."
"The pricing is relatively expensive due to the FlashBlade technology. However, for companies needing quick and reliable data access, the cost is justified."
"The price is a little high."
"The initial cost (CAPEX) to set up the infrastructure is expensive due to the specific hardware required."
"The cost of Scality RING8 could be less expensive. It is difficult for smaller businesses to afford it."
"I would suggest that you download the free version, deploy in your lab, and play with it."
"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."
"It's priced fairly. It was definitely cheaper than the competition. The licensing terms are straightforward and reasonable."
"I think the bang for the buck is much better with StarWind Virtual SAN."
"The cost, including OPEX, is lower compared to other solutions."
"The free version is great to use for labs or test environments."
"For two nodes, it cost us $10,000, and we spend $2,000 a year on support."
"The premium support from StarWinds is a must have. The ability to have access to a storage engineer 24/7 is a must for a production environment."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Software Defined Storage (SDS) solutions are best for your needs.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
37%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Pure Storage FlashBlade?
The tool's most valuable feature is its fast performance, especially in handling snapshots. It helps during power out...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure Storage FlashBlade?
The pricing for FlashBlade is between cheap and moderate. FlashBlade is worth the money due to the experience and per...
What needs improvement with Pure Storage FlashBlade?
Its configuration should be easier. There should be easier language for the configuration.
What do you like most about Scality RING8?
Another feature I like is the life cycle management that helps me with data storage efficiency.
What needs improvement with Scality RING8?
It's a very good product, but for large-scale usage, it has limitations. Scality RING's lack of extensive testing and...
What is your primary use case for Scality RING8?
I work with Scality RING for storage, and we have a concrete strategy to offer it to business customers. Many custome...
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?
I can't give a sincere opinion on the installation and licensing costs because, as I have mentioned repeatedly, I am ...
What needs improvement with StarWind Virtual SAN?
Although I am generally satisfied with VSAN and its performance, there are some areas that could be improved to enhan...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Scality RING, RING8
StarWind SAN & NAS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ServiceNow, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Dominos, Man AHL
Comcast, TimeWarner Cable, EuroSport, Orange, Deluxe, DailtMotion, SFR, RTL, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Telstra
Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School
Find out what your peers are saying about Scality RING vs. StarWind Virtual SAN and other solutions. Updated: February 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.