StarWind Virtual SAN Reviews

Name: StarWind Virtual SAN
Brand: StarWind
Rating: 5 (187 reviews)

Vendor: StarWind

4.8 out of 5

187 reviews
100% willing to recommend

710 followers

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What is StarWind Virtual SAN?

StarWind Virtual SAN provides high availability and fault tolerance for virtualized environments without the need for dedicated SAN hardware. It allows for real-time replication between servers, shared storage for Hyper-V clusters, and enables vMotion and High Availability features for VMware vSphere. The solution reduces costs and leverages existing hardware while providing a scalable and reliable infrastructure. Valuable features include ease of use, scalability, top-tier support, hardware agnosticism, and the ability to use off-the-shelf standard servers to increase storage space. StarWind VSAN has helped organizations improve performance, data availability, and data security while reducing downtime and providing cost-saving storage options.

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StarWind Virtual SAN is the #1 ranked solution in top Software Defined Storage (SDS) solutions and #4 ranked solution in HCI Software. PeerSpot users give StarWind Virtual SAN an average rating of 9.6 out of 10. StarWind Virtual SAN is most commonly compared to VMware vSAN: StarWind Virtual SAN vs VMware vSAN. StarWind Virtual SAN is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 58% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a computer software company, accounting for 18% of all views.

Helped 814,325 peers since 2012

Featured reviews

Ahmed Hosni

Senior System Engineer at Giza Systems

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.

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kasala

Senior Systems Engineer at River Run Computers, Inc.

The level of confidence and support within the StarWind organization is second to none. The simplicity of scaling the StarWind solution has also been a boon for us. In the past, most solutions relied on a per GB or per TB model while StarWind is a simple licensing structure per node. This has enabled us to scale clients' infrastructure as needed without being concerned about running into an artificial ceiling. When StarWind considered a pricing model change we discussed and worked with them to ensure that the solutions and changes prevented did not have a negative impact. They are a true partner.

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Spencer Lines

Information Systems Manager at HALL'S CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION

Every solution has plusses and minuses, and for someone like me, who has very little experience spending my time in CLI, I appreciate a good GUI. This is the one place I would love to see the experience of StarWind improved. I wish there were more of an explanation or set of instructions that could point me in the right direction when I wanted to increase the size of one of our VMs. I did end up being able to shut the machine down and increase the size of its virtual HDD, however, in the end, I missed the mark and allocated too much space - and in a production environment, that space comes at a premium. I'd love to see more clarification for us folks who are smart enough to do some damage yet not smart enough to use CLI.

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StarWind Virtual SAN mindshare

Product category:

As of October 2024, the mindshare of StarWind Virtual SAN in the Software Defined Storage (SDS) category stands at 9.4%, up from 7.4% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Software Defined Storage (SDS)

Key learnings from peers

Last updated Aug 29, 2024

Valuable Features

"The most valuable features of StarWind Virtual SAN include its cost-effective repurposing of older hardware, seamless integration with vSphere, and high scalability."
"The ability to host high availability storage between existing servers without additional hardware is a great benefit. This not only saves money but also reduces the complexity of the hardware configuration creating fewer points of failure."
"Implementing Starwind in our organization has been a game-changer, particularly in terms of cost savings. By leveraging Starwind's virtual tape library (VTL) solution, we have been able to use virtual tapes for our backups, which are then saved in Azure Blob storage."

Room for Improvement

"Areas for improvement in StarWind Virtual SAN include simplifying the setup process, especially for users with limited vSphere expertise."
"Including their own hyper-visor would be a valuable improvement over simply integrating with Hyper-V."
"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."

Pricing

According to Peerspot's users, the StarWind VSAN business model is cost-effective and offers a low-cost, full-featured alternative to traditional SAN environments. The pricing is simple and clear, and the support contract is well worth it. The setup is simple and the cost is attractive. It is recommended to purchase at least one year of support and to consider scalability when licensing. The initial setup cost is turnkey and the licensing costs and pricing are affordable and manageable. StarWind has a straightforward licensing model and the pricing is the best. The cost-benefit ratio is well balanced and the investment is low compared to other options. The setup is easy for mid-senior administrators and the stability and flexibility guarantee the security of the investment. The pricing can't be beaten and it is recommended to contact StarWind directly for pre and post-sales support. Overall, StarWind Virtual SAN is a reliable, scalable, and cost-effective solution.

"For two nodes, it cost us $10,000, and we spend $2,000 a year on support."
"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."

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our StarWind Virtual SAN Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.