StarWind Virtual SAN Reviews

Our hardware is located in one of the largest data centers in the country, where we have high availability services for our company. Our internal systems include VPN, hosting services like website, email, database, DNS, FTP/SFTP, and SMB/CIFS.

Replication is between two servers with SAS and SSD storage, based on Dell servers. Network connectivity is 40GE for data synchronization and1GE for the heartbeat, directly connected.

We are using WMware vSphere as a hypervisor. This solution is highly scalable and cost effective.

This solution improves many areas in our company including performance, data availability, and data security.

StarWind VSAN allows us to build high availability and real-time replication, even between two servers. It offers multiple scaling and replication capabilities and includes health and performance monitoring tools. For this reason, we can build highly available services for our company, which are currently essential for the organization's activities.

Our current implementation allows us to maintain the company's production continuity and to maintain constant access to data processed by the company.

The most valuable features are high availability and real-time replication between two servers. StarWind VSAN immediately copies all data to the second server over the 10GE/40GE network to ensure instant failover. Multiple connections can be made for the heartbeat. 

The StarWind Management Console is available only for Microsoft Windows/Windows Server, and should also be available for Linux and macOS, as it would reduce implementation costs.

We have been using StarWind Virtual SAN for one year.

This product is very stable.

The scalability of StarWind Virtual SAN is very good.

StarWind support is amazing. They are helpful and respond very quickly.

Support is available via teleconference, as well as online. They not only assist with the selection of the appropriate solution but also, help with testing and production implementation.

We did not use another solution prior to this one.

The initial setup was straightforward. It was done via teleconference, which made it very simple.

The vendor team assisted us with deployment using teleconference technology. They have a high level of knowledge and skill.

The StarWind VSAN business model is very cost-effective.

We evaluated VMware vSAN and StorMagic.

The StarWind VSAN product is very well developed in many areas.

Our primary use case is hyper-convergence and storage virtualization.

Our configuration has eleven servers installed. Three of these are SQL servers, five are installed as application servers, and on the remaining servers, various small services are hosted. These include web servers, RDP servers, and so on.

StarWind vSAN for Hyper-V consolidated the last three servers into a failover cluster for load balancing and increased availability. This made it possible to transfer the specified services to virtual machines.

Initially, it was not planned to use virtualization, but at some point, I realized that it was necessary. I had no opportunity to install any shared storage and in this case, the StarWind Virtual SAN solution was perfect.

I did not have any type of failover cluster. StarWind vSAN for Hyper-V solves the problem without any kind of hardware lock-in and with its low impact, easy to configure vSAN solution. This made it possible to create a failover cluster with high performance without significant costs.

The most important features for us are:

• StarWind vSAN requires two nodes, which can be completely switchless, and it doesn’t require any additional equipment to get started.
• StarWind works on the iSCSI layer.
• StarWind requires at least two 1 GbE networks.
• StarWind works either on top of a hardware RAID or a software RAID.
• There are only three servers in our installation and it was great that I didn't need to buy any additional network hardware.
• The iSCSI protocol is quite simple to configure.
• The requirement for two-gigabit adapters also avoided additional costs.
• In particular, it was important to me that the implementation of the StarWind vSAN solution did not require reinstalling the operating system or reconfiguring the RAID.
  

It would be nice to add the ability to use raw partitions instead of file containers.

I think that using equal partitions would improve performance by eliminating the additional file system necessary to host the container

I have been using StarWind Virtual SAN for approximately six months.

I did not face any critical issue for our main purposes.

Very positive. As far as I understand, it will be very easy to scale.

Technical support is very competent in matters not only of the product but also of the features of the hypervisor and the operating system on which the installation was performed.

I have not used other solutions before.

The initial setup was not difficult. I received help with the first installation from technical support.

The vendor team helped with the initial setup and I rate their level as very high.

I think that purchasing StarWind Virtual SAN Professional Edition would be optimal for most.

As an alternative to StarWind vSAN for Hyper-V, I considered Microsoft S2D, but I had to abandon it due to the fact that it does not support hardware RAID.

I have not been using the product for long enough to objectively name the features that should be added in the next release or would not suit me in the current release. The functions that I needed to work on do not cause any complaints from me.

We are using VSAN in our cloud environment to provide CSVs to the Hyper-V Group. We are using a converged environment, so we have two commodity class servers configured as a high availability StarWind cluster and then we have many Hyper-V compute nodes that access the CSVs from the StarWind cluster.

We can use Veeam to back up and replicate the virtual machine files from the CSV/cluster.

We use SPF + 10 GbE modules off the shelf and 10 GbE switches off the shelf. We were able to create a redundant network infrastructure to support our SAN network.

Creating a high availability cluster required the configuration of the cluster on our hardware and the shared space to access the files has improved my organization.

Using the StarWind VSAN solution allowed us to reduce costs by using equipment that we already owned.

StarWind has allowed us to virtualize our environment without the huge expense of a dedicated SAN, putting cluster technology and its benefits within our reach. Server downtime was a constant threat to our operation before StarWind but has never been a problem since.

Updates to server hardware are now painless and done during working hours with zero stress. We had a RAID failure a few months back, and nobody in the building even noticed and there was no after-hours time used for repair.

The ability to use off the shelf hardware (servers, RAID cards, SSDs, etc.) is also invaluable in terms of cost and flexibility.

The configuration is so much simpler, with fewer points of failure to worry about. Integration with Microsoft clustering has been perfect, allowing us to leverage our investment in MS server licensing to the fullest

The product can be improved:

• There is no good way to see how all networks are distributed on the console. Besides, once they are created and highlighted, everything seems to be going well.
• If we stay with Virtual SAN instead of managed devices, it would be nice to have more automated tools to manage iSCSI connections in Windows, which can be a bit confusing at first.
  
• We would like the documentation to be more complete. Most items are covered, but if you don't know something, you may need to contact their support.
  

We are using VSAN in our company for about one year.

The solution is very stable. We have tested storage network outages with failure of one or two nodes. The solution is able to stay online or repair itself with ease

The scalability of this solution is impressive. We're very happy to use it.

The experience of work with clients/technical support is very positive. Everything is fast and available.

The initial setup wasn't difficult.

We have implemented through a group of suppliers. Their level of experience is quite high.

Will soon pay off by reducing downtime and maintenance costs.

Make sure that you understand what all of the pieces do and don't make the assumption that you can drop support once setup is complete.

We immediately chose Starwind because our system administrator had experience with this product in the past.

This product is definitely worth the investment.

We had to build a highly available Hyper-V cluster.

As I work for a charitable organization, the most important part is keeping costs as low as possible. I have looked into a few solutions and none was as easy to deploy because it allows us to use hardware that we already have and not invest a lot of money. 

Building a High Availability cluster required that we set up a cluster on our hardware and shared space for file access. Using the StarWind VSAN solution allowed us to reduce the cost by using hardware that we already owned. Instead of managing two server boxes, the SAN device, and SAN backup, we have everything included in two servers with shared disk space.

The most important feature is the ability to experience the loss of one node or one storage device, and not lose the entire cluster. This is great if you think about data redundancy and failover. It gives you time to rebuild node that is offline and keep your business running. Time is money!

Scalability is a great feature because if you need more space and more redundancy then can easily add another node!

We would like to see the documentation more fully developed. Most subjects are covered but if you do not know something then you may need to contact their support.

Since the initial setup, I've had no problems with the software. I am constantly checking new versions and what updates it includes. Update one node, then another, and you can forget about it again. To be honest, if you install the current version and it works then you can forget about it right away. This solution just works. I have had no problems at all for the whole time that I've used it.

Scalability is great and easy. You need more space to deploy another node, which gives you more fast storage. Redundancy will also improve.

Customer service is very helpful and polite. They will help you with pricing and to find the proper license that suits your needs.

I have used technical support once for a general question. I received a reponse fast and it was very technical, covering all of the questioned subjects.

I have never used different solutions.

Initial set up was easy and straight forward. Read all of the how-tos and FAQs. Having basic knowledge about the subject will allow you to go through the setup process hassle-free.

I installed everything myself.

I would suggest that you download the free version, deploy in your lab, and play with it. If you like it then you will definitely like the more advanced, full paid version.

I have read about different solutions, especially VMware vSAN. In comparing these two, it is easy to choose StarWind for a company the size of mind, with needs that StarWind can easily cover.

I have done some research on that subject and everything directed me to StarWind VSAN. Now, I can clearly state that I do not regret my decision.

Technical support is the thing that completes a good product. If the software is good but you can also count on fast and accurate resolutions then you have got everything you need.

Our primary use case for this product is to obtain high availability for our file servers under the control of the Microsoft Windows 2008 operating system.

We have a ready-made solution for a small cost. This has helped to improve the reliability of service and operation in all departments, without having to stop in case of emergency situations.

The most valuable feature is the ability to offer high availability service without purchasing external storage systems. It is quick, easy, and simple. This is a good, economical solution compared to data storage systems. We saved a lot of money. The system will increase the level of backup, adding an additional copy of the data for the same money.

It would help us if the vendor continues to release software updates for earlier versions of the Windows operating systems. For example, Windows Server 2008 R2. We are sitting on earlier Microsoft products while there is support. This is because of the need for new hardware when switching to new software.

The stability is very good. We have not observed failure in seven years of use.

Scaling this solution is easy and simple.

Support has standard procedures and rules. It was provided at a good level.

We did not use a different solution previously. We switched from a system that did not offer high availability.

The initial setup was simple.

The installation was completed by our in-house team.

Our return of investment on this product is 100%.

My advice is to use all the features of the service, including software updates and technical support.

We did not evaluate other products because this option was the only one available at our cost point.

Overall, this is a good product for good money.

This solution was implemented for a Hyper-V production build, where we used StarWind virtual SAN to create and build a redundant DataStor for our clusters. Once this was completed, management and troubleshooting were simple as the application is very user-friendly and highly flexible in terms of configurability. We have never encountered any issues with this product, as it is very reliable.

It has improved our organization in terms of its uptime as our main cluster has never been offline due to a SAN failure. This is a huge plus for us as we need our data available 24 /7. 

There are not many futures I can recall that would stand out to me the most, as the entire application functions as one working function.

It could have a dashboard so that you can check all servers' SAN health and performance.

I have been using this solution for approximately five years.

The solution is very stable.

very good

Positive

We did not previously use a different solution.

Technical support was more or less straightforward.

it was done in-house

We did evaluate VMware.

StarWind vSAN allows the use of commodity hardware, reducing the dependency on proprietary hardware. 

It ensures that data and applications are always available, reducing downtime and increasing productivity. 

It eliminates the need for expensive storage hardware and provides an affordable software-defined storage solution. 

By using StarWind vSAN with our current hardware and Microsoft Hypervisor capabilities, expenditure can be reduced. 

The easy-to-use administration interface makes light work of required configuration changes and settings that must be applied.

The customer support provided by StarWind is excellent. The company offers a variety of support options, including phone, email, and chat, and their support team is responsive and knowledgeable. 

Another advantage of StarWind vSAN is its performance. The solution is designed to deliver high-speed storage performance, with support for SSD caching and advanced data compression techniques. This can help to improve application performance and reduce latency, particularly for high-demand workloads. 

The product is highly flexible and provides excellent performance and customer support from StarWind Software Inc.

The valuable aspects of the solution include:

Cost-effectiveness. It eliminates the need for expensive storage hardware and provides an affordable software-defined storage solution.

Simplified management. It provides a simple and intuitive interface to manage storage infrastructure.

Flexibility. It allows organizations to use commodity hardware, reducing the dependency on proprietary hardware.

High-availability. It ensures that data and applications are always available, reducing downtime and increasing productivity.

Any product, service, and solution always have room for improvement. By continuing to utilize emerging technologies and integrations with relevant storage technologies, the StarWind vSAN platform has ample room for growth.

Regular updates to the software are required, and subtle design changes would be welcome. 

To make it easier for new customer adoption, the software setup and configuration could be presented in a more simplified manner. Instructions in email communication to obtain support during the implementation and configuration of the software need to be more visible. 

Using a "Newsletter" design approach during email communication would be beneficial. This would allow clients and newcomers to see that StarWind Software Inc. is able and ready to accept support and assistance requests as required. 

I started using the solution this year.

StarWind vSAN is a robust and reliable software-defined storage solution that can help organizations create a highly available and fault-tolerant storage environment. While there may be some challenges with setup and configuration, these can be overcome with proper planning and support from StarWind Software Inc.

There are 2 server clusters with a software-defined SAN. They are Hyper-V Windows 2016 clusters and have been working fine for several years. We are using both NVME and SSD disks with both are working fine with good levels of performance. We provide a SaaS solution hosted in external datacenters in one cluster and the other hosts our internal servers. Starwind replaced a Dell SAN that had failed. The SaaS solution runs on an Oracle database which has had excellent price-performance using Linux in Hyper-V VM.  

The product allows extreme flexibility for SAN and hyperconverged infrastructure. Using Hyper-V combined with Linux VMs has allowed us to scale our solutions with additional clients and client volumes. We have customers using our platform with over 1.3 million accounts. The databases have scaled seamlessly. We now have over 16 TB of disks in our hyperconverged SD-WAN and Starwind has managed them flawlessly. The ability to grow SAN size by just buying more cheap SSDs or NVME disks has been very useful.

The most useful aspect is the hyper-converged SD SAN and the ease to expand it by just adding cheap SSD or NVME disks. 

A great feature would be a wizard and to include a new disk in the SAN. At the moment, including a new disk requires several steps - some that must be done at the OS level and others in each node. We have no more recommendations for the product beyond that.

We have been using the product for over 3 years.

We have had no stability problems whatsoever.

The solution is very scalable. Right now, we have over 16TB of disks. 

Technical support is always available and helpful

Previously, we used a Dell EMC SAN which was failing. 

The initial setup was supported by Starwind. 

We did look at DataCore.