StarWind Virtual SAN Reviews

We use VMware ESXi and needed a SAN replacement. Our old SAN is an HPE StoreVirtual VSA, but we are running out of space and it's getting old, so our support will be ending soon.

We will use the storage for our main cluster including OS and data drives. 

This has helped us gain a resilient and robust SAN for much less than anything else we could find. It also allows us to add storage without any license penalty. We will move from using six servers to three. We will also be able to stop using several stand-alone iSCSI devices. 

The best thing about the StarWind SAN is the HA we setup. We can lose a site or even two of our three, and we would lose no data and have no outage.

In testing, we found some features in the Linux appliance were missing. So, for full functionality, you will want to use the Windows version. Server-side snapshots are one thing the Linux appliance can't do yet. I hope the feature is added in the next update release.

Adding storage after its all setup is a little difficult.

So far, I have seen a service fail on one system during our test phase. Synchronization stopped and I had to start the service again. This was during a power outage but the server never went down. It has never happened again. 

The way we have this setup, scaling is difficult. We use three systems that are all synchronized and using MIMO iSCSI. Adding storage means adding it to all three, rather than just tossing another server at it. You can architect it differently, which would make scaling easier.

Technical support is great. They are very responsive, they always reply quickly, and seem very knowledgeable.

We used an HPE StoreVirtual VSA. Its support is ending and a replacement was going to cost too much for us.

The setup was easy, but afterward, support walked us through a bunch of settings that I would have missed.

The setup was all done by local IT staff with a final remote check with support, where they changed many advanced settings. 

It all cost about twenty-five percent less than the other solutions we looked at.

The basic setup is very easy and the cost is reasonable for support. 

We looked at Nimble, HPE VSA, and Tegile storage.

If you're at all interested then build a few systems using old hardware, or just spin up a few VMs. You get ninety percent of the features for free so there is no cost to try it out. The free version is great to use for labs or test environments.

The use of the StarWind solution does not have to be just a strictly IT domain.
In my case, we needed to find and implement a solution that guaranteed the supervision of security systems in the scenario of a full disaster of our main center of supervision.
To achieve that, we needed to use technology that would give us fast and reliable data replication between two supervision centers and would not ruin our security department budget. On the other hand, the solution must be easy to administrate with the tools we had.

StarWind Virtual SAN was a bulls-eye. Now, we can transfer the full spectrum of information to remote infrastructure that allows us to ensure continuity, which means better security for the company. The StarWind Virtual SAN management console is intuitive and easy to use.

Since the implementation of StarWind Virtual SAN, we achieve fast and reliable data replication in the full spectrum. The main operations security center is backed up to maintain the continuity of security systems operations in case of loss of the main operations center.

The most valuable feature is the fast and reliable data replication between main and backup operations centers using a virtual environment.

Second: Good price :-) 

Third: The StarWind Virtual SAN management console is intuitive and easy to use in day to day administration.

It would be great if the Linux version of the management console offered the same features as Windows.

StarWind Virtual SAN meets all of the expectations in terms of stability for data replication and failover tests.

The scalability is very good.

Our experience is that we get a fast response from technical support.

No other solution was used for data replication.

The initial setup was straightforward.

Implementation was performed through a vendor team with a high level of experience.

This solution has a great price for the functionality.

No other options were evaluated.

In my case, in the day-to-day use, I don't see much area for improvement for StarWind Virtual SAN solution. It's fast, reliable, and almost meets all of my expectations.

We use 2-Node software-defined storage clusters with iSCSI access to 30 TB in HA-targets, and 140 TB in flat targets.

Our environment includes eight vSphere hosts and more than one hundred Windows VMs (file servers, MS SQL servers, Oracle Database servers, MS Exchange servers, etc.) are connected to StarWind's iSCSI targets.

Existing common-purpose servers were transformed into flexible, redundant, high-performance storage clusters.

We upgrade our storage by ordinary disks, RAID-controllers, 10G network cards, and disk shelves at a low cost. We have no hardware vendor dependency.

Active-active work mode leads to true redundancy of storage and allows us to distribute the load between multiple nodes.

Using common-purpose servers and components reduces CapEx.

RAM and SSD caches help to improve performance.

High Availablity targets allow for flexible storage capacity.

Support works fast and solves issues completely.

Some configuration options still demand service restarting. For example, changing of cache settings.

Multi-tiering needs to be improved. There is option to use SSD for cache only currently.

High-Availability targets in earlier versions had issues when disk array degrades, or the RAID-controller breaks. In the current version, we have no troubles with such things.

Scalability is great. Just add disks to nodes to create new targets or expand existing ones.

We didn't test targets with multiple devices.

Support wants to solve your issue, and they are successful at it. Complex issues are escalated to the next support level in a straightforward manner.

We used direct-attached storage before StarWind vSAN.

Setup is simple, especially when you understand the basics of iSCSI technology.

All of our clusters were implemented in-house.

Setup is simple, so it's cheap.

Licensing is based on nodes rather than TBs, which means that the users are free to increase storage capacity without putting thought into licensing.

I had read an article about Intel X520 network cards performance testing with StarWind vSAN, and we chose it. No other options were evaluated.

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.

I used their Virtual SAN software to add new SANs to my VMware environment. I began working for a company that had a Virtual Environment already in place and there was no documentation regarding the configuration of the system. The storage was not managed correctly and I had to find a way to make space with what hardware I had at the time.

The storage space in the VMware environment I walked into was mismanaged and we needed immediate access to more storage. There was a Dell PowerVault that had plenty of space, and this software enabled me to make the most of my storage.

Given that I could not purchase new equipment I had to find a way to make this PowerVault become the storage without disrupting things. StarWind Virtual San allowed me to achieve this quickly.

The most valuable feature is the ability to make new SANs on the fly. When we need additional storage but want to keep the size of the SANs manageable, the StarWind Virtual SAN has allowed me to do everything needed. There are times when we still need storage to be controlled and the software allows me to make the needed changes. It can be done right from their application and then pushed directly over to the hosts.

The only thing that I have any difficulty with is that in order to perform upgrades, it is required that the SANs be detached from the Hosts before that can happen.

In my industry, having one hundred percent uptime means that I must either migrate everything off of the existing SANs so I can perform the upgrade, or shut everything down, detach the SANs and then reconnect them after the upgrade is complete.

At this point, while I am running an older version and the features still work within the latest versions of VMware, I won't see it as being a problem until I add more storage to allow for the proper migration and upgrade to happen.

I have never had any downtime. This software has managed the SAN connection to my VMs perfectly for the last four years.

This software has done everything I need. It saved me a lot of time when I was given an extremely short time to add additional space to my Virtual Environment.

I have only needed to reach out to the support team a couple of times since this software was implemented. They responded within a couple of hours and everything was figured out quickly. 

There were no previous solutions in place. The setup of the VM Environment was mismanaged initially. This software helped me regain control of the management of storage quickly. 

Straightforward setup and the configuration was no problem.

We implemented this solution in-house. 

I saw an immediate ROI as I had storage that was not being utilized. Instead of having to spend $10K-$20K to add new storage to the existing environment, wait on the hardware to arrive, and then configure it directly as a new LUN, I was able to use this solution. I purchased the software, installed it on the system that I had with excess space, and created a few new SANs the same day the request was being made with an urgent time frame.  

The timeline to get the storage was extremely limited so I didn't have time to do evaluation testing.

Their support team is terrific. I have only had to reach out to them on a couple of occasions. They responded quickly and helped me to get things resolved right away. 

We use this solution for SAN storage. We have a two-node Microsoft Windows 2016 full SSD (SATA) configuration with RAM cache (500GB each node), and iSCSI to connect HA virtual clusters. Using Mellanox network technology with two 100Gbit switches in HA mode. Also, we have more than sixty MSSQL databases hosted.

Virtual SAN has improved stability, performance, and maintenance cost. This is a great solution for replacement "Hardware", both entry-level and some mid-storage. It allows you to use ANY consumer or enterprise HDDs and SSDs, and that's a really great thing!  

The Price/Performance ratio for this solution is outstanding!

You can use most of the modern hardware. You are not restricted to use "not compatible" disks by a vendor. It has great scalability and replication features to allow building really fault tolerant solutions in your IT environment. 

I would like to see full support for iSER. This time, technical support does not recommend using iSER on NICs except on an internal (StarWind Node-to-StarWind node) connections.

High availability for direct attached hardware drives (without virtual disk layer) could be useful to increase the performance of StarWind virtual storage cluster. 

This solution is very stable.

The scalability of this solution is great!

We are using a two-node StarWind VSAN cluster on a Dell 720xds. The StarWind VSAN helps us to better leverage the computing power of our ESXi hosts and helped solve the problem of expanding local storage.

StarWind allowed us to deploy highly available shared storage within our budget. Other solutions were far too costly.

The HA clustering and the ability to run on our own equipment have been the most valuable.

I would like to see more monitoring and alert tools. StarWind offers a management console to configure the and monitor the servers, setting up SMTP alerts would be a plus.

We evaluated other options and this one was the most cost-effective.

Our primary use case is for a distributed virtual SAN over two data centers. Virtual SAN uses three servers in two data centers.

Technically the change is enormous and the operational risk in case of disaster has been minimized. The monitoring is simple and the user interface is intuitive. The solution is stable and the upgrade was done without downtime. Now, the data is distributed on both data centers and data loss is not an option.

This solution has a very good user interface, with simple administration/management.

We find the support for NFS and iSCSI valuable. This solution is practically independent of hardware (if all of the technical prerequisites are met). It supports asynchronous replication, cloud storage, deduplication, and compression.

This product could be improved with the inclusion of new health check procedures. Operations performed in distributed file systems are complex and in case of network outage admins rarely know what is going on. Any kind of simple UI for admins is better than nothing. Something that would admins give fast, easily understandable information about status and rebuild status etc.

Technically, the solution works as described/expected.

This solution is very stable. The upgrade was done online with no downtime.

This solution can be expanded to a large environment when needed.

We were really positively impressed with the support and help they offered (purchased with the product - with no additional charges).

Their pre and post-sales support were partly the reasons that we choose this solution and overall I would rate their support as excellent.

Before we implemented StarWind Virtual SAN, we used scripts and backup software. This was more of a temporary solution than a proper solution for a production environment.

The initial setup is straightforward but we tested (evaluation) in a test environment.

Direct contact with the vendor (best option).

StarWind is best price/performance for SMB.

We evaluated other solutions including SimpliVity and VMware vSAN, but StarWind Virtual SAN was on top (best choice). This was not just because it fit our budget, but for their pre and after sales support.

We spent time evaluating this product and there is no doubt that the choice to implement this solution for production was the right one.

My advice is to call (contact) them and they will answer your questions to help you find a proper solution.