StorMagic SvSAN Reviews, Competitors and Pricing

it_user190191

Technical IT Manager at a engineering company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Apr 30, 2015

Coupling with VMware

It’s only been a matter of a few weeks since I saw StorMagic at VFD4 and they delivered a great solution aimed at ROBO. Today they’ve made another ground breaking announcement (stop the press !!)

Today StorMagic and VMware have announced a partnership which means customers can now benefit from ordering a VMware ROBO license (sold in packs of 25) and this can be coupled with SvSAN from StorMagic. This effectively means that the partnership allows VMware to recommend the SvSAN software as part of its ROBO pack!! The ROBO pack is available from VMware or its resellers and the SvSAN can be purchased from StorMagic and its resellers. BOOM !!

Essentially the solution revolves around providing shared storage for a 2 node setup with local disk providing all the great features such as DRS and HA and other advanced VMware features. This is constructed in the form of a VSA software solution. Ideal for ROBO deployments where cost is a big factor and companies are seeking to centrally manage these offices from a central location. Of course this centers around availability and causing minimum downtime at a remote site – KEEP COSTS LOW AND PROVIDE HIGH AVAILABILITY FOR REMOTE BRANCH OFFICES. Very simple strategy and one that is true to heart for this company. Here’s a simple representation provided by StorMagic:

Please don’t be confused between VMware’s VSAN and StorMagic’s SvSAN. They are clearly very different and aimed at different markets. This is depicted in the excellent graphic that StorMagic has simplified below:

Now the value proposition to customers in mid size companies with Remote offices is enormous and this is an immense win for Stormagic allowing them to effectively be distributed and marketed all under the VMware ‘best of breed’ software solution banner. If you ask me, it looks like the name StorMagic is going to become more widespread than ever before and CEO – Hans O’Sullivan – must be extremely proud of his efforts over the last few years in pushing this company through the various barriers of entry in a competitive software world.

Well what does this mean for VMware I hear you ask ? Well, VMware know that they want to focus on certain markets and let their channel partners do what they do best whilst using them as the underlying hypervisor. With VSAN gaining a lot of momentum, it only makes sense for them to utilise a company like StorMagic who has developed their product to fit 2 node setups where VMware cannot.

Does this mean that StorMagic is going to eventually be bought out by the big virtualisation giants ?? Never say never but I’d like to see how the product is developed over the next year as I’m sure there is more to come from this Bristol based company………yes you heard it……….a UK company making waves globally and this is very pleasing to see.

If you’d like to find out more about the company then feel free to view the VFD4 videos found here –

YouTube (Videos 15 – 17)

This article originally appeared here.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

reviewer1515438

Owner at a computer software company with 1-10 employees

May 6, 2021

Download

A software-defined storage solution with a useful synchronization feature

Pros and Cons

"This synchronization is easy with StorMagic, and we can establish availability between servers."

"The only improvement area I can see is their licensing. For example, the memory caching feature is only available in an advanced license. Normally, it's in a standard license. It would be better if they had memory caching features in the product. Some backup features should also be in the product"

What is our primary use case?

We use StorMagic SvSAN in two hotels. The hotel needed redundant servers, and we installed two servers on each site with StorMagic. We use it for server availability. We used it with VMware, and we synchronize disks with StorMagic and VMware disks as common storage on both servers.

What is most valuable?

This synchronization is easy with StorMagic, and we can establish availability between servers.

What needs improvement?

The only improvement area I can see is their licensing. For example, the memory caching feature is only available in an advanced license. Normally, it's in a standard license. It would be better if they had memory caching features in the product. Some backup features should also be in the product.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using StorMagic SvSAN for a couple of months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's very stable and uses very low process and memory resources. It works well.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's scalable for edge products. Because on the edge, you can use a maximum of three servers. If you use many servers, you should use data center products like VMware vSAN or Nutanix. For edge, it's very scalable because, with three servers, you can have about 100 virtual machines in the area. It's more than enough for edge situations.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have contacted StorMagic sales representatives and technical consultants before installation. They are very helpful, and they know the product and the configurations very well. They helped with the trial installations and post-setup review. I more than appreciate StorMagic's technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have experience with data center products, but that was before StorMagic. I was looking for a cheap edge product that was suitable for two servers. One of my colleagues suggested StorMagic, and it's our gig now.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup and installation are very easy with StorMagic because StorMagic has a VMware vCenter plugin. When you install the plugin, it's easy to deploy StorMagic appliances and configure all of them.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented this solution by ourselves.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It's fairly cheap when compared to other options. But it can be improved as some features may not be available in the standard license. The vendor positions it as an edge product, so it isn't suitable to compare with VMware vSAN or Nutanix because that's another product altogether.

What other advice do I have?

I would generally recommend this product to potential users.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give StorMagic SvSAN a nine.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: reseller