Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] vs FlexPod XCS comparison

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] and FlexPod XCS based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, VMware, Nutanix and others in HCI.

To learn more, read our detailed HCI Report (Updated: May 2024).

Buyer's Guide

HCI

May 2024

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Categories and Ranking

StarWind Virtual SAN

Market share comparison

As of June 2024, in the HCI category, the market share of StarWind Virtual SAN is 2.3% and it increased by 63.3% compared to the previous year. The market share of Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] is 3.0% and it decreased by 54.8% compared to the previous year. The market share of FlexPod XCS is 0.5% and it decreased by 25.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

HCI

Unique Categories:

Software Defined Storage (SDS)

11.2%

No other categories found

Converged Infrastructure

14.8%

Featured Reviews

Felix E.

Technischer IT-Berater at ITC GmbH

Mar 8, 2024

Good monitoring and configuring capabilities but disaster recovery documentation is sparse

My impression has been mostly positive. However, there have been some pitfalls. For example, it runs until it does not - and disaster recovery documentation is sparse and mostly unclear. This consequently follows a long learning curve and can take some time until this can be done efficiently. The feature log-structured file system has been removed. While I have not used it, I know some colleagues who have reported some performance benefits under certain circumstances. Additionally, vSAN does not offer extended SAN features like inline deduplication, compression, or S3-compatible access, which is part of most modern SAN feature sets, also in hyper-converged scenarios.

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Md Shahnewaj Hossain

Senior Deputy Director of IT at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Nov 27, 2023

Offers very good data protection and provides effective system uptime availability

We are partners and integrators of HyperFlex and I am a company Deputy Operative Director of IT HyperFlex has benefited us because there are no additional storage requirements and it requires less effort from the server and services in general. This solution offers very good data protection and…

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John Kevin

Deputy IT Manager at MBBank

Jan 4, 2024

Enforces standardized setup procedures following Certified Validated Design (CVD) guidelines and offers greater flexibility and control over the system compared to traditional systems

The GUI setup follows the right setup, meaning we have to follow the CVDi.e. Certified Validated Design. Everything is clear, because you can build CI yourself, but without rules, it can be messy. With FlexPod, there are rules to follow, making it more standardized. This helps with troubleshooting and compatibility assessments, simplifying troubleshooting significantly. We also use FlexPod pre-validated architectures to validate the design. It is very, very important to us because we had a bad case in 2015 where separate items integrated poorly due to no version or firmware compatibility certification. Troubleshooting became a nightmare. So, standards are crucial for us, and everything entering production should be verified or at least documented for certification.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most important feature is the ability to experience the loss of one node or one storage device, and not lose the entire cluster."

"It has reduced our overall maintenance and overhead by having to only maintain physical boxes for one cluster instead of having to manage physical boxes for two clusters."

"With an uptime of 384 days, StarWind has improved overall server reliability."

"We can lose a site or even two of our three, and we would lose no data and have no outage."

"The ROI is great on this product."

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

"The management was very easy and I was able to find all that I need in the software dashboard."

"The solution offers easy one-click PowerShell scripts that are ready to run."

More StarWind Virtual SAN pros

"The management from the switches to the hyper-convergence solutions are quite good and well-developed."

"The implementation process is okay."

"The integration between the storage and the server applications is the most valuable feature of this solution. It cuts down on the necessity to buy a secondary storage system.. It saves money in the long-run."

"It is a stable and scalable solution."

"Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series is simple to use, user-friendly and has been best for our purposes."

"Easily facilitates remote work opportunities with storage and compute resources."

"The most valuable features are scalability and the easy operation - if it works. You can configure everything from just one window."

"The solution is stable."

More Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] pros

"If the network or site is down, you just need to go to a single vendor. You don't have to open up multiple cases with each vendor to get things done. That is one of the financial benefits of this solution."

"Everything is preconfigured. We can ship it and manage it remotely from any server. It is all in a box."

"ONTAP is the core of FlexPod, so its most valuable features are: FlexClone, Snapshot, and SnapCenter."

"Not a perfect ten because it could use better integration on the network side between UCS and the switching layerKnowing that everything works, having a single place to be able to find out compatibility and things like that are the biggest benefits of this solution. The fact that LACP is not supported on UCS blades isn't so great. It would be nice if it was."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the stability."

"For the management side of our UCS, it is a single pane of glass for multiple people, whether it is data center, sysadmin, or server deployment."

"One of the most valuable aspects is its integrated convergence infrastructure, particularly the LAN and SAN cloud features that offer a unified fabric."

"The most valuable feature is that it is all-in-one, and it is easy to get support on it."

More FlexPod XCS pros

Cons

"The system failovers properly on its own without too much worry."

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

"The product can include a more simple way of synchronization after a forced shutdown as the current process has a few more steps to check that hosts have synchronized and this can be automated."

"I would like to see more monitoring and alert tools."

"Some configuration options still demand service restarting."

"I would like to see an extensive set of cmdlets that could allow for easier automation as well as status management."

"The documentation could be clearer in terms of explaining the installation."

"I think the setup could be streamlined a bit."

More StarWind Virtual SAN cons

"They should give us a little more information about how to use the CLI and offer more commands."

"We are moving further out with more cloud solutions, so we need HyperFlex to be more cloud-connected. They should develop more connection to Amazon Web Services and Google cloud because our customers use their services and are moving in that direction."

"I would like it to be easier to manage the server, create VMs, and manage the VMs on the client."

"We would like to see better integration in the next release of this solution."

"The initial setup of the Cisco HyperFlex HX platform was medium-level difficult. It's a little bit different from traditional servers. It takes getting used to the learning curve."

"A stretch function is really needed. Germans think that because of the high availability and the security that two data centers are better but we want edge all in one cluster. This is a needed feature, the cluster feature, and we'd also like to see a possibility for ROBO offices."

"I have been receiving a memory overflow message every day when I use the solution."

"The initial setup can be complex."

More Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] cons

"The networking configurations with UCS need improvement."

"I would like them to scale more to rack unit servers instead of blade servers."

"In the SolidFire interface, if you use the GUI, you have to create one run at a time, or one device at a time, which is something that needs to be fixed."

"We want always more speed, capacity, fluidity, and growth that we can easily integrate."

"Support could be more integrated. For example, you might call NetApp, and they'll determine that VMware is the issue. It would be helpful if they could automatically engage VMware and bring them onto the same call to transfer ticket information and work together."

"I would like to see programmability into a SaaS-based offering, as I know Cisco's going in a lot of directions with their Intersight application."

"We would like something like a FlexPod Express; we want a smaller version for small offices."

"There were several different management consoles that we had to deal with: UCS, VMware, and separate ESXi installations. Maybe one interface council where we could manage everything from might be a little easier."

More FlexPod XCS cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"The pricing is excellent. It will run on anything. You don't have to buy a $100,000 server, with hardware you don't need. You just pay for the license and you're good to go."

"The scalability limitation for us is its licensing. At some point in the fairly near future, we will probably have to upgrade our license so we can store eight terabytes instead of four. We are currently at four terabytes, but we're starting to knock on the door of that capacity."

"This is a good, economical solution compared to data storage systems."

"When we did all the analysis for StarWind, it was approximately 20 percent less than any of the other solutions that we looked at."

"Once you buy the license, you are free to build your own hardware solution based on your needs."

"I would suggest that you download the free version, deploy in your lab, and play with it."

"Cost is affordable and licensing is smooth."

More StarWind Virtual SAN pricing and cost advice

"They are not the cheapest on the market. But there's an old saying I like to quote: "If you know that you are getting what you pay for, it's fine if it's expensive.""

"When we negotiated with Cisco for the HyperFlex solution, they gave us a good price because they wanted to break into the market in Portugal for the first time. However, in general, I think it's a very expensive solution. It's a huge amount of money to acquire this kind of infrastructure."

"HyperFlex is a little pricey."

"We have a yearly license."

"The price is a bit high. It could be better, but the product is worth the cost."

"Our licensing is Hybrid. We have all of our applications for billing and outage management through this."

"There is a license required to use this solution."

"If you don't look at the costs of the systems, the scalability is quite good."

More Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] pricing and cost advice

"Pricing and licensing is very affordable from a FlexPod perspective."

"The cost is a little high."

"Pricing is always tough. We need to get to a point where the customer's happy. Then, as partners, we are also happy."

"The footprint in the data center is quite large, especially when you scale out. Maybe find some hardware in the future, where if a new blade comes out, then Cisco can say, "Look, we'll buy those blades back off you, and we'll give you this blade for X amount of money." A buyback scheme would be good for hardware, and even NetApp as well. Something like a buyback scheme for blades and stuff moving forward would be good, because I know that they're going to put more power into them. E.g., replacing four blades might equal one blade, which would be awesome, but we are still going to have those four blades around. Maybe having something where it will give you this much money for these blades so we can upgrade. That would be perfect."

"Sometimes you may end up spending a little more to get it in the first place, but you gain it back in terms of infrastructure upgrade costs and troubleshooting costs. The solution also lasts a surprisingly long time."

"Make sure that you engage as much with whom you are buying from as a partnership, not just as a purchase."

"It is expensive. My company is small. When you look at the price point, this is a big thing for us to invest in."

"Everything is purchased, so we do not do any leasing with this product."

More FlexPod XCS pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user244362

Managing Consultant with 51-200 employees

Aug 30, 2015

Nutanix vs. VMware EVO:RAIL vs. FlexPod

Originally posted at www.storagegaga.com/dont-get-too-drunk-on-hyper-converged/ I hate the fact that I am bursting the big bubble brewing about Hyper Convergence (HC). I urge all to look past the hot air and hype frenzy that are going on, because in the end, the HC platforms have to be aligned…

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

18%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

25%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

18%

Computer Software Company

15%

Government

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for StarWind Virtual SAN?

I would highly advise new users to consult the StarWind technical team beforehand. Also, consider the paid version if...

See all answers

What needs improvement with StarWind Virtual SAN?

You can maintain and update it with little to no fuss, even the free version is incredibly capable whilst it brings t...

See all answers

How do I choose between Cisco Hyperflex HX Series and Nutanix Acropolis AOS?

Cisco HyperFlex HS series vs Nutanix Acropolis AOS Cisco HyperFlex gives extended hyper-convergence functions from ...

See all answers

How does VxRail compare with Cisco HyperFlex HX Series?

VxRail provides stable solutions for technical problems while at the same time not being too expensive for a company ...

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What do you like most about Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series?

It's easy to get the tool started.

See all answers

What do you like most about FlexPod?

The system is designed for easy scaling. Because we define everything clearly. So when we plug the system in, we appl...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FlexPod?

The pricing is not cheaper, but stability is more important for us now. We focus on business gains, not static number...

See all answers

What needs improvement with FlexPod?

FlexPod should focus more on automation. Integrating an automation tool with FlexPod would enable customers to levera...

See all answers

Comparisons

VMware vSAN vs StarWind Virtual SAN

Compared 34% of the time

StorMagic SvSAN vs StarWind Virtual SAN

Compared 17% of the time

Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct vs StarWind Virtual SAN

Compared 16% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs StarWind Virtual SAN

Compared 14% of the time

DataCore SANsymphony vs StarWind Virtual SAN

Compared 5% of the time

More StarWind Virtual SAN Competitors

VMware vSAN vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL]

Compared 29% of the time

VxRail vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL]

Compared 27% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL]

Compared 16% of the time

Dell PowerFlex vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL]

Compared 10% of the time

HPE Alletra dHCI vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL]

Compared 1% of the time

More Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] Competitors

Dell PowerFlex vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 18% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 14% of the time

VxRail vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 13% of the time

Oracle Exadata vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 11% of the time

Dell VxBlock System vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 11% of the time

More FlexPod XCS Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

StarWind Virtual SAN

May 2024

Download StarWind Virtual SAN product report

Buyer's Guide

Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL]

June 2024

Download Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] product report

Buyer's Guide

FlexPod XCS

June 2024

Download FlexPod XCS product report

Also Known As

StarWind SAN & NAS

No data available

Learn More

StarWind

Cisco

NetApp

Overview

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.

The Cisco HyperFlex HX Data Platform is a purpose-built, high-performance, scale-out file system with a wide array of enterprise-class data management services. The data platform’s innovations redefine distributed storage technology, giving you complete hyper-convergence with enterprise storage features:

Enterprise-class data management
Continuous data optimization
Securely encrypted storage
Dynamic data placement
Clusterwide parallel data distribution
Linear and incremental scaling
API-based data platform architecture
A simplified approach

FlexPod XCS is the secure platform your applications need from edge to cloud. Easily manage your suite of cloud-native, edge, and enterprise apps. Integrate advanced cloud services without compromising performance, security, reliability, or scale.

Sample Customers

Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School

BluePearl Veterinary Partners, Ready Pac Foods, Bryant University, Bellevue Group, KPIT Technologies, City Harvest

University of Sao Paulo, WD-40, The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, VMware, Nutanix and others in HCI. Updated: May 2024.

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