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Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] vs StarWind Virtual SAN comparison

Cisco and StarWind are both solutions in the HCI category. Additionally, 89% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of StarWind users who would recommend it.
StarWind Virtual SAN
Read 192 StarWind Virtual SAN reviews
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  • 1,290 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary
We performed a comparison between Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] and StarWind Virtual SAN based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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

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Buyer's Guide
HCI
April 2025
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Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [...
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
StarWind Virtual SAN
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
192
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Storage (SDS) (1st), HCI (5th)
 

Featured Reviews

Nuno Mendes - PeerSpot reviewer
High performance solution that makes it easy to efficiently manage VM resources
In our case as a credit recovery company working with the state, our infrastructure is fixed and stable as we don't have the same need for growth as other types of companies. That said, one of the biggest problems with HyperFlex HX is that if you want to adjust your solution in terms of processing power, memory, or disk capacity, you have to buy completely new hosts. From a financial perspective, it can be very expensive to do so, and from a legal perspective, there are all kinds of compliance issues we would have to sort out before buying any new solution or application. Since we as a company will only be operating for perhaps the next ten years, when our HyperFlex solution comes to its end-of-life in 2024 our next step will likely not be with HyperFlex or any other solution from Cisco. Instead, from a financial point of view, we will likely turn toward a cloud solution because, that way, we won't have to spend so much money on physical infrastructure. We are, after all, only a small company and HyperFlex can be very expensive for other companies of our size, whether in Portugal or elsewhere like the United States. One other area for improvement is in regard to HyperFlex's integration with VMware. HyperFlex integrates with a specific version of VMware in such a way that HyperFlex doesn't always resolve security issues with VMware at the same pace as what you see in native implementations of VMware. This has happened in one or two situations in the past. On the other hand, the integration is otherwise adequate, especially in terms of availability and virtualization features (such as being able to split up each of our four hosts within VMware).
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WJHG - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamless integrations, high availability, and offers a free version
Although I am generally satisfied with VSAN and its performance, there are some areas that could be improved to enhance its effectiveness even further. One area that could benefit from improvement is scalability. While the tool works well in its current configuration, allowing for greater ease and flexibility in adding new nodes to the cluster without complications would be very beneficial, especially in growing environments. Additionally, I would like to see additional features in the next version, such as better support for automated resource management. This could include proactive suggestions for optimizing storage and memory usage, as well as preventive alerts about the health status of the servers. A more intuitive interface or an improved dashboard for monitoring the cluster would also be helpful, as it would facilitate performance tracking and help identify potential issues before they affect services.
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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

"I find the usability very valuable."
"The product is easy to manage and flexible for upgrading without major changes."
"It's very easy to integrate with the ACI network."
"The flexibility is its most valuable feature; the ability to quickly deploy a number of help machines. It is not constrained by what we want to do."
"The solution is easy to use and to learn. It is well integrated with VMware."
"Support is very responsive."
"It is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution."
"The technical support has been helpful. We are always able to get through to the right person."
More Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] pros
"The product's core feature of virtualizing our storage is by far the most valuable."
"It has allowed me to effectively and confidently manage the maintenance of hosts where I can power off a host and have its VMs migrate to another one."
"I have found the graphical user interface to be the most useful thing about Virtual SAN."
"StarWind Virtual SAN (vSAN) offers a significant breadth of features."
"The iSCSI protocol is quite simple to configure."
"The access to our data is quicker and cheaper than it used to be in a traditional storage system."
"Highly available storage is the most valuable feature. The entire rollout is hyper-converged and requires no extra storage further than the hosts in which Hyper-V is running. Another feature that has been great is the support from StarWind in general. We have their proactive support package on the main cluster that employs Starwind Virtual SAN."
"The StarWind Virtual SAN provides a clever and unique solution to the Computing Split Brain problem."
More StarWind Virtual SAN pros
 

Cons

"The initial setup could be faster, due to the prerequisites."
"There should be the opportunity to create more than one div group"
"Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series could improve by having the documents be more readily available and the support could be more flexible."
"Deployment on-prem was quite difficult."
"Their technical support is very bad. We had an issue where instead of an engineer we got a PDF "doctor" that didn't know anything about our problem which was very frustrating."
"The initial setup can be complex."
"The solution's price could be affordable."
"I would like a lighter product; something which can be carried by a mere human. The typical size still looks like a stack of data center-sized servers, which is typically fine, but not so good if you want to carry it around."
More Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] cons
"The dashboard is functional, but it could benefit from a more modern and visually appealing design."
"The documentation could be a little more concise, but, for the most part, it just works."
"It would be nice if we could designate pools, or tiers, for storage of different speeds, and then assign rules to new VMs that would automatically place them into the proper pool."
"There is no Italian-language version of the software available."
"There should be some kind of active monitoring connected to StarWind vSAN, so you will be able to act when needed."
"Server-side snapshots are one thing the Linux appliance can't do yet."
"It runs until it does not - and disaster recovery documentation is sparse and mostly unclear."
"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."
More StarWind Virtual SAN cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series is a bit pricier compared to other brands in the market...There is a need to make additional payments towards the maintenance and support of the solution."
"One of the challenges we have with HyperFlex is that they have a subscription fee for the operating system that runs on it, and if I remember correctly, it costs approximately $15,000 USD per month."
"The licensing is perpetual and the only thing that you may need to pay for on a monthly basis is if you're going to use their cloud-based management features."
"We currently have a perpetual license, which is kind of unlimited, so we don't have the normal licensing cost, yet."
"If you don't look at the costs of the systems, the scalability is quite good."
"There is a recurring cost for the VMware license and the HyperFlex licenses."
"There is no additional licensing cost other than the cost for each part."
"HyperFlex is relatively expensive, but you get good value for money."
More Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] pricing and cost advice
"Their pricing seems pretty good, and their licensing structure is pretty straightforward."
"I think that purchasing StarWind Virtual SAN Professional Edition would be optimal for most."
"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."
"When we did all the analysis for StarWind, it was approximately 20 percent less than any of the other solutions that we looked at."
"The pricing is fine for the work that it does."
"The cost was ultimately low to implement, which allowed us to be 3-2-1 complaint."
"We evaluated other options and this one was the most cost-effective."
"This solution is very accessible and the pro-level for support is well worth the cost."
More StarWind Virtual SAN pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
25%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 core to edge and multi-cloud environments. It helps IT and OT teams deploy hyper...
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 to invest in. Even if you are working with a limited budget, this platform offer...
See all answers
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 StarWind Virtual SAN?
It is easy to use and can monitor system synchronization and check Storage status. StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN) combines flash and disks of the cluster and forms a virtual shared storage “pool” acce...
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for StarWind Virtual SAN?
I can't give a sincere opinion on the installation and licensing costs because, as I have mentioned repeatedly, I am currently using the free version. However, I can say that I have submitted a req...
See all answers
What needs improvement with StarWind Virtual SAN?
More comprehensive reporting and educational resources for error resolution would enhance the user experience. There have been cases where not understanding exactly what's failing on the Virtual SA...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

HPE SimpliVity vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] Logo
HPE SimpliVity vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL]
Compared 29% of the time
VMware vSAN vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] Logo
VMware vSAN vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL]
Compared 22% of the time
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] Logo
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL]
Compared 20% of the time
VxRail vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] Logo
VxRail vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL]
Compared 16% of the time
Dell PowerFlex vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] Logo
Dell PowerFlex vs Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL]
Compared 13% of the time
More Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] Competitors
VMware vSAN vs StarWind Virtual SAN Logo
VMware vSAN vs StarWind Virtual SAN
Compared 25% of the time
Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct vs StarWind Virtual SAN Logo
Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct vs StarWind Virtual SAN
Compared 17% of the time
StorMagic SvSAN vs StarWind Virtual SAN Logo
StorMagic SvSAN vs StarWind Virtual SAN
Compared 16% of the time
DataCore SANsymphony vs StarWind Virtual SAN Logo
DataCore SANsymphony vs StarWind Virtual SAN
Compared 11% of the time
Red Hat Ceph Storage vs StarWind Virtual SAN Logo
Red Hat Ceph Storage vs StarWind Virtual SAN
Compared 11% of the time
More StarWind Virtual SAN Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL]
May 2025
Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] reportDownload Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] product report
Buyer's Guide
StarWind Virtual SAN
April 2025
StarWind Virtual SAN reportDownload StarWind Virtual SAN product report
 

Also Known As

No data available
StarWind SAN & NAS
 

Overview

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
Cisco

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.

StarWind
 

Sample Customers

BluePearl Veterinary Partners, Ready Pac Foods, Bryant University, Bellevue Group, KPIT Technologies, City Harvest
Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School
Buyer's Guide
HCI
April 2025
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