"The ability to run the software virtually on every virtualization platform and the ability to eliminate all storage vendor locking are the most valuable features."
"StarWind Virtual SAN for vSphere is a software-defined storage solution that has reduced administration time for storage. It's pretty straightforward to install and setup it and so far it has been robust and worked as advertised from StarWind."
"The primary purpose of this software is to create a virtual SAN between local storage on Hyper-V hosts. I find this feature most valuable since it accomplishes this quite well."
"This solution enables us to make better cost-effective use of our existing hardware and leverage the current infrastructure at a higher level than we could before."
"This software lets us maintain storage redundancy across both of our Hyper-V hosts, so if one goes down the environment fails over to the other and we have minimal to no downtime."
"The fact that I can now count on a true failover solution is what is most appealing."
"Immediately we noticed huge performance gains, even on older hardware and once we implemented a 10GB link between both servers, the sync was near-instant after the initial sync was complete."
"Virtual SAN runs on iSCSI, which is free and easy to configure. It's easy to manage from StarWind's GUI console, and it only required a few extra switch ports."
"I find the usability very valuable."
"The solution scales extremely well."
"Performance-wise, everything is good. So far, we haven't had any issues. There has been no downtime at all."
"We are providing this solution for the customer or converting the customer from a traditional environment to a hyper-converged environment which consolidates all management and support on a single port. This is the main benefit of using the hyper-converged versus the traditional."
"Stretch cluster allows us to warranty a service for the customer."
"The scalability of the product is quite good overall - as long as you plan correctly from the outset."
"The technical support has been very good for this solution."
"Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series is simple to use, user-friendly and has been best for our purposes."
"They are heading in the right direction and moving to integrate everything with a hybrid cloud, and moving workloads back and forth."
"Dell EMC vSAN Ready Nodes is scalable"
"No concerns regarding the footprint in the data center."
"We find the initial implementation process simple and straightforward."
"The most valuable feature is the set of user tools that are available."
"I have found the most important features of Dell EMC vSAN Ready Nodes are the capacity to manage the storage because the storage is built in the servers. The type of profiles you can attribute to the storage is a benefit. You can manage the storage by profiles. Overall the solution is a good speed and performance."
"I found that certain browsers are not fully compatible with the administration web access portal."
"Currently, the StarWind management console is a bit clunky to navigate and isn't the most user-intuitive interface."
"It would be nice to see a new UI for the windows client, as it is not the easiest to find settings."
"I think the setup could be streamlined a bit."
"It took a bit of knowledge and support to put in place but once installed it works fine. Migration (HyperV) from one server to another sometimes takes longer than expected but there is no data loss even if the host crashes."
"Android app for monitoring and receiving push notifications as alarms or monitoring I/O from any mobile device could be a good feature and nice to have as we are not always on our desk."
"The system failovers properly on its own without too much worry."
"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."
"With the cache disk fails in Cisco, the whole node fails, and the workload goes down."
"Its price could be better."
"HyperFlex could be improved by reducing the minimum number of nodes supported from three to two."
"There are sometimes issues with memory failure."
"Lacks some integration and documentation could be improved."
"The solution could improve by having more customization."
"This solution is lacking in replication and backup abilities that I would like to see in a future release similar to HPE SimpliVity."
"The initial setup can be complex."
"The solution doesn't scale."
"Compatibility with other hardware nodes needs to be improved."
"Dell EMC vSAN Ready Nodes is a great hyper-converged system that is a perfect platform for supporting any kind of workload. The only workload that it's not designed to support is big data."
"The deployment is done by doing it one by one and could be simplified."
"Upgrades are carried out manually."
"Scalability is an area that could be improved. We are looking at a maximum of 32 nodes now in a cluster, but going to 64 or 128 would be a major advantage."
Try it today
Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series is ranked 8th in Hyper-Converged (HCI) with 22 reviews while Dell vSAN Ready Nodes is ranked 11th in Hyper-Converged (HCI) with 6 reviews. Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series is rated 8.0, while Dell vSAN Ready Nodes is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series writes "An all-in-one option that is stable and offers good management". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Dell vSAN Ready Nodes writes "A unified support structure is an important asset; manual upgrades should be automated". Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series is most compared with VxRail, Nutanix Acropolis AOS, VMware vSAN, HPE SimpliVity and HPE Hyper Converged, whereas Dell vSAN Ready Nodes is most compared with VxRail, VMware vSAN, Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series, HPE SimpliVity and Nutanix Acropolis AOS. See our Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series vs. Dell vSAN Ready Nodes report.
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