We performed a comparison between Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series and Sangfor HCI based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two HCI solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."It integrates (fully) with VMware and Veeam, my hypervisor, and backup vendors, so for me, all the puzzle pieces simply fit and work smoothly."
"PowerShell library is pretty good feature as I created with APC PowerChute a script to put volumes on maintenance mode then turning off the StarWind nodes together with the VM and Hosts when UPS reaches 15 percent, this way after a blackout or electrical problems when turning servers on again, there is no issues for syncing or data loss due to energy interrupts."
"High Availability is the best feature of product."
"It has been extremely stable for the three years we've been running it."
"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."
"The ability for us to manage all of our nodes from the same console makes systems administration very easy."
"Starwind support is excellent. They are very fast and have very good knowledge of Starwind and Hyper-V Cluster software."
"The user interface for this application is amazing."
"Performance-wise, everything is good. So far, we haven't had any issues. There has been no downtime at all."
"Support is very responsive."
"The workload can handle anything and has an extended capacity."
"It is very scalable. It is also very secure. Cisco's security portfolio is integrated with it, which makes it secure. It is a platform-based device. Its performance is also fairly good in comparison to any other solution."
"Overall, the solution is extremely easy, flexible and secure."
"The solution scales extremely well."
"The price of the solution is good, especially when it comes to complex network solutions, such as UCS and Connect."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series is its performance."
"The Continuous Data Protection (CDP) feature is one of the good features."
"I find the simplicity of Sangfor very valuable. It is easy to configure and user-friendly. The overall user experience as well as the usability of Sangfor is outstanding."
"It was not expensive at all."
"Their GUI interface is a bit easier than VMware's."
"Sangfor HCI's best features are the ability to scale to a bigger size and the roadmap, whereby if they need to replicate their production to disaster recovery, they can do so on the same platform."
"The manageability feature is the most important aspect of the solution."
"Sangfor is user-friendly and simple to upgrade."
"It is a smart solution for virtualization"
"They need to invest more in the support documents for real issues happening when integrating the solution with the hypervisor."
"It would be nice to see a new UI for the windows client, as it is not the easiest to find settings."
"I see no need for major improvements but there could be some improvements in the form of notifications and the simplifying of maintenance mode."
"We just need more integration with Veeam."
"The only way I can see this product needing improvement is the consultation level of the StarWind sales and engineers."
"I'd prefer it if a remote console was provided."
"The documentation can be better for the free tier."
"A better overall view of the different deployments could be beneficial, although this is difficult due to how flexible the solution is."
"There should be the opportunity to create more than one div group"
"They should give us a little more information about how to use the CLI and offer more commands."
"If we compare it with VMware, the VMware product is basically very open, and it can be easily integrated with any platform. VMware product is also available on the cloud and is not an appliance-based product, whereas Cisco HyperFlex is an appliance-based product. Companies that want to use HCI as a platform or as a service would prefer something without an appliance. A SaaS-based product is better for a customer who is using the cloud and has multiple resources, workflows, and devices on the cloud and wants to go for a hyper-converged solution. This is where improvement is needed. In addition to an appliance-based product, Cisco should provide a SaaS-based product. Its price should be lower. Cisco needs to work on the pricing model for this product. Its price is a big road blocker when competing against Nutanix and VMware, which are its main competitors."
"Cisco HyperFlex should decrease the amount of memory needed from the Controller VM that controls the physical discs. They control the discs by using the virtual VM over every ESXi host and the VM consumes memory and consumes more hardware resources. They have to improve that by decreasing the amount of required memory and CPUs to control this disc on the server."
"You have to get the same servers with the same storage; they need to be identical. However, in vSAN or in VMware we don't have to do that. We can just add storage and manage it in the same server."
"When it comes to customer needs, the licensing price could be better."
"Lacks easy integration with other vendors."
"Unlike other options, you need to pay a subscription to Cisco yearly instead of paying for the hardware outright, which makes it more expensive in the long run."
"As far as I know, no hyper-convergence solution includes security, so you have to buy security from another brand. For example, you buy SimpliVity or Nutanix. They don't really have a security solution inside the product. It would be good if there is a security solution inside this solution so that it is not only for the virtualization of CPU, RAM, disk, and network but also for security."
"It should have object storage. It already has network virtualization and micro-segmentation, but it is missing object storage. It does not have object storage. vSAN also does not have object storage, but Nutanix has object storage, and it is natively integrated into its HCI. So, if you pay for the object storage license, you have that module pre-built."
"There are certain aspects of sizing of the solution that need improvement."
"Sangfor HCI could be improved with certification and the right ecosystem for ISVs like Oracle and SAP."
"The interface could be a little bit better."
"One question that has come up frequently in the last week is whether or not the renewal cost for Sangfor's HCI solution is too high."
"The processing speed and cost should be improved."
"Sangfor could improve its built-in CAP system. Right now, we need to use an external tool for CAP."
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Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series is ranked 8th in HCI with 29 reviews while Sangfor HCI is ranked 9th in HCI with 11 reviews. Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series is rated 7.8, while Sangfor HCI is rated 8.8. The top reviewer of Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series writes "High performance solution that makes it easy to efficiently manage VM resources". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Sangfor HCI writes "Low cost, great GUI, and helpful support". Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series is most compared with VxRail, VMware vSAN, Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI), HPE SimpliVity and Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure, whereas Sangfor HCI is most compared with VMware vSAN, Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI), VxRail, Huawei FusionCube Hyper-Converged Infrastructure and Acronis Cyber Infrastructure. See our Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series vs. Sangfor HCI report.
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