Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

DataCore SANsymphony vs Dell PowerFlex comparison

Sponsored
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

StarWind Virtual SAN
Sponsored
Ranking in HCI
4th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.1
Number of Reviews
189
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Storage (SDS) (1st)
DataCore SANsymphony
Ranking in HCI
7th
Average Rating
9.2
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
Storage Software (1st), Software Defined Storage (SDS) (4th), Storage Performance (1st)
Dell PowerFlex
Ranking in HCI
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the HCI category, the mindshare of StarWind Virtual SAN is 2.3%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of DataCore SANsymphony is 2.0%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerFlex is 12.6%, up from 7.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
HCI
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmed Hosni - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 24, 2024
Provides a cost-effective way to run an HCI storage platform for almost any hypervisor
You can maintain and update it with little to no fuss, even the free version is incredibly capable whilst it brings the cost of a Highly Available HCI solution down to a very cost-effective point. Having used Starwind Virtual SAN for many years both for clients and for internal systems, it has always done exactly what it set out to do. It provides a cost-effective way to run an HCI storage platform for almost any hypervisor, but it is most effective with Hyper-V. It's simple and easy to use, The software monitoring should be web-based to be reachable from any VLAN workstation.
TempreviewerD - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 11, 2024
Robust with good replication and access protection
I needed to protect the storage of my virtual machines in my VMware vSphere cluster. The simplicity of management and the increase in its capacity were a mandatory technological choice. I don't have a large infrastructure; I wanted to secure it on two sites. This choice allowed me not to invest in…
Ayodeji  Oyewole - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 12, 2024
A hyper-converged infrastructure that is like a mini data center of its own
Dell PowerFlex is used for on-prem cloud solutions. It's a hyper-converged infrastructure, which means you can integrate it directly into your core network. You get all the computing and storage you need without bothering much about the network connection between the servers because all that comes…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"StarWind support has been great in helping resolve other issues not caused by their software."
"Their support staff is comprised of true experts who can also communicate clearly."
"In the three years that we have been using StarWind, the product has yet to cause us any problems."
"StarWind Virtual SAN (vSAN) offers a significant breadth of features."
"It has allowed us to save a lot of time and money by letting us create a vSAN within a Windows VM on the environment it controls."
"The most valuable features are high availability and real-time replication between two servers."
"One of the standout features of StarWind.com is its remarkable ability to seamlessly integrate with Dell systems. This integration provides users with an unmatched level of convenience and compatibility, allowing for streamlined operations within a Dell environment. This compatibility factor alone can save significant time and effort for IT professionals, ensuring a smooth integration process and optimized performance."
"The ability to host high availability storage between existing servers without additional hardware is a great benefit. This not only saves money but also reduces the complexity of the hardware configuration creating fewer points of failure."
"It is a stable solution."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its versatility, with there being support for all new hardware technologies and platforms, disc mirroring and very effective auto tiering."
"I'd have to say that the biggest improvement gained by using SANsymphony has to be the performance of the product."
"The most valuable feature for us is that we can adjust the size of the storage very easily, without stopping production."
"The most useful feature of SANsymphony is that it's able to manage any brand of block storage."
"I am very happy with this product's ability to adapt, increase, and modify existing infrastructures."
"DataCore SANsymphony's stability is okay."
"Storage is always available."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is integration."
"Perfectly suits customers dealing with the combination of future storage needs and, at the same time, keeping up their computing power."
"The integration with AWS is a valuable feature."
"The catalog of APIs for automation has been most valuable, although they are quite limited."
"Dell PowerFlex is a highly scalable solution."
"Dell PowerFlex is a complete hyperconverge that makes automation easy to manage and extremely stable."
"The support team responds quickly."
"The tool's most valuable features are its price and flexibility. It has high performance."
 

Cons

"There needs to be more visibility on how long the cloud replication will take as there is no current ETA."
"vSAN's free version does not have a graphical user interface."
"The console is something that I feel could be improved. There is nothing technically wrong with it, but it can be jazzed up and/or made to be a little more intuitive."
"A mobile app to sync up for overview and status would really be helpful."
"The reconnection of the attached drives upon a reboot could be improved."
"Management of VSAN itself could be improved. A Web UI for management would be great rather than an application installation. StarWind is testing a command center virtual appliance that I have installed in my environment."
"Diagnostics information or alerts on the state of systems could also be implemented to give more visibility."
"I would like an automated installation/configuration despite the fact that their service is very collaborative, a customer should be able to deploy the solution by themselves."
"SANsymphony is missing some features that vSAN has. For example, vSAN has a special feature called continuous data protection. It provides the ability to go back in time to a given moment. You can see what was on your disk in the past up to two weeks. That's a great feature because ransomware attacks are increasingly common, and that provides you some kind of protection."
"The solution could be better packaged and marketed."
"I still see room for improvement with DataCore SANsymphony in the area of alarm and task management."
"If you're dealing with big databases or transactional databases, it might not be the best-suited solution. The design of DataCore's solution isn't oriented towards this type of data."
"Unified storage (all block, objects, and files) should be in a single storage pool with unified storage concepts, hence providing the user with whatever they want."
"NVMeoF should be implemented. This protocol will play a major role in storage infrastructure in the future."
"The main problem is there is no DataCore OS."
"The cost is becoming prohibitive since they moved to a subscription model."
"Including instrumentation would be a helpful improvement."
"The support of containers needs to be improved. At present, it is limited to VMware. There needs to be direct communication with the hardware rather than through a hypervisor."
"I would like to see a more user-friendly interface."
"We've had some issues around the licensing."
"I think there might be some room for improvement when it comes to pricing, because although I know how to convert customers, at the end of day, it's quite expensive. Sometimes your feature architecture is still coming out much cheaper than hardware costs for your infrastructure."
"The tool is a bit difficult to configure, making it an area where improvements are required."
"The solution’s automation and pricing could be improved."
"Exporting data from the dashboard is not very user-friendly. It's just designed in a way that it's going to cover let's say 90%, 80%, of the end-users needs. If you need more sophisticated reporting it's not easy to have."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost seems a bit steep, and I wish it was less expensive."
"I think that purchasing StarWind Virtual SAN Professional Edition would be optimal for most."
"The licensing is a bit weird. If you license the standard version of StarWind, it allows you four terabytes. Then, they have a pro version, but with the pro version, the only difference is it doubles the terabytes to eight."
"The Price/Performance ratio for this solution is outstanding!"
"I would suggest that you download the free version, deploy in your lab, and play with it."
"The cost takes into account the number of nodes, so the size of the storage is not important."
"I think the bang for the buck is much better with StarWind Virtual SAN."
"The license is reusable. We can always rebuild it and apply the license. Then, boom, we get new servers, apply the license, and we're back up and running."
"We have licensing costs on a yearly basis. They charge per terabyte, so in terms of cost, it can be very costly. They have three different features, and you have to pay extra for those."
"This solution allows the use of off-the-shelf hardware and charges by the TB of storage."
"In my case, the licensing per terabytes is very high and it must be licensed for each extra functionality."
"DataCore SANsymphony's pricing is very high and should be much cheaper."
"This product has a good ratio between quality and price. In many cases, it's less expensive to work with DataCore than other storage systems."
"It is relatively expensive, and the additional costs for hardware and storage can make it a significant investment for customers."
"The cost is at the same level as other storage solutions and it is easy to understand the licensing."
"The pricing and licensing are better with DataCore."
"The solution's price is medium."
"The product is expensive."
"From my perspective, pricing is expensive. If they can reduce the pricing or offer more customer incentives, it would attract more users."
"We have a good contact in Dell and he prepared all the information and provided everything to us."
"The pricing for this solution is good."
"If one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the price as eight and a half. The tool is expensive."
"The solution is expensive and I give the cost a two out of ten."
"The price could be improved."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which HCI solutions are best for your needs.
814,763 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
24%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
7%
 

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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for StarWind Virtual SAN?
If you are comfortable with the solution and you feel that you don't need support, you can begin with the free licenc...
What needs improvement with StarWind Virtual SAN?
Areas for improvement in StarWind Virtual SAN include simplifying the setup process, especially for users with limite...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for DataCore SANsymphony SDS?
I rate the pricing of this solution as an eight. It is relatively expensive, and the additional costs for hardware an...
What needs improvement with DataCore SANsymphony SDS?
It's difficult to say if something is missing in this solution. Maybe we'd like to manage the raid on the disk direct...
What are the major differences between VxRail and Dell EMC PowerFlex?
VxRail vs. Dell EMC PowerFlex VxRail provides stable solutions for technical problems while at the same time not bein...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC PowerFlex?
If one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the price as eight and a half. The tool is expensive.
 

Also Known As

StarWind SAN & NAS
DataCore Virtual SAN
VxFlex, VxRack FLEX, PowerFlex
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School
Volkswagen , Maimonides Medical Center, NASA, Thorntons, Inc., TUI, ISCO Industries, Pee Dee Electric Cooperative, United Financial Credit Union, Derby Supply Chain Solutions, Mission Community Hospital, Bellarmine College Preparatory, Colby-Sawyer College, Mount Sinai Health System, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Quorn Foods, Bitburger, University of Birmingham, Stadtverwaltung Heidelberg, NetEnt to name a few.
Canopy, 8x8Inc., Atos, Canadian Pacific, City of Denton, CenturyLink, BNP Paribas, Asyaport, EDF, CSC, Fox Sports, Insight, Hunter, KPIT, Paetec, Rosetta Stone, Sonda, Xerox
Find out what your peers are saying about DataCore SANsymphony vs. Dell PowerFlex and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,763 professionals have used our research since 2012.