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DataCore SANsymphony vs HPE SimpliVity comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

StarWind Virtual SAN
Sponsored
Ranking in HCI
4th
Average Rating
9.6
Number of Reviews
187
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 (2nd), Software Defined Storage (SDS) (4th), Storage Performance (1st)
HPE SimpliVity
Ranking in HCI
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
153
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2024, in the HCI category, the mindshare of StarWind Virtual SAN is 2.2%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of DataCore SANsymphony is 1.9%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE SimpliVity is 9.8%, down from 10.3% 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…
Xavier Perez - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 3, 2024
Has a deployment phase that is straightforward but needs improvement in the area of scalability
The main issue with HPE SimpliVity is that you are very attached to VMware or VMware dependencies because the tool works with VMware technology. HPE SimpliVity is an add-on from VMware. Nowadays, my company has a lot of concerns about VMware's licensing policy. Another big concern of the tool is related to security because one has to continuously update patch vulnerabilities that are appearing continuously in VMware's different versions. Actually, the foundation of all the architecture is VMware and that is one of the main issues with the tool. My company is analyzing our virtual infrastructure strategy to see if we can move to Nutanix because maybe it may work better and might have another approach. Nutanix is absolutely independent of VMware. I could add that since HPE SimpliVity is very precisely dependent on VMware, it is not open to containers unlike Nutanix, for example. The aforementioned area is a concern that needs to be resolved by HPE.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I've had to open a few support cases over the years due to administrator errors, and the support received was top-notch."
"The most valuable features are high availability and real-time replication between two servers."
"It's very easy to resize disks and they show up in VMware almost instantly."
"StarWind vSAN has allowed us to leverage our server infrastructure more completely without the need to add more hardware."
"It has reduced the amount of switching, network connections, etc., because the converged StarWind Virtual SAN allows us to connect high-speed network interfaces between different boxes instead of having to connect SANs via the network, then connect those two clusters together."
"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."
"When we need additional storage but want to keep the size of the SANs manageable, the StarWind Virtual SAN has allowed me to do everything needed."
"StarWind allows us to move virtual machines from one physical host to another, which greatly reduces the downtime required for maintenance."
"The dashboard is very intuitive, and there are a lot of counters to diagnose what happens during a short period (like when a backup is in progress)."
"The interface is user-friendly."
"I'd have to say that the biggest improvement gained by using SANsymphony has to be the performance of the product."
"It is a well-proven, automated management tool in all dynamic provisioning, auto-tiering, great performance, parallel I/O​, cache speed mechanism, etc."
"Storage is always available."
"Auto-tiering to obtain performance at a lower cost without the customer having to purchase ultra-fast storage is great."
"I found the solution to be very stable."
"The most useful feature of SANsymphony is that it's able to manage any brand of block storage."
"The technical support is exceptionally good."
"Its performance and availability are most valuable."
"It is easy to set up."
"The ease of setting up our DR site with SimpliVity. It was very simple. I did not have to set up a separate storage, server, and networking environments."
"Looking at the way that our infrastructure team works now, we don't think about infrastructure, storage, or compute anymore. The solution just works. It is same with the backup and replication side of things, as it just works on schedule. We don't have to manage it tightly, like we used to."
"The performance is good. It's stable and easy to operate."
"Its deduplication and backup functions are reliable."
"Our customers get a lot more horsepower for a lot less management."
 

Cons

"Performance when in storage-separate configuration needs to be improved."
"The documentation could be clearer in terms of explaining the installation."
"Some configuration options still demand service restarting."
"It is hard to find adequate technical documentation on their support website."
"I would like them to invest time in reducing the complexity of the startup and shutdown procedure."
"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."
"Updating the software can be a bit tricky."
"StarWind currently has a Windows native application that it uses for management. There is not a web-based GUI at this time."
"The solution could be better packaged and marketed."
"The cloud reporting interface is quite poor compared to other vendors."
"There is room for improvement in the graphical interface."
"I think an easier way to open a service call, right through the DataCore GUI, would be an improvement, especially when there is an urgent issue."
"The alert system could have more features."
"We'd like to manage the raid on the disk directly in SanSymphony."
"It would be ideal if they were providing archive licensing with the ability to create a second pool on existing storage nodes."
"We are waiting for container support (on the roadmap), as well as a user-friendly full web-administration capability, and an improved API."
"Bandwidth throttling during offsite backups would be better than the off-peak time setting for a 24/7 shop."
"HPE SimpliVity should cost less."
"There are some small changes that can be made to the interface to improve it but it typically works well."
"Once I am onto the SimpliVity environment, I always have to go with HP because I am somewhat blocked, like Apple. Secondly, if I want to increase only storage, I need to buy an entire computing node for that, an entire HCI node."
"The biggest feature, which should be included, is some method to handle archival backup or cloud-based backup. Where SimpliVIty typically falls down with their data structure is: The longer a backup is kept, the more space it ends up inevitably using. When you get into things that you have to keep for five or seven years for legal requirements or regulatory compliance, then you start taking up a lot of space with these old dead backups that you are probably never going to use again. Being able to offload those to a separate platform or cloud storage location would be ideal."
"The interface is good but takes some time to get used to."
"Needs decoupling of distributed data fabric to run in a hyperscale deployment outside the hypervisor on dedicated nodes."
"Upgrading can be complicated."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The premium support from StarWinds is a must have. The ability to have access to a storage engineer 24/7 is a must for a production environment."
"For two nodes, it cost us $10,000, and we spend $2,000 a year on support."
"I think the cost of this solution is quite fair."
"This solution has competitive prices and the implementation is very easy."
"When we did all the analysis for StarWind, it was approximately 20 percent less than any of the other solutions that we looked at."
"If you are looking at a traditional SAN for a small cluster, give StarWind vSAN because you will save thousands without any compromise."
"The setup cost is very low. The pricing is great."
"I think the bang for the buck is much better with StarWind Virtual SAN."
"In my case, the licensing per terabytes is very high and it must be licensed for each extra functionality."
"It is relatively expensive, and the additional costs for hardware and storage can make it a significant investment for customers."
"The pricing and licensing are better with DataCore."
"This solution allows the use of off-the-shelf hardware and charges by the TB of storage."
"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."
"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."
"Make sure you are made aware of the annual subscription cost when purchasing."
"There is not a license required for the solution."
"It is not expensive. We bought its license for two years. For support, we pay yearly."
"One big advantage with SimpliVity is that you don't need the higher license cost or VMware to put together a simple SimpliVity solution."
"Cost of this product is high."
"The solution is expensive; not every budget can fit in there."
"The licensing is on a yearly basis. The licensing cost also includes vCenter at a cost in the cloud solution."
"Its licensing is yearly."
"There is a one-time purchase needed for the license for HPE SimpliVity. The solution is expensive, but it is worth the money."
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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%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Educational Organization
56%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
5%
Manufacturing Company
5%
 

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...
How does HPE Simplivity compare with VMware vSAN?
HPE SimpliVity is a hyper-converged infrastructure solution that is primarily geared to mid-sized companies. We resea...
What do you like most about HPE SimpliVity?
The solution's technical support is good.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE SimpliVity?
HPE SimpliVity is much more affordable than Nutanix or VMware vSAN, which are HPE's typical competitors. I don't have...
 

Also Known As

StarWind SAN & NAS
DataCore Virtual SAN
SimpliVity, HPE HCI
 

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.
Red Bull Racing, Mandarin Oriental, Brigham Young University, UCLA, Merlin Entertainments, Sasa Cosmetics, Travelport, St. John’s Riverside Hospital, Princess House
Find out what your peers are saying about DataCore SANsymphony vs. HPE SimpliVity and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
813,418 professionals have used our research since 2012.