DataCore SANsymphony vs StorMagic SvSAN comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between DataCore SANsymphony and StorMagic SvSAN based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Software Defined Storage (SDS) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed DataCore SANsymphony vs. StorMagic SvSAN Report (Updated: March 2023).
685,707 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"It provided the much-needed HA on an extremely low budget.""We have been able to use more on-prem hardware to reduce cost and also use old disks that we do not trust enough for ordinary RAID or usage.""StarWind Virtual SAN is a very mature software that supersedes its capabilities with my use cases.""The main benefit is that StarWind is almost maintenance-free.""The StarWind products have enabled our organization to modernize stations where larger and more expensive equipment was not an option.""StarWind Virtual SAN offers high availability and data resilience features to prevent data loss if hardware fails.""The fact that we can expand our storage and add on to our compute nodes easily and how amazing the StarWind technical support team is really adding value to our purchase.""The ROI is great on this product."

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"SANsymphony is flexible, with many potential options for implementation. SANsymphony's can be used with VMware, Hyper-V, or even with a hypervisor agnostic approach. It can also be used for strictly physical non-virtualized solutions.""Continuous data protection (CDP), can be used to "protect" again ransomware by recording all write on disk in a log. You can recover your data with incredible time granularity.""The most useful feature of SANsymphony is that it's able to manage any brand of block storage.""I found the solution to be very stable.""CDP is an important feature for avoiding data loss in the event of ransomware attacks. You need more storage capacity, however, you get the possibility to return at any time and use the data saved up to that point. The recovery is much faster than with a classic restore.""The ability to pool the storage to leverage thin-provisioning is a huge saving in space and costs.""The DataCore system has been rock solid since we have been using it - from 2007 on.""The most valuable feature of DataCore SANsymphony SDS is its high availability. This solution also exhibits good performance and has high stability."

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"This synchronization is easy with StorMagic, and we can establish availability between servers.""StorMagic SvSAN is a very effective solution and the interface is good.""StorMagic SvSAN's best feature is that it is platform agnostic.""It gives zero downtime and it works with two nodes rather than three nodes, unlike other solutions.""What I found most valuable in StorMagic SvSAN is integration. As a software-defined storage solution, it's also very easy to use and it's the trend in the market today. StorMagic SvSAN also made the customer happy because the customer could use his existing hardware with it. The customer had rack-mounted storage, so he didn't want to purchase a dedicated hardware for storage purposes. He just upgraded his hard disk drives."

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Cons
"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.""This is a great product.""Feature-wise we are only waiting for the release of a "planned disaster" feature that would allow us to patch a hypervisor node without having to take the full storage offline.""The setup and documentation for the installation with the free version could definitely be improved.""The only way I can see this product needing improvement is the consultation level of the StarWind sales and engineers.""The system failovers properly on its own without too much worry.""The StarWind Management Console is available only for Microsoft Windows/Windows Server, and should also be available for Linux and macOS, as it would reduce implementation costs.""If there was one thing we could request, it would be the ability to shrink volumes. For example, we want to be able to decrease in the size of the volume."

More StarWind Virtual SAN Cons →

"Having an enterprise "Storage Dashboard" that can show capacity, usage, performance, and any issues would be very beneficial.""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 cloud reporting interface is quite poor compared to other vendors.""NVMeoF should be implemented. This protocol will play a major role in storage infrastructure in the future.""Right now, the version used is run on Microsoft Windows Server. Having a Linux version or even an appliance would be better as it would eliminate the use of additional licensing for another piece of hardware.""One limitation of this solution is that it's Windows-based, e.g. one requirement to install DataCore SANsymphony SDS is putting it on a Windows server machine. It relies on Windows and that is a limitation because there are some customers who are looking for non Windows systems.""The solution could be better packaged and marketed.""It would be ideal if they were providing archive licensing with the ability to create a second pool on existing storage nodes."

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"There are two features missing: there's no REST API functionality, and there is no date duplication in it.""The deployment of StorMagic SvSAN is very small. However, you need some time to do it. It's important to make a test deployment before the real deployment.""The only improvement area I can see is their licensing. For example, the memory caching feature is only available in an advanced license. Normally, it's in a standard license. It would be better if they had memory caching features in the product. Some backup features should also be in the product""In terms of what could be improved in StorMagic SvSAN, I don't have a major issue with it, but its user interface should be more customer-oriented.""In the next release, StorMagic SvSAN should include multi-node clusters, which would allow storage spaces to be used more efficiently."

More StorMagic SvSAN Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "The StarWind VSAN business model is very cost-effective."
  • "This solution has competitive prices and the implementation is very easy."
  • "StarWind is a low-cost, full-featured alternative to the traditional SAN environment, and their support will guide you every step of the setup."
  • "The support contract is well worth it. The price for it was very reasonable and their team has been very engaged whenever we reach out."
  • "This solution is very accessible and the pro-level for support is well worth the cost."
  • "We found that the pricing was perfect; simple and clear."
  • "For two nodes, it cost us $10,000, and we spend $2,000 a year on support."
  • "If you are looking at a traditional SAN for a small cluster, give StarWind vSAN because you will save thousands without any compromise."
  • More StarWind Virtual SAN Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "This solution allows the use of off-the-shelf hardware and charges by the TB of storage."
  • "The solution is cost effective."
  • "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."
  • More DataCore SANsymphony Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "It's fairly cheap when compared to other options. But it can be improved as some features may not be available in the standard license. The vendor positions it as an edge product, so it isn't suitable to compare with VMware vSAN or Nutanix because that's another product altogether."
  • "The pricing of StorMagic SvSAN is fairly good because if you compare it with VMware, it's at a better price. This is an important thing to remember."
  • "The licensing cost is $7,000 per two nodes for two terabytes."
  • "70% cheaper than competitors and provides all the enterprise feature requirements at low cost."
  • More StorMagic SvSAN Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:The most valuable features are high availability and real-time replication between two servers.
    Top Answer:The StarWind Management Console is available only for Microsoft Windows/Windows Server, and should also be available for… more »
    Top Answer:It's difficult to say if something is missing in this solution. Maybe we'd like to manage the raid on the disk directly… more »
    Top Answer:This synchronization is easy with StorMagic, and we can establish availability between servers.
    Top Answer:It's fairly cheap when compared to other options. But it can be improved as some features may not be available in the… more »
    Top Answer:The only improvement area I can see is their licensing. For example, the memory caching feature is only available in an… more »
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    DataCore SANsymphony SDS, DataCore, SANsymphony-V, Hyperconverged Virtual SAN
    StorMagic
    Learn More
    Overview

    For SMB, ROBO, Cloud and Hosting providers, who look to cut down virtualization expenses, our solution is StarWind VSAN. It is software that eliminates any need in physical shared storage by basically “mirroring” internal hard disks and flash between hypervisor servers. There is less hardware to buy in general, consequently less money is spent on purchase and maintenance. The existing hardware is used with maximum efficiency, so there is no money wasted at all.

    StarWind Virtual SAN targets those who already have servers, or are bound to a particular vendor list to buy from. In case there is a new virtualization infrastructure to be built from scratch, StarWind offers a much better way – StarWind HyperConverged Appliance. It is a turnkey solution complete with hardware and software, powered by StarWind Virtual SAN. Those who need to build and maintain virtualization infrastructure at little to no expense, may be interested in StarWind Virtual SAN Free.

    DataCore SANsymphony is a very powerful software-defined storage (SDS) solution that makes it easy for organizations to take control of their data storage operations. It makes it so that users can choose the way that their data storage infrastructure is built and operates. Businesses that choose DataCore SANsymphony find that potential threats to their data are either removed completely or mitigated.

    DataCore SANsymphony Benefits

    Some of the ways that organizations can benefit by choosing to deploy DataCore SANsymphony include:

    • Low operation costs. DataCore SANsymphony is designed so that users can take full advantage of its many features and capabilities without having to pay large sums of money and allocate similarly large blocks of time. The solution enables organizations to leverage whatever storage hardware they are already using to store their data. DataCore SANsymphony is hardware agnostic and, as a result, users can easily integrate it with the physical infrastructure that is most convenient for them. Furthermore, businesses can manage all of their storage devices from a single management console. This cuts down on the costs associated with the administration of an organization’s storage operations.
    • Flexibility. Users of DataCore SANsymphony can conduct their storage operations with a high level of flexibility. They can gather all of their storage capabilities in one place and deliver them uniformly across all of their devices, regardless of the physical infrastructure. Organizations can deploy their storage operations in multiple ways and use many different types of architecture They can easily and seamlessly move between them as their business needs demand it. Should they desire to, they can stick with whatever system they had been using up until that point.
    • Continuous, uninterrupted operation. DataCore SANsymphony keeps the data that users store with it in a state where it can be accessed at any time. It comes with autonomous safeguards that save a user from experiencing a loss of data when their architecture experiences some sort of system failure. Data is saved beforehand and stored remotely so that it can be retrieved if necessary. It also enables users to recover lost digital architecture so that a business can continue running smoothly even if a disaster wipes out a part of or the entirety of their architecture.

    DataCore SANsymphony Features

    Some of the many features DataCore SANsymphony offers include:

    • Data security. DataCore SANsymphony provides users with a high level of data protection. Users can leverage machine learning and artificial intelligence to scan for and analyze potential threats to their data. They can then receive recommendations that enable them to avoid or at least mitigate potential issues.
    • Auto-tiering. An organization’s data can be automatically assigned a hierarchical storage value. Users do not need to classify and create tiers to hold their data. This solution has a feature that classifies and hierarchically stores data without requiring users to intervene.
    • Automatic load balancing. DataCore SANsymphony is built with the ability to automatically balance workloads. The solution will bypass channels that are slow or that fail to ensure that operations run as smoothly as possible. This will take place without the intervention of system administrators.

    Reviews from Real Users

    DataCore SANsymphony is a solution that stands out even when compared to its top competitors. Two major advantages it offers are its synchronous mirroring capability and the high level of reliability that it provides.

    A Systems and Network Engineer at a computer software company writes, “The synchronous mirroring is great. Storage is always available. This is the main feature of DataCore SANsymphony SDS which allows very high storage availability and better protection against environmental incidents (electrical, flooding, etc.).”

    Fernando V., a LAN Engineer at Maimonides Medical Center, says, “The software just works and is reliable. Downtime due to storage maintenance or upgrades is long gone. We have multiple types of software running to differentiate our applications. This gives us more value due to the fact that we can use the application to segment workloads if needed. The bottom line is that the software runs our applications on whatever storage vendor we choose - and it does so reliably.”

    StorMagic SvSAN simplifies storage at the edge. It is a virtual SAN, virtualizing the internal storage of two servers and creating an active-active mirror that ensures an exact copy of data resides on both servers at any time. Needing just two nodes in each cluster, using any x86 server, any CPU and any storage combination, SvSAN gives you the flexibility to deploy lightweight, low cost highly available storage as you wish. 

    A single, incredibly lightweight witness provides quorum to as many as 1000 SvSAN clusters and they can all be deployed and managed from a central location. Stretch your SvSAN clusters across entire cities for added resiliency. Deploy on VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V or Linux KVM hypervisors and avoid vendor lock-in. Leverage sophisticated caching algorithms when superior performance is required. If security is a priority, implement StorSecure - SvSAN's integrated encryption and key management feature. And if redundancy is a concern, deploy three nodes per cluster to withstand two node failures and still keep your applications online.

    Offer
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    Learn more about DataCore SANsymphony
    Learn more about StorMagic SvSAN
    Sample Customers
    Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School
    Volkswagen, Maimonides Medical Center, The Biodesign Institute, 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.
    E.ON, Bayer, NHS, Keiser Corp., TDK, Oxford University, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Bridgestone, Argos, UnitedHealthcare, Harris Corp.
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company11%
    Construction Company9%
    Educational Organization9%
    Computer Software Company8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company19%
    Government9%
    Comms Service Provider8%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    REVIEWERS
    Non Profit33%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    Government7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company23%
    Comms Service Provider15%
    Government8%
    Manufacturing Company5%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company26%
    Comms Service Provider14%
    Government9%
    Retailer6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business63%
    Midsize Enterprise22%
    Large Enterprise15%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business25%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise57%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business53%
    Midsize Enterprise7%
    Large Enterprise40%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business37%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise48%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business36%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise49%
    Buyer's Guide
    DataCore SANsymphony vs. StorMagic SvSAN
    March 2023
    Find out what your peers are saying about DataCore SANsymphony vs. StorMagic SvSAN and other solutions. Updated: March 2023.
    685,707 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    DataCore SANsymphony is ranked 4th in Software Defined Storage (SDS) with 13 reviews while StorMagic SvSAN is ranked 9th in Software Defined Storage (SDS) with 5 reviews. DataCore SANsymphony is rated 9.4, while StorMagic SvSAN is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of DataCore SANsymphony writes "Provides HA virtualized storage independent of storage type or vendor". On the other hand, the top reviewer of StorMagic SvSAN writes "Effective redundancy, good interface, and responsive support". DataCore SANsymphony is most compared with VMware vSAN, HPE SimpliVity, Pure Storage FlashArray, Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct and Red Hat Ceph Storage, whereas StorMagic SvSAN is most compared with VMware vSAN, Veeam Backup & Replication, HPE SimpliVity, VxRail and StarWind HyperConverged Appliance. See our DataCore SANsymphony vs. StorMagic SvSAN report.

    See our list of best Software Defined Storage (SDS) vendors, best HCI vendors, and best Cloud Software Defined Storage vendors.

    We monitor all Software Defined Storage (SDS) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.