Dell vSAN Ready Nodes vs Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series comparison

Dell vSAN Ready Nodes vs. Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series

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Categories and Ranking

StarWind Virtual SAN

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2024, in the HCI category, the mindshare of StarWind Virtual SAN is 2.1%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell vSAN Ready Nodes is 2.0%, down from 3.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series is 1.2%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

HCI

Unique Categories:

Software Defined Storage (SDS)

9.2%

No other categories found

Featured Reviews

Kyle Bautista

Systems Admininstrator at J&D Brush Company Inc.

Jul 22, 2024

Ensures that our critical data is always protected and easily recoverable

Implementing StarWind in our organization has been a game-changer, particularly in terms of cost savings. By leveraging StarWind's virtual tape library (VTL) solution, we have been able to use virtual tapes for our backups, which are then saved in Azure Blob storage. This approach has significantly reduced our dependency on physical tape hardware, leading to considerable savings in both equipment and maintenance costs. The virtual tapes are not only more cost-effective but also offer enhanced flexibility and scalability, enabling us to manage our growing data needs without substantial additional investment. Furthermore, the integration with Azure Blob storage ensures our backups are stored securely in the cloud, providing us with peace of mind and reducing the need for expensive on-premises storage solutions. The combination of StarWind’s VTL and Azure Blob has streamlined our backup process, reduced our overall backup costs, and improved our data management efficiency. We are extremely satisfied with the financial and operational benefits StarWind has brought to our organization.

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reviewer1286349

Chief General Manager at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees

Dec 18, 2020

Excellent support, with a good set of management and administration tools

Using this product has reduced our management and administration requirements The most valuable feature is the set of user tools that are available. The support that I get from them is good. Integration is good, and we haven't had any issues. The initial setup is slightly complex and could be…

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Genesis Dapoza

Email Administrator at Technopaq, Inc.

Mar 1, 2024

simplifies management for clients familiar with VMware, and offers a user-friendly management and configuration experience

With the VX machines, the clients often confuse the hardware itself with the services and resources. VMs are configured according to resources - memory, hard disk capacity, and network. These resources, including memory and processor, are actually shared on the VX Series. So, if the server's processor is underpowered or unreliable for the VMs, many of the VMs will encounter issues. Ideally, the physical server configuration should align more closely with the needs of the virtual servers. The drawback is that the hardware resources (CPU, memory, storage) are shared among all the VMs running on the VX Series. If the server's processor is underpowered for the VMs, many of the VMs might have performance issues. An improvement could be to have more granular control over resource allocation to VMs.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"vSAN we found was simple to set up, easy to configure and manage and allows us to achieve storage redundancy."

"The product's core feature of virtualizing our storage is by far the most valuable."

"StarWind is very easy to use, even if you have had no experience using a SAN before."

"It's quite easy to install."

"For those basic uses, it's simple to set up and manage, and it seems to do a fine job."

"It is easy to use and can monitor system synchronization and check Storage status. StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN) combines flash and disks of the cluster and forms a virtual shared storage “pool” accessible by all hosts. StarWind cuts down virtualization cost and complexity by eliminating the need for a physical shared storage (SAN). -StarWind offers the Enterprise-level high availability (HA), deployed and easily configured . we get technical support from star wind team when implementation software and after setup if we face any issue."

"Active-active work mode leads to true redundancy of storage and allows us to distribute the load between multiple nodes."

"Active-active HA provides top performance and redundancy."

More StarWind Virtual SAN pros

"The tool's most valuable features are compression and its usage in Kubernetes."

"The tool's most valuable feature is high availability."

"The most valuable feature is the set of user tools that are available."

"The most valuable feature of Dell vSAN Ready Nodes is file sharing."

"The most valuable feature of Dell vSAN Ready Nodes is the flexibility of the nodes. Additionally, if there are any critical issues they update us through emails. The issues are taken care of remotely on the system."

"You don't have to spend much time evaluating the hardware. It can be deployed in a short time. The tool is also easy to upgrade."

"No concerns regarding the footprint in the data center."

"Dell EMC vSAN Ready Nodes is scalable"

Cons

"I'd prefer it if a remote console was provided."

"An extended trial period would serve as a way to get clean insights into the technology's adaptability and alignment with their specific needs before committing to long-term integration."

"The documentation could be better."

"Proper training sessions should be included with the licensing."

"StarWind doesn't really have any performance reporting, especially compared with other vSAN products we've used."

"We have, in rare cases, received conflicting guidance between different support folks within StarWind."

"They recommend RAID10 for HDD, which reduces the usable storage capacity."

"The initial setup got a little confusing at a few points with differences between the VMware version in documentation vs the latest, etc."

More StarWind Virtual SAN cons

"The solution should provide daily task alerts for data recovery maintenance, usage, and other instructions to ensure the systems are in a good status."

"The Dell VxRail solution is based on vSAN Ready Nodes, but the Dell VxRail is fully automated. It would be helpful if this automation feature could be added to the Dell vSAN Ready Nodes. For example, we need to install VMware ESXi, and manually expand the cluster."

"The solution doesn't scale."

"Upgrades are carried out manually."

"The product's price is an area of concern where improvements are required. The price of Dell vSAN Ready Nodes could be lowered."

"The power switch on the hardware is located in a poor location where it can accidentally be pushed. In an update, they should solve this issue so people do not push it accidentally to have their service go down. A possible solution is the switch should be inside."

"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."

"There is room for improvement in the maintenance pricing. Maintenance isn't difficult, but the prices are high and ridiculous. Some customers feel it is better to go with a new solution rather than renew this one."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost was ultimately low to implement, which allowed us to be 3-2-1 complaint."

"We are happy with the price."

"I would suggest that you download the free version, deploy in your lab, and play with it."

"For two nodes, it cost us $10,000, and we spend $2,000 a year on support."

"When we did all the analysis for StarWind, it was approximately 20 percent less than any of the other solutions that we looked at."

"This solution has competitive prices and the implementation is very easy."

"Their pricing seems pretty good, and their licensing structure is pretty straightforward."

"The cost, including OPEX, is lower compared to other solutions."

More StarWind Virtual SAN pricing and cost advice

"The solution is more expensive than a traditional array. The prices are skyrocketing."

"We have a four-year contract to use Dell EMC vSAN Ready Nodes."

"The price of the solution was reasonable."

"My company makes yearly payments towards the licensing charges attached to the solution. The solution is expensive."

"Comparing the price of Dell vSAN Ready Nodes to other solutions it is not expensive."

"The tool's pricing is competitive compared to others. The tool's licensing is based on annual subscriptions."

"There is a problem, which is the lack of an integrated price structure."

"The tool is expensive."

"You need to pay a license for additional features. If we need to monitor hardware for the automatic alert notification, we need to pay them."

"There is room for improvement in the licensing structure, maybe. Regarding sizing the resources, sometimes it's difficult to calculate/compute them based on the client's requirements."

"The tool's pricing is competitive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

19%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

16%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

19%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

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?

Make the most of your 30-day trial license, and if needed, you should contact the sales department of StarWind to ext...

What needs improvement with StarWind Virtual SAN?

The dashboard is functional, but it could benefit from a more modern and visually appealing design. A facelift would ...

What do you like most about Dell vSAN Ready Nodes?

If I consider the overall product, I would say that it is an excellent solution that offers very good performance and...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell vSAN Ready Nodes?

The solution is more expensive than a traditional array. The prices are skyrocketing.

What needs improvement with Dell vSAN Ready Nodes?

Dell vSAN Ready Nodes doesn't perform as well as IBM. There are significant limitations, especially with scalability ...

What do you like most about Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series?

The VX machines are scalable.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series?

The licensing model is moderately complex. The tool is expensive. It is VMware’s fault, though.

What needs improvement with Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series?

The product must provide AI features. It depends on VMware since the core is software. The solution must provide a mo...

VMware vSAN vs StarWind Virtual SAN

Comparisons

Compared 32% of the time

StorMagic SvSAN vs StarWind Virtual SAN

Compared 17% of the time

Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct vs StarWind Virtual SAN

Compared 16% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs StarWind Virtual SAN

Compared 14% of the time

Red Hat Gluster Storage vs StarWind Virtual SAN

Compared 1% of the time

More StarWind Virtual SAN Competitors

VxRail vs Dell vSAN Ready Nodes

Compared 33% of the time

VMware vSAN vs Dell vSAN Ready Nodes

Compared 15% of the time

Dell PowerFlex vs Dell vSAN Ready Nodes

Compared 9% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Dell vSAN Ready Nodes

Compared 6% of the time

DataCore SANsymphony vs Dell vSAN Ready Nodes

Compared 2% of the time

Product Reports

Download StarWind Virtual SAN product report

StarWind Virtual SAN

June 2024

Dell vSAN Ready Nodes

Download Dell vSAN Ready Nodes product report

HCI

Download Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series product report

Also Known As

StarWind SAN & NAS

vSAN Ready Nodes

Lenovo VX Series, ThinkAgile VX Series

Learn More

StarWind

Dell Technologies

Lenovo

Overview

StarWind Virtual SAN provides high availability and fault tolerance for virtualized environments without the need for dedicated SAN hardware. It allows for real-time replication between servers, shared storage for Hyper-V clusters, and enables vMotion and High Availability features for VMware vSphere. The solution reduces costs and leverages existing hardware while providing a scalable and reliable infrastructure. Valuable features include ease of use, scalability, top-tier support, hardware agnosticism, and the ability to use off-the-shelf standard servers to increase storage space. StarWind VSAN has helped organizations improve performance, data availability, and data security while reducing downtime and providing cost-saving storage options.

Dell EMC vSAN Ready Nodes are pre-configured building blocks that reduce deployment
risks with certified configurations, improve storage efficiency by up to 50%1
, and can help
you build or scale your vSAN cluster faster.14 Whether you're just getting started, and/or
expanding your existing VMware environment, Dell EMC is here for you every step of the
way with consulting, education, deployment and support services for the entire solution.

Differentiating yourself from the competition is vital in today’s fast-moving business environment. To support your business, IT systems must be simple, agile, and cost-effective so you can meet your customers’ requirements to be ever online. Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series enables you to meet these requirements by focusing on the business outcome you require, rather than on building your infrastructure.

ThinkAgile VX Series, powered by VMware vSAN, is available in several models. Each is preconfigured, pretested, and optimized to provide the simplest way to bring a new VMware hyperconverged environment online. If you have an existing VMware environment, the VX Series can integrate into it easily.

Designed for any size business from SMBs through large enterprises, VX Series can be used as infrastructure for remote office/branch office (ROBO) and retail stores as well as virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and enterprise applications.

Sample Customers

Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School

Rackspace

Information Not Available

Dell vSAN Ready Nodes vs. Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series