Hitachi Unified Compute Platform HC Series vs VxRail comparison

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Hitachi Unified Compute Platform HC Series and VxRail based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The instant failover, with vSAN copying data to the second node, allowed for the continuous availability of our applications.""The ability for us to manage all of our nodes from the same console makes systems administration very easy.""The fact that the solution is vendor-agnostic allows it to be used with any virtualization vendor while remaining a powerful abstraction over storage.""The solution is also quite flexible. As an example, other vSAN solutions that we looked at had more stringent requirements regarding mixed HDD/SSD storage which wouldn't have worked in our environment.""The main benefit is that StarWind is almost maintenance-free.""The product has improved the ability to mimic physical SAN environments to demo scenarios and troubleshoot problems.""The license price is one of the cheapest in the market.""They offer top-tier support."

More StarWind Virtual SAN Pros →

"This solution allowed us to move from using standalone systems to having all our data center management in one place."

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"VxRail can manage the whole cluster at the same time, so it's easy to expand. VxRail has more features vSAN ReadyNodes that make it easier to implement from scratch.""It improved from an operations standpoint as we have reduced failures compared to a previous vendor. The hardware that we previously used had a lot of issues with components failing regularly.""VxRail has given us a lot of tools in a one-stop-shop environment.""VxRail is a simple, efficient solution. It's easy to upgrade and scale the solution. If we increase our user base, we can easily scale it out. We have several thousand using it now.""The most valuable feature for me in this latest release has been the ability to add a compute or storage node. In the previous release, if I wanted to add only the compute mode, I need to buy a full node, including both compute and storage. That is no longer the case; I can upgrade whatever I want one based on my demand.""VxRail's technical support is very good.""The major advantage is the blueprint. You do not need to separately manage the sand or network part because it all gets virtualized.""The stability of VxRail is good, we have not had any issues."

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Cons
"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.""I would like to see improvements in the documentation area.""If it's possible to make a driver/solution that does not make use of the iSCSI targets of Windows, that would be great. I don't know if that's possible, however, it could make the configuration a little easier.""It would be nice to see a new UI for the windows client, as it is not the easiest to find settings.""The only way I can see this product needing improvement is the consultation level of the StarWind sales and engineers.""There is no IPv6 support. That is our only issue at this time.""The main thing I would like to see improved is the level of documentation.""Perhaps more reporting features on the utilization, usage, and performance of the configured high-availability images and underlying physical disks would be helpful."

More StarWind Virtual SAN Cons →

"An area for improvement would be technical support. In the next release, I would like to see more features added to make this a more complete solution."

More Hitachi Unified Compute Platform HC Series Cons →

"The initial setup was not that easy, it was a medium difficulty level.""Supply chain capabilities are certainly hurting us. We're in the process of placing a large order for more VxRail nodes right now.""We have some issues, but they are possibly out-of-the-box issues. There was a host that was dead on arrival, and there were some file issues on other hosts. We're currently working actively with Dell to resolve all these issues. Once they are resolved, the product should be stable.""The configurations of VxRail can be difficult. However, it has improved in the newer version. From version 6 to 7, there has been a lot of changes.""The upgrade packages require a lot of bandwidth. This could be reduced for an improved experience.""The cost is quite high. It's a very expensive solution to run.""The solution is vendor-locked and Dell is the only supplier of VxRail.""The update for the graphics integration and the media drivers isn't included in the VxRail update."

More VxRail Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "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 →

    Information Not Available
  • "The solution is very expensive."
  • "I do not believe that the price should be lower, as I feel it to be reasonable."
  • "The price is rather on the high side."
  • "We made a one-time purchase of the solution and the price is expensive."
  • "VxRail is quite expensive and could be cheaper. I would say that the main difference between VxRail and the competition is cost. There may be some differences in features, but I would say that it's mainly the costs."
  • "The VMware licenses are included and we do not have to worry about the license, everything is integrated."
  • "The price could be lower."
  • "Price is a bit of a challenge, particularly if you want extra features or higher performance."
  • More VxRail Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:I like StarWind's high availability. The failover is almost immediate, so the end users have no idea the guest VM moved… more »
    Top Answer:We underestimated how many guest VMs we would have running on these hypervisors after three years, and would have bought… more »
    Top Answer:The Command Center, a free guest VM for management and monitoring, leaves something to be desired. It could have more… more »
    Top Answer:This solution allowed us to move from using standalone systems to having all our data center management in one place.
    Top Answer:We had an issue with requiring more storage than our license allowed for well before the license was due for renewal… more »
    Top Answer:An area for improvement would be technical support. In the next release, I would like to see more features added to make… more »
    Top Answer:HPE Nimble Storage dHCI Vs. VxRail One of the best things about the HPE Nimble Storage dHCI is the three, two, one,… more »
    Top Answer:While both run on the vSAN technology from VMware, vSAN needs to be deployed on vSAN ready nodes while VxRail is an… more »
    Top Answer:VxRail vs. Dell EMC PowerFlex VxRail provides stable solutions for technical problems while at the same time not being… more »
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    HDS Unified Compute Platform, Hitachi UCP, Hitachi UCP Select
    VCE VxRail
    Learn More
    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.

    Hitachi Unified Compute Platform (UCP) is the company's product for converged infrastructure (CI), combining resources server, storage, networking, virtualization, and software management.

    VxRail is a hyper-converged appliance based on VMware virtual SAN Software and is jointly engineered and built with VMware, for VMware, to enhance Vmware. VxRail software-defined architecture simplifies compute, storage, virtualization, and management. It will safeguard performance, reliability, and flexibility across your organization with a broad range of workloads and applications from business-critical to next-gen. With VxRail, you are covered.

    VxRail is a single turn-key appliance that is a validated, fully integrated, pre-configured,  pre-tested solution and offers non-disruptive scaling. Every node includes compute storage and IO. All-flash configurations can contain between 12-28 cores per node. The storage capacity options run from 7.6 TB to 19TB with either 256 GB or 512GB of memory. Hybrid appliances may have 6-20 cores per node, 3.6 TB to 10 TB of storage capacity, and 24GB to 256 GB of memory. 

    VxRail offers high availability fail-over, an active/active stretch cluster, and VSan Kernal integration. VxRail is a power-edged server with APIs built on automation. There are over 15 million different combinations of hardware available with VxRail. VxRail provides a simple, cost-effective solution that solves a large range of use cases. Additionally, you also get a mixed workloads automated system that is backed with fully automated system updates, and complete end-to-end lifecycle management all in a single two-rack appliance. 

    VxRail is a value-added suitable solution for distributed small to mid-sized enterprises, remote offices, private clouds, and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). You choose the deployment option that best suits your organizational needs, from appliance to integrated rack offerings, with or without networking, and it will be delivered to you, ready to deploy out-of-box. 

    If you know VMware, you know VxRail.

    VxRail Features and Benefits

    • Seamlessly accelerate deployment to a hybrid cloud 
    • Fast data center modernization
    • Create developer-ready Kubernetes platforms
    • Powerful performance and reliability
    • Improve and simplify operational efficiency
    • Excellent integration 
    • Save time
    • Reduce costs

    Reviews from Real Users

    VxRail is an all-in-one solution: "You don't have to worry too much about the hardware and you don't have to work on integrating a storage device. We instead have this as an all-in-one solution and everything is available as a box."

    VxRail is remarkable: “The cover points feature in VxRail is remarkable. It's unique. It has an intervention failover system as well as an automatic failover system, reaching clusters existing in VxRail…

    VxRail is a powerful performer: “...VxRail delivers a very high number of IOPS for a hybrid configuration or an all-flash configuration. The processors that are available in the Xeon family are very powerful. They are multi-core with typically 2 gigahertz, 2.4 gigahertz, or higher frequency, so the performance is very much appreciated.” 

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    Learn more about Hitachi Unified Compute Platform HC Series
    Learn more about VxRail
    Sample Customers
    Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School
    Asia Capital Reinsurance, RMZ, Cigniti Technologies, SPAR, Infosys
    World Wide Technology Inc, Renault Sport Formula One Team, 8x8 Inc, Brownes, Canadian Pacific, Canopy, Denton, EDF, Unilin, Xerox
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company11%
    Educational Organization9%
    Construction Company9%
    Computer Software Company8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company19%
    Government9%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company21%
    Government13%
    Healthcare Company9%
    Insurance Company8%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company20%
    Financial Services Firm8%
    Insurance Company8%
    Comms Service Provider8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company18%
    Government10%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Comms Service Provider8%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business63%
    Midsize Enterprise22%
    Large Enterprise15%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business25%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise58%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business27%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise59%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business30%
    Midsize Enterprise32%
    Large Enterprise38%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business23%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise60%
    Buyer's Guide
    HCI
    May 2023
    Find out what your peers are saying about Nutanix, VMware, Dell Technologies and others in HCI. Updated: May 2023.
    709,643 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Hitachi Unified Compute Platform HC Series is ranked 20th in HCI with 1 review while VxRail is ranked 3rd in HCI with 49 reviews. Hitachi Unified Compute Platform HC Series is rated 8.0, while VxRail is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of Hitachi Unified Compute Platform HC Series writes "Allows for centralized management with great interconnectivity". On the other hand, the top reviewer of VxRail writes "It's built on platforms that have been in the industry for more than 15 years, so it's very stable". Hitachi Unified Compute Platform HC Series is most compared with Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI), Dell vSAN Ready Nodes, Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series, HPE Nimble Storage dHCI and VMware vSAN, whereas VxRail is most compared with VMware vSAN, Dell PowerFlex, HPE SimpliVity, Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series and Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI).

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