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HPE Alletra dHCI vs StarWind Virtual SAN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

HPE Alletra dHCI
Ranking in HCI
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
StarWind Virtual SAN
Ranking in HCI
5th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
200
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Storage (SDS) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the HCI category, the mindshare of HPE Alletra dHCI is 4.6%, up from 3.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of StarWind Virtual SAN is 2.0%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
HCI Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
StarWind Virtual SAN2.0%
HPE Alletra dHCI4.6%
Other93.4%
HCI
 

Featured Reviews

Antonin Pavlik - PeerSpot reviewer
Effortless upgrades with one-click feature while new server deployment needs a smoother process
I have a data center, and all the servers are connected to HPE Alletra dHCI. I use it for data management with VMware running on the servers The most valuable feature of HPE Alletra dHCI is the one-click upgrade function, which allows all drivers and services to be downloaded to all servers…
Vladimir Simion - PeerSpot reviewer
Achieving seamless cost-saving implementation with exceptional support
The best features that StarWind Virtual SAN offers include the price because comparing to other virtual SAN solutions, this one is the best, and it also has a great support team behind it. My experience with their support has been positive, as their guides regarding the integration are very useful. They have some awesome guides online that show you exactly how to configure the product, how to do the initial setup, and you can speak with them directly. They will be able to connect and verify your setup, run its parameters and see exactly what's working and what is not, and they really help you with that. StarWind Virtual SAN has positively impacted my organization and my customer through initial cost saving. They use this product in a dark site, so I'm not able to provide any additional details about this, but they were really glad about it, they're still using it, and they asked for extending the capacity for it and the support. They really want to use it and are enjoying using it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"HPE Nimble Storage dHCI is stable."
"The technical support services are good."
"Nimble DHCI is really user friendly and not complex"
"HPE Alletra dHCI is very comfortable with high performance and quick installation."
"The solution works well."
"The nice thing about it is that it truly integrates with the cloud, so I can move my volumes bi-directionally in and out of the cloud."
"It's helpful as you stand on high-end storage. Alletra offers up to 99% availability, providing excellent stability. You also get the benefits of an HCI solution with a template and upgradability at any time."
"Nimble is easy to use, but hard to install. Once it's installed, it's user-friendly. Reporting is another advantage because we get a lot of statistical forecasting. It helps us see into the future with that."
"The install itself is easy as pie."
"We are running Hyper-V on twin servers in failover, and being able to manage servers from anywhere I need to, virtually, has been a game changer."
"The fact that I can now count on a true failover solution is what is most appealing."
"Virtualizing data infrastructure with StarWind Virtual SAN improves efficiency and reduces operational costs."
"We went from "no way DB applications would have good performance" to "Wow! We can now actually have a DB running and have some VMs running at the same time.""
"Immediately we noticed huge performance gains, even on older hardware and once we implemented a 10GB link between both servers, the sync was near-instant after the initial sync was complete."
"The management interface on the software is very simple. It is insanely simple compared to most SANs. The interface is also powerful when used to complete tasks that an IT administrator needs to complete."
"The user interface for this application is amazing."
 

Cons

"I would like the HPE Alletra dHCI to provide options to install products separately."
"I rate Nimble one out of 10 for ease of setup. Setting up Nimble Storage was a nightmare. It took us three months to deal with all the kinks and bugs. We had two people from HPE assisting us and two from our team."
"Lacking integration to the cloud."
"The performance of HPE Nimble Storage dHCI could improve. Other solutions, such as Cisco, are better."
"This year 2022, we have the possibility to include new kinds of storage with a high disk availability, such as Alletra 6000 and Alletra 9000. Those are the new storage available. If we would like to improve the quality and the capability and the high availability of these products, we can choose between different costs. This is another benefit from this HPE Nimble Storage dHCI solution of hyper-converged."
"It can be made cheaper."
"The solution could improve by providing better file-level restoration and DVX system options."
"HPE Nimble Storage dHCI only works with a hypervisor like VMware. There are plenty of other hypervisors that HP doesn't support. This is an area for improvement."
"It would be helpful to have a little more insight into what kind of performance the VSAN cluster is utilizing; something that would be more proactive on our side, versus their ProActive Support."
"It is hard to find adequate technical documentation on their support website."
"Proper training sessions should be included with the licensing."
"This is a great product."
"While we had little to no issues in setting up StarWind and received excellent support from the StarWind technicians, we would have appreciated a clearer guideline for a setup with the free version of StarWind Management Console or, in other words - for the setup with the PowerShell."
"Server-side snapshots are one thing the Linux appliance can't do yet."
"It should reclaim white spaces after big files are deleted."
"There is a general lack of documentation, especially up-to-date documentation to get started."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The prices are very high."
"The cost of the licensing is reasonable."
"I think it's priced right and it's extremely intelligent."
"I would rate the licensing model a three out of ten, where one is extremely expensive, and ten is cheap."
"The customers have found the solution to be expensive. However, when compared to the competition the price is reasonable."
"With the features that HPE Nimble Storage dHCI provides, I cannot say its pricing is more."
"The product licensing costs vary depending on whether VMware or other solutions are used."
"HPE Nimble Storage dHCI is much cheaper than the competition and has value proposition. Customers can see an ROI in three months. There are no additional costs, and VMware licenses can be reutilized."
"The cost was ultimately low to implement, which allowed us to be 3-2-1 complaint."
"The pricing is more than reasonable."
"Once you buy the license, you are free to build your own hardware solution based on your needs."
"I would suggest that you download the free version, deploy in your lab, and play with it."
"This solution has a great price for the functionality."
"For two nodes, it cost us $10,000, and we spend $2,000 a year on support."
"Cost is affordable and licensing is smooth."
"If you are looking at a traditional SAN for a small cluster, give StarWind vSAN because you will save thousands without any compromise."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business162
Midsize Enterprise54
Large Enterprise33
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE Nimble Storage dHCI?
Pricing is rated at six, which is normal. The price is appropriate for the capabilities and features that the customers receive.
What needs improvement with HPE Nimble Storage dHCI?
I would like the HPE Alletra dHCI to provide options to install products separately. When extending or when servers are already present, normal Alletra systems are more suitable. dHCI projects ofte...
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) combines flash and disks of the cluster and forms a virtual shared storage “pool” acce...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for StarWind Virtual SAN?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for StarWind Virtual SAN was okay.
What needs improvement with StarWind Virtual SAN?
Currently, StarWind Virtual SAN is working perfectly fine, so there are no changes I would suggest.
 

Also Known As

HPE Nimble Storage dHCI
StarWind SAN & NAS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Alletra dHCI vs. StarWind Virtual SAN and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.