Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

HPE SimpliVity vs Scale Computing Platform comparison

Sponsored
 

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)
HPE SimpliVity
Ranking in HCI
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
153
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Scale Computing Platform
Ranking in HCI
16th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
9
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 HPE SimpliVity is 9.8%, down from 10.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Scale Computing Platform is 1.2%, up from 1.0% 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.
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.
Benjamin Bodenehim - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 19, 2023
The solution is user-friendly, stable, and easy to deploy
The primary use case is to create our own cloud and virtualization out of the cloud The most valuable feature of the solution is the nice GUI. The solution has a lot of user-friendly features. The snapshot technology takes up 500 times more space compared to other solutions. The snapshots are…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The iSCSI protocol is quite simple to configure."
"The ability to host high availability storage between existing servers without additional hardware is a great benefit. This not only saves money but also reduces the complexity of the hardware configuration creating fewer points of failure."
"Virtualizing data infrastructure with StarWind Virtual SAN improves efficiency and reduces operational costs."
"Virtual SAN runs on iSCSI, which is free and easy to configure. It's easy to manage from StarWind's GUI console, and it only required a few extra switch ports."
"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."
"Given the high availability of the server cluster, we were able to reduce separate physical servers onto one hyper-converged cluster - this saved in OPEX and CAPEX costs immediately, along with licensing costs of the Windows Server licenses."
"You can turn your local disk storage into high-availability iSCSI storage."
"When it comes to ease of installation, the whole process is designed to be user-friendly and straightforward."
"Our customers get a lot more horsepower for a lot less management."
"Improves backup time and DR solution."
"The HPE SimpliVity disc compression is very valuable."
"The initial setup is simple."
"The solution is user-friendly."
"The ease of managing this system."
"The most valuable feature for us is its integration, as it provides an entire solution in a single box."
"The most valuable aspect of the HPE SimpliVity is the DL380 G10. We have mostly been using VMware and Hyper-V. On one side we have Hyper-V and the other side we have the VMware."
"I like that Scale Computing HCR is slimmed down and gives me the features I need and not features that I don't need."
"The solution is scalable."
"The product's initial setup phase is too easy."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"The most valuable feature of Scale Computing HC3 is if one of the devices fails, you won't even notice, the service maintains operation. The customers don't have to waste two, or three days on delays. Additionally, you do not have to waste time with recovery software, it is a lot easier."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the nice GUI."
"I rate Scale Computing support 10 out of 10. They're accessible and responsive."
"The most valuable features are the appliance-type feel and that you don't need additional licenses as everything is built-in."
 

Cons

"Being able to run StarWind vSAN on top of any free UNIX operating system to build a resilient iSCSI/FTP/SMB storage system would be useful."
"While it is possible to implement disk encryption in StarWind using Windows Bitlocker, such a solution can be a little tricky to manage."
"We don't really have any issues with this product."
"The cluster configuration is time-consuming and tedious."
"The main thing I would like to see improved is the level of documentation."
"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."
"vSAN's free version does not have a graphical user interface."
"I would love to see more vendor selection to be available for the HCA/vSAN appliances."
"I would like them to add more connection capability, a hub and spoke model, to improve the number of connections that it can handle."
"There may be issues around scaling."
"A lot of our customers are using VMware and also are using Hyper-V. Hyper-V is not very stable on the HP SimpliVity."
"The interface is good but takes some time to get used to."
"HPE support is still not aware/trained on SimpliVity, and this is beginning to show."
"The technical, commercial, and marketing support is not at the level that it should be. They are not structured well. Other vendors provide better support, such as Dell."
"We definitely want to see more of the CLI commands come up to the GUI, and it is a legitimate question, if we are going to be happy with the integration in the vsphere web client, which is awfully slow."
"They should optimize the administration stack because it is consuming too much memory. It ends up consuming 20% of memory. They have another product for this feature, but I would like to have this feature within HPE SimpliVity."
"On the fly, you cannot do anything on Scale Computing HC3, though it is a very rarely needed area."
"Scale HC3 improvements would involve literally fixing up the replication."
"The snapshot technology takes up 500 times more space compared to other solutions."
"I would like bigger clusters with more than eight nodes."
"The product struggles to cope with bigger workloads. In the next release, I'd like some backup solutions to be added."
"There could be an easier way to see which servers are on each node"
"Scale Computing HC3 said in an announcement they were going to integrate with a backup service which would be good. If they could do this it would be beneficial."
"I've had so many issues with the sales team when I was looking to make some improvements, and improve the performance. They would create so many excuses to force me to buy new nodes all the time and not let me add more memory to each node."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For two nodes, it cost us $10,000, and we spend $2,000 a year on support."
"This is a good, economical solution compared to data storage systems."
"This solution has competitive prices and the implementation is very easy."
"The Price/Performance ratio for this solution is outstanding!"
"Their pricing seems pretty good, and their licensing structure is pretty straightforward."
"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."
"We are happy with the price."
"It is not too expensive, but it is quite expensive for me."
"Cost of this product is high."
"The price is one of the biggest problems our customers have."
"The solution is affordable and quite reasonably priced in terms of the product one gets."
"The only thing that I think we are paying for is the VMware licenses, but we are enterprise, so it is not horrible."
"Its licensing is yearly."
"The licensing is on a yearly basis. The licensing cost also includes vCenter at a cost in the cloud solution."
"We did get some quotes from Nutanix, and they were ballparks. So, it is not cheap, and there is nothing free, but those two were comparable."
"I pay for Scale Computing HC3 and it includes customer service for one year. We paid for an additional year for customer service but that includes the updates and everything for the software. Additionally, the licensing is for Windows, which is the same for everybody."
"rate HC3's pricing a five out of ten since it is affordable."
"I give the pricing a nine out of ten."
"The product is worth the money, but I would not say it's very cheap or very expensive."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which HCI solutions are best for your needs.
813,418 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
56%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
5%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Educational Organization
40%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
6%
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...
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...
What do you like most about Scale Computing HC3?
The product's initial setup phase is too easy.
What needs improvement with Scale Computing HC3?
There could be an easier way to see which servers are on each node. It shows you a small graphical interface, but you...
 

Also Known As

StarWind SAN & NAS
SimpliVity, HPE HCI
Scale Computing HC3
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School
Red Bull Racing, Mandarin Oriental, Brigham Young University, UCLA, Merlin Entertainments, Sasa Cosmetics, Travelport, St. John’s Riverside Hospital, Princess House
Resorts World Las Vegas, Stena, Telford Offshore, Goodwill, Sandals, Jerry's Enterprises, Mendard's Royal Farms, Delhaize, Benchmark Electronics, Classic Hotels, Genting Casino, Lindt, Sainsbury's, Landmark Cinemas, Golden Queen Mining, Coca Cola. Holiday Inn, Iron County School District, Sevier County Bank, City of St. Cloud Minnesota, Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly, KIB Electronics, Brake Masters, Lincoln County Hospital, Ohio Summit County Board of Elections
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE SimpliVity vs. Scale Computing Platform and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
813,418 professionals have used our research since 2012.