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Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series 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

Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series
Ranking in HCI
20th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
StarWind Virtual SAN
Ranking in HCI
5th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
193
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined Storage (SDS) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the HCI category, the mindshare of Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series is 1.3%, down from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of StarWind Virtual SAN is 2.0%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
HCI
 

Featured Reviews

Marko M - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides a simple and unified platform and produces a good return on investment
The integration must be done with a more detailed plan. It will make the product simple to use. The solution does not have AI capabilities, but it will be added in the future. People who want to use the tool must research the best solution for their use case. Sometimes, a traditional cluster is better. Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.
WJHG - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamless integrations, high availability, and offers a free version
Although I am generally satisfied with VSAN and its performance, there are some areas that could be improved to enhance its effectiveness even further. One area that could benefit from improvement is scalability. While the tool works well in its current configuration, allowing for greater ease and flexibility in adding new nodes to the cluster without complications would be very beneficial, especially in growing environments. Additionally, I would like to see additional features in the next version, such as better support for automated resource management. This could include proactive suggestions for optimizing storage and memory usage, as well as preventive alerts about the health status of the servers. A more intuitive interface or an improved dashboard for monitoring the cluster would also be helpful, as it would facilitate performance tracking and help identify potential issues before they affect services.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We find the setup quite straightforward and very easy."
"The VX machines are scalable."
"Installation is straightforward because it's a vSAN. It only took one or two days."
"The clients like the solution’s simplicity."
"Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series' deployment is easy. We are a tier-one platinum partner who is into multiple implementations."
"The product creates opportunities with hybrid on-premise solutions."
"The StarWind Virtual SAN management console is intuitive and easy to use."
"User friendly interface and straight forward implementation."
"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."
"Starwind made it easy to deploy fully redundant, highly available storage at a low cost."
"Quick setup, great support, stability is great"
"StarWind saved us about 80% of our storage costs over our old solution."
"This was a great implementation for a small to mid-size business."
 

Cons

"Support could be better."
"The product must provide AI features."
"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."
"Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series needs to improve its stability. Its resolution should be faster."
"The user management could be a bit better. It's something they could improve upon in future releases."
"The configuration can a bit cumbersome."
"It could have a dashboard so that you can check all servers' SAN health and performance."
"Currently, the StarWind management console is a bit clunky to navigate and isn't the most user-intuitive interface."
"Maybe in the future, the replication will be supported in more cloud providers."
"Pricing is a bit high."
"I'm sure it needs bug fixes..."
"It would be good to have a little more access to control certain aspects within the UI."
"With data verification, I would like to know how does the solution perform validation of data being synced between two VSANs."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool's pricing is competitive."
"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 is expensive."
"The setup cost is very low. The pricing is great."
"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 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."
"We found that the pricing was perfect; simple and clear."
"Once you buy the license, you are free to build your own hardware solution based on your needs."
"The cost takes into account the number of nodes, so the size of the storage is not important."
"The licensing is straightforward, with free and trial versions available."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Healthcare Company
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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 more detailed plan to enable simplicity of use.
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?
I have had no setup costs and no challenges with setup and installation for StarWind Virtual SAN. The costs are acceptable and very competitive compared to other hardware-only HCI solutions.
What needs improvement with StarWind Virtual SAN?
There are times when the feedback in the event of an impending issue or an actual failure can be limited. The remediation steps are usually fairly simple to resolve the issue, but the management GU...
 

Also Known As

Lenovo VX Series, ThinkAgile VX Series
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 Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series vs. StarWind Virtual SAN and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
857,162 professionals have used our research since 2012.