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Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct vs StarWind Virtual SAN comparison

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Buyer's Guide
Software Defined Storage (SDS)
September 2022
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct and StarWind Virtual SAN based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Software Defined Storage (SDS) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct vs. StarWind Virtual SAN report (Updated: September 2022).
Download the complete report
632,611 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Use Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct?
Anonymous User
Creates redundancy, is easy to maintain, and offers simple live migrations
This was a great implementation for a small to mid-size business. It allowed us to take advantage of all the Hyper-V features and live migrations... Read more →
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pricing and Cost Advice
Information Not Available
  • "The cost seems a bit steep, and I wish it was less expensive."
  • "I think the bang for the buck is much better with StarWind Virtual SAN."
  • "I think that purchasing StarWind Virtual SAN Professional Edition would be optimal for most."
  • "The setup cost, pricing, and licensing are very straightforward. They are exactly what you expect."
  • "The cost was ultimately low to implement, which allowed us to be 3-2-1 complaint."
  • "I think the cost of this solution is quite fair."
  • "If you are looking at a traditional SAN for a small cluster, give StarWind vSAN because you will save thousands without any compromise."
  • "The StarWind VSAN business model is very cost-effective."

    • More StarWind Virtual SAN Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    632,611 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    Questions from the Community
    How does VMware vSAN compare with Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct?
    Top Answer:We found VMware’s vSAN was easy to set up, configure, and manage compared to other solutions we considered. It is best suited for small- to medium-sized organizations. It is easy to create load… more »
    What do you like most about Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct?
    Top Answer:The flash ability, in terms of tiering and caching, is amazing
    Read all 4 answers   →
    What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Storage...
    Top Answer:It's a one-off price. Storage Space Direct is a bundled feature of the Windows server. There are no on-going costs and of course, you can purchase the software through it and enjoy the free upgrades… more »
    Read all 4 answers   →
    What do you like most about StarWind Virtual SAN?
    Top Answer:The most valuable features are high availability and real-time replication between two servers.
    Read all 59 answers   →
    What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for StarWind Virtual ...
    Top Answer:The StarWind VSAN business model is very cost-effective.
    Read all 44 answers   →
    What needs improvement with StarWind Virtual SAN?
    Top Answer:The StarWind Management Console is available only for Microsoft Windows/Windows Server, and should also be available for Linux and macOS, as it would reduce implementation costs.
    Read all 67 answers   →
    Ranking
    15th
    out of 36 in Software Defined Storage (SDS)
    Views
    8,593
    Comparisons
    6,043
    Reviews
    0
    Average Words per Review
    0
    Rating
    N/A
    2nd
    out of 36 in Software Defined Storage (SDS)
    Views
    9,038
    Comparisons
    3,560
    Reviews
    54
    Average Words per Review
    582
    Rating
    9.6
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    MS Storage Spaces Direct
    Learn More
    Microsoft
    StarWind
    Overview

    Storage Spaces Direct uses industry-standard servers with local-attached drives to create highly available, highly scalable software-defined storage at a fraction of the cost of traditional SAN or NAS arrays. Its converged or hyper-converged architecture radically simplifies procurement and deployment, while features like caching, storage tiers, and erasure coding, together with the latest hardware innovation like RDMA networking and NVMe drives, deliver unrivaled efficiency and performance.

    For SMB, ROBO, Cloud and Hosting providers, who look to cut down virtualization expenses, our solution is StarWind VSAN. It is software that eliminates any need in physical shared storage by basically “mirroring” internal hard disks and flash between hypervisor servers. There is less hardware to buy in general, consequently less money is spent on purchase and maintenance. The existing hardware is used with maximum efficiency, so there is no money wasted at all.

    StarWind Virtual SAN targets those who already have servers, or are bound to a particular vendor list to buy from. In case there is a new virtualization infrastructure to be built from scratch, StarWind offers a much better way – StarWind HyperConverged Appliance. It is a turnkey solution complete with hardware and software, powered by StarWind Virtual SAN. Those who need to build and maintain virtualization infrastructure at little to no expense, may be interested in StarWind Virtual SAN Free.

    Offer
    Learn more about Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct
    Learn More
    30-days for free
    FREE TRIAL

    Try it today

    Sample Customers
    Acuutech, Quest Technology Management, Bradley, Mead & Hunt
    Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School
    Top Industries
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company24%
    Comms Service Provider21%
    Government9%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company13%
    Construction Company9%
    Educational Organization9%
    Transportation Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company18%
    Comms Service Provider10%
    Government9%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    Company Size
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business29%
    Midsize Enterprise19%
    Large Enterprise52%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business61%
    Midsize Enterprise25%
    Large Enterprise14%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business26%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise56%
    Buyer's Guide
    Software Defined Storage (SDS)
    September 2022
    Download Free Report
    Find out what your peers are saying about Nutanix, StarWind, DataCore and others in Software Defined Storage (SDS). Updated: September 2022.
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    632,611 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct is ranked 15th in Software Defined Storage (SDS) while StarWind Virtual SAN is ranked 2nd in Software Defined Storage (SDS) with 55 reviews. Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct is rated 0.0, while StarWind Virtual SAN is rated 9.6. On the other hand, the top reviewer of StarWind Virtual SAN writes "Easy to set up and maintain with good performance capabilities". Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct is most compared with VMware vSAN, Red Hat Ceph Storage, Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI), DataCore SANsymphony and HPE StoreVirtual, whereas StarWind Virtual SAN is most compared with VMware vSAN, Red Hat Ceph Storage, StorMagic SvSAN, Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) and DataCore SANsymphony.

    See our list of best Software Defined Storage (SDS) vendors.

    We monitor all Software Defined Storage (SDS) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.