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NetApp HCI [EOL] vs StarWind Virtual Tape Library comparison

NetApp and StarWind are both solutions in the HCI category. Additionally, 88% of NetApp users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of StarWind users who would recommend it.
NetApp HCI [EOL]
Read 32 NetApp HCI [EOL] reviews
    88% willing to recommend
    StarWind Virtual Tape Library
    Read 6 StarWind Virtual Tape Library reviews
    • 228 Views
    • 75 Comparison Views
    100% willing to recommend
     

    Comparison Buyer's Guide

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    Executive Summary
    We performed a comparison between NetApp HCI [EOL] and StarWind Virtual Tape Library based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

    Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, VMware, Nutanix and others in HCI.

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    To learn more, read our detailed HCI Report (Updated: May 2025).
    Buyer's Guide
    HCI
    May 2025
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    Helped 860,168 peers since 2012

    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

    NetApp HCI [EOL]
    Average Rating
    8.0
    Reviews Sentiment
    5.6
    Number of Reviews
    32
    Ranking in other categories
    No ranking in other categories
    StarWind Virtual Tape Library
    Average Rating
    10.0
    Reviews Sentiment
    7.7
    Number of Reviews
    6
    Ranking in other categories
    Software Defined Storage (SDS) (13th), HCI (17th)
     

    Featured Reviews

    MB
    Crashed continuously, complex to deploy, and bad after-sales support - NETAPP FIXED the problems in 2022
    Their after-sales support, SLA, and third-parties availability should be improved. NetApp's support is very difficult to engage. We have an SLA of onsite support within 24 hours. but they don't respect the SLA. Its stability was very bad. It has been crashing continuously. In one year, we got three crashes, which is unbelievable for an appliance that is guaranteed for 10 years without any crashes. In 2022, NetApp Italy, driven by the country manager Davide Marini, fixed all our issues and added additional computation power for free. This is a great example of customer care. They could have done it right the first time of course, but admitting the errors and putting in place such a remediation plan has been a very professional behavior.
    Read full review
    KellyVon Der Heyden - PeerSpot reviewer
    Scalable solution with a good technical support team
    We use the solution for data backups and ransomware protection The solution is compatible with cloud storage platforms, such as Amazon S3. Also, it efficiently reduces the storage cost for archiving. The solution's training process and online documentation could be more thorough. We have been…
    Read full review

    Quotes from Members

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

    Pros

    "Our goal with NetApp HCI is to have no single point of failure."
    "We like SnapMirror and we've been using it for many years. We also like the object storage tools, as well as cloud sync for customers wanting to integrate between the cloud and local."
    "In terms of helping us with storage persistence across private and hybrid clouds, we do store data internally and in Azure. It has allowed us to consolidate a number of workloads, across our old NetApp and a number of our older storage arrays, into a single unit and have that unit also working with Azure."
    "It allows me to move a VM set and require extra performance. I can easily move them onto it and have it just run."
    "It is easy to set up, and you don't have to do much work to get it to do what it needs to do."
    "This is a strong product and it works very well, and the processes around it continue to grow and mature."
    "The most valuable feature is the convergence."
    "HCI has helped with storage persistence across private and hybrid clouds for the last year. It's faster and more reliable with minimal downtime, as it doesn't require any maintenance."
    More NetApp HCI [EOL] pros
    "StarWind VTL allowed us to back up to virtual tape that was created within Veeam and upload the tape to the cloud."
    "It is a stable solution."
    "I like the fact that we can simultaneously upload the virtual tapes to different cloud providers, and the settings can be adjusted to speed up the upload times even further."
    "The solution made our backups way more reliable."
    "The most valuable feature of the StarWind Virtual Tape Library is the archiving to the AWS cloud."
     

    Cons

    "I would like to see the implementation process improved."
    "At the moment, I am not looking for new features. Quality of Service (QoS) and capacity efficiency are the two things that I want to resolve in my customer's environment. QoS improves the performance of each tenancy, and with capacity efficiency, the customer can achieve more capacity as compared to the normal capacity."
    "To improve the product, they should make it more flexible."
    "I would like to have the ability to replicate to multiple sites."
    "Because I like block mode, I'd like to see SAN connectivity. I would like to be able to easily put it into my current environment."
    "I'd like to see some additional graphics capabilities because I'd like to look at some virtual desktop integration for CAD software."
    "Its stability is very bad. It has been crashing continuously. In one year, we got three crashes, which is unbelievable for an appliance that is guaranteed for 10 years without any crash."
    "There have been some drive type of issues where we have to apply a new code level. Storage nodes kick certain drives until they act as though they have failed when really they haven't. You just have to reinsert them, then they go on about their happy way. It's sort of a bug."
    More NetApp HCI [EOL] cons
    "The initial installation can be complex and should be simplified."
    "The solution's training process and online documentation could be more thorough."
    "The main thing that I felt could be improved was having an estimated time of completion for the virtual tape uploads to the cloud."
    "I am not sure if this is a limitation of my physical hardware or if it is the software itself. However, I would like the throughput to be faster."
     

    Pricing and Cost Advice

    "There are the overall infrastructure costs. Even though the initial costing was higher, we calculated for year-to-year for five years. That brought us into a position where we decided, we have to go for HCI rather than having distributor systems."
    "Its price is aligned with the market. In addition to the standard licensing fees, there is an integrator cost."
    "This solution reduced our maintenance costs. We were going to have to pay one to two million dollars to put in compute nodes. We are avoiding those costs."
    "All the licenses are included when you buy the program."
    "The price of the solution is okay but could improve."
    "You still have to pay for the licensing for VMware and Red Hat licenses separately. It's not all inclusive at this point."
    "Its pricing is lower than our previous solution."
    "Licenses run on a yearly basis, and there aren't any additional fees other than the standard licensing fee."
    More NetApp HCI [EOL] pricing and cost advice
    "The solution is cost-effective."
    "If you currently have Veeam there is no other solution that is as easy and affordable as StarWind."
    "The pricing of the solution could be more flexible to meet the needs of smaller to mid-market size companies."
    "The initial setup and deployment are also covered in the purchase at no additional cost."
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    Top Industries

    By visitors reading reviews
    Financial Services Firm
    18%
    Real Estate/Law Firm
    18%
    Computer Software Company
    11%
    Manufacturing Company
    9%
    Financial Services Firm
    15%
    Computer Software Company
    13%
    Legal Firm
    13%
    Comms Service Provider
    6%
     

    Company Size

    By reviewers
    Large Enterprise
    Midsize Enterprise
    Small Business
    No data available
     

    Comparisons

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    DataCore SANsymphony vs StarWind Virtual Tape Library
    Compared 29% of the time
    FalconStor FreeStor vs StarWind Virtual Tape Library Logo
    FalconStor FreeStor vs StarWind Virtual Tape Library
    Compared 29% of the time
    More StarWind Virtual Tape Library Competitors
     

    Product Reports

    Buyer's Guide
    NetApp HCI [EOL]
    June 2025
    NetApp HCI [EOL] reportDownload NetApp HCI [EOL] product report
    Buyer's Guide
    Software Defined Storage (SDS)
    May 2025
    StarWind Virtual Tape Library reportDownload StarWind Virtual Tape Library product report
     

    Overview

    NetApp HCI is the only true enterprise-scale hyper converged cloud infrastructure. NetApp HCI comes in a 2 RU chassis with 4 node expansion slots.

    NetApp

    For SMB and Enterprises, who either look to get rid of backup tapes completely, or are willing to accelerate backup process and add an extra level of protection, our solution is StarWind Virtual Tape Library (VTL). It is an appliance that eliminates the need in physical tape and “pretends” to be a supported tape drive or autoloader, keeping all data on inexpensive, fast and high-capacity spinning disks.

    Even with explosive data growth, StarWind VTL fits the backup into backup window by accelerating it, so the process does not overlap with production time. Optionally, it creates additional copy of backup data for better safety. It is also available in a software-only form, as part of StarWind VSAN functionality. 

    StarWind VTL targets those, who need to replace existing tape backup infrastructure or accelerate it if regulatory requirements prohibit replacement. In case the goal is just virtualizing tape backup or creating a stretched backup infrastructure, StarWind Tape Redirector will come in handy. 

    StarWind
     

    Sample Customers

    American Showa, Children's Mercy, Coca-Cola, Consultel Cloud, Evangelische Landeskirche in Wurttemberg, Imperva, Surface Mount Technology
    Volvo, Sony, Samsung, Hitachi
    Buyer's Guide
    HCI
    May 2025
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