What is our primary use case?
We use the StarWind Virtual SAN in a HA stack. We then use readily available HPE servers (DL380DL - 26 disk) to be the hardware. This allows us to have reliable hardware with reliable software and no downtime. It also drives costs down to almost nothing compared to hardware-based SAN devices. Year after year costs are also down with not needing to keep hardware warranties up, due to parts being available easily. Overall, we have saved many thousands of dollars by going this way. We see no difference in IOPS or any other performance metrics. We have also tested the high availability a few times (once on purpose and a few not). It seems to work flawlessly.
How has it helped my organization?
We are able to scale our storage much easier and cheaper than we would with traditional SAN or NAS systems. The cost justification is very easy since the overall cost is literally support for the software. We do not keep any sort of hardware support since we can just buy hardware as needed from anywhere. This means that you have to have some knowledge of hardware if you are picking it out - or their support is more than willing to help. I like this as it allows me to pick out how resilient I want my system to be and how much I want it to cost.
What is most valuable?
The ability to use off-the-shelf standard servers to increase storage space is great. For example, we use Gen 9 DL380 servers with 26 bays. This allows us to migrate to newer hardware at any time without having to buy new shelves or head units of expensive SAN solutions (or even worse, have multiple SAN support contracts going at once in order to swing data between them). This also makes it so we can easily keep older data without immense cost to our organization. Training is also easy as it is just one system to learn.
What needs improvement?
We just need more integration with Veeam. Overall, I like the fire and forget model, so really there isn't an immense amount of things that I would request. Possibly some reporting via SMTP of some metrics would be nice to have. That said, quite honestly I get that from enough systems already and end up ignoring most of them. If this was something I was logged into every day then maybe I would request more features. Then again, I would be more concerned with its quality (we shouldn't need to log in daily). I'm not really sure what more to ask for.
Buyer's Guide
StarWind Virtual SAN
June 2022
Learn what your peers think about StarWind Virtual SAN. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2022.
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For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using the solution for around six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Been using the solution for six years and have not had it fail.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have scaled quite large. It scales well.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support seems responsive. We've only used them a few times.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We had three different systems (Dell PowerVault, HPE Lefthand, Lenovo NAS) and they were expensive to keep and more expensive to expand.
How was the initial setup?
The setup takes about five minutes.
What about the implementation team?
I implemented the solution myself.
What was our ROI?
The ROI is almost immediate.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I'd advise new users to just do some homework on what they need. Pick out hardware that can support it and get a license. The setup would be about 5 minutes.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Yes, we looked at Dell PowerVault, HPE Lefthand, and Lenovo NAS.
What other advice do I have?
The solution offers great ROI.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.