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reviewer1351098 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Infrastructure Specialist at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
MSP
Dec 5, 2020
Good unified administration, very stable, and easy to set up
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution's unified administration is its most valuable aspect."
  • "The solution works well to help businesses simplify their administration, unifying the technology in boxes like vSAN where you see the performance improvements in the configuration with All-Flash."
  • "The solution could maybe improve failure protection."
  • "The solution could maybe improve failure protection."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for remote offices as well as medium-sized businesses.

How has it helped my organization?

The solution works well to help businesses simplify their administration. They unify the technology in boxes like vSAN. You see the performance improvements in the configuration with All-Flash.

What is most valuable?

The solution's unified administration is its most valuable aspect.

Our customers like the HCI functionality, and tiering. My customers enjoy the portion of the solution that can improve the performance of virtual machines

There isn't too much learning involved when picking up the system.

What needs improvement?

The solution could maybe improve failure protection. The failure protection for vSAN is very expensive sometimes within the clients. The customers want to be able to tolerate two or three nodes in failure. However, sometimes, the budget is limited. Implementing hyper-converged solutions sometimes are very expensive with the dozens of tolerance of failure.

Buyer's Guide
VMware vSAN
March 2026
Learn what your peers think about VMware vSAN. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
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For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for at least the last 12 months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

In terms of vSAN functionality for stability, I haven't had any client complaints. It seems to work as it is supposed to. There aren't bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze at all. Our customers are happy.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Sometimes our clients find the scalability to be lacking and it affects performance. They're not sure, if they scale up, how much performance they will have left afterward.

Our clients are small to medium-sized businesses typically. They aren't to big.

I'm not sure if any of our clients plan to increase usage. It's hard to predict, due to the pandemic situation. The majority of my customers don't have plans to upgrade or acquire some additional equipment.

How are customer service and support?

I'm usually in pre-sales and therefore don't have any experience with VMware support. I've never personally reached out to them.

The company does, however, offer good documentation.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We also sell other solutions. We aren't exclusively using VMware. We also, for example, sell HP solutions. We also work with UHCI with Nimble and SimpliVity and with Cisco, with Nexus, Huawei, or hyper-convergence solutions like Cisco HyperFlex.

My customers typically choose VMware as it is a known platform. The main deciding factor seems to be knowledge of the product itself.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup isn't too complex. It's pretty straightforward. The entire implementation process, in fact, is very simple.

If I have an infrastructure already in place then deploy it, the configuration of vSAN will take less than an hour. If the implementation is happening from the scratch, with new equipment, then it will take four hours approximately.

What other advice do I have?

We are a partner of VMware.

Customers considering the solution should be aware that the principal benefits they will get from the solution include integration with HCI, NSX, and cloud solutions.

Overall, I would rate the solution nine ut of ten. We've had a good experience overall and our clients are happy with the product.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
Network Manager at Bank of Abyssinia
Real User
Nov 12, 2020
Extremely easy to deploy and manage; suitable for our requirements
Pros and Cons
  • "Easy to deploy and manage."
  • "This is a fantastic product, it is easy to deploy and to manage, and it suits our requirements."
  • "This is quite an expensive solution."
  • "It is quite an expensive solution for us and I would like to see some improvements on the backup side of the solution."

What is most valuable?

This is a fantastic product, it is easy to deploy and to manage, and it suits our requirements. 

What needs improvement?

It is quite an expensive solution for us and I would like to see some improvements on the backup side of the solution. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for three years. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is quite expensive for us. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
VMware vSAN
March 2026
Learn what your peers think about VMware vSAN. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
885,286 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer1325607 - PeerSpot reviewer
Trainer in information and communication technologies at a educational organization with 51-200 employees
Real User
Nov 9, 2020
Excellent automated performance and agility; good integration with deployment tools
Pros and Cons
  • "Provides good performance as well as integration with deployment tools."
  • "This solution has provided us with good performance, something we were looking for as well as integration with deployment tools."
  • "Troubleshooting tools could be improved."
  • "I'd like to see improvement in the troubleshooting tools, specifically the troubleshooting mechanism."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case of this solution is for performance storage and management, we are a training center. I'm the information and communication technology trainer and we have a  partnership with VMware vSan. 

How has it helped my organization?

The solution allows our technicians to deploy multiple lab environments for different classes at any time, without requiring any manual installation.

What is most valuable?

This solution has provided us with good performance, something we were looking for as well as integration with deployment tools. One of our main aims is to be able to deploy lab environments in an automated fashion and the product enables us to do that, providing more agility in regards to a virtual machine. We can respond to different needs, but every virtual machine will use the same storage.

What needs improvement?

I'd like to see improvement in the troubleshooting tools, specifically the troubleshooting mechanism. We like the product, but once in a while there are problems that require us to reboot the host to fix things, and that creates an impact on production. 

For additional features, I'd like to see a better monitoring tool. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for 14 years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's pretty stable most of the time, but you need to make sure your hardware is supported and is compatible.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability of the solution is easy, you simply have a new host and provide a few contributions and then compute. We only have a few people using this product. 

How are customer service and technical support?

We don't use the technical support, we troubleshoot problems ourselves.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. 

What other advice do I have?

Make sure your hardware is up to date and make sure you test beforehand. It's a good idea to try and combine the solution with some third party products, such as products for automation.

I would rate this solution an eight out of 10. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
reviewer1420677 - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems Operations Manager at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Nov 5, 2020
Creates shared storage for virtual machines
Pros and Cons
  • "It's completely hyper-converged, so it's very convenient."
  • "It's completely hyper-converged, so it's very convenient; we get everything in a bundle."
  • "It should be easier to use."
  • "It should be easier to use. Only trained people can properly use it."

What is our primary use case?

Within our organization, there are many people using VMware vSAN.

What is most valuable?

It's completely hyper-converged, so it's very convenient. We get everything in a bundle.

What needs improvement?

It should be easier to use. Only trained people can properly use it. For untrained, system administrators, it's tough to get a firm understanding of the basics, that's why I'm still studying it.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for two years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

VMware vSAN is both scalable and stable.

How are customer service and technical support?

If I have an issue, their technical support team helps me.

How was the initial setup?

For me personally, the initial setup was not straightforward; I struggled quite a bit.

In preparation, I had to study a lot about the documentation, etc. It took at least one week to complete that.

What other advice do I have?

I would definitely recommend this solution, but be sure to study or complete part of the VMware documentation before you start implementing it.

Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of eight.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Sr. Manager-Data Center and Virtualization at Omgea Exim Ltd
MSP
Nov 3, 2020
Flexible, reliable, and has easy to scale-out architecture with good security
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features are secure IOPs and LAN security."
  • "VMware vSAN is a very good product and I would recommend it for other customers."
  • "The price can be reduced. Small businesses cannot afford this solution."
  • "The price is expensive. This solution is not an option for SBM customers because of the price."

What is our primary use case?

We are service providers. We offer pre-billed services anywhere from three-year or five-year contracts for our customers. We provide the maintenance of the solution during that time, and on the backend, we provide L1 and L2 support.

The primary use case of this solution is for third party storage, and to leverage the local hard disk. This avoids the cost of expensive storage, sandboxes, and SAN switches.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are secure IOPs and LAN security.

Also, we can provide VMware with IOPs assurity from the vSAN policy, vSAN cluster, which is an expensive solution from the storage.

It has the iSCSI feature.

What needs improvement?

The price can be reduced. Small businesses cannot afford this solution.

There are limitations with Kubernetes and vSAN.

In the next release, I would like to have a hybrid flash available with this product.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with this solution for more than three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's a very stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is very easy to scale. It's out of the box. You can add to it at any time.

You can add any OEM or any hardware with no problem. There is no hardware lockin. For example, if you are working with HP hardware,  you can store in DELL, or you can add a fifth node from Huawei.

It's a scale-out architecture.

Our customers are medium and enterprise companies. Small companies cannot afford the services.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very simple.

It is less than five minutes to deploy.

What about the implementation team?

We are service providers for our clients. We have a dedicated team in our organization that deploys the products, maintains, and provides support for our customers. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is expensive. This solution is not an option for SBM customers because of the price.

There are limitations because of nodes. There is a minimum purchase requirement of three or four nodes along with two processors, which also increases the price.

The price will go from a small storage box to a higher storage box.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

When comparing, other vendors have their own hardware with vSAN. They have hardware with HCI, for example, Hyperflex is a hardware that is OEM locked. If a customer purchased three nodes, with Hyperflex, the next time they will have to buy from Cisco. 

It's the same with HPE; if customers purchase three or four nodes from HPE, the next ones can only be purchased from HPE.

VMware vSAN has the flexibility to buy from anywhere. There is no lock key. They can purchase from any customers and any OEM.

What other advice do I have?

VMware vSAN is a very good product and I would recommend it for other customers.

I would rate this solution a ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
Patrick-Campbell - PeerSpot reviewer
Patrick-CampbellSenior Strategic Technical Marketing Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User

What challenges did you have with Kubernetes and vSAN? Disclaimer: I work for the competition. Thanks!

reviewer1320009 - PeerSpot reviewer
Founder at a construction company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Oct 29, 2020
Easy to set up, fairly stable, and cost-effective
Pros and Cons
  • "It uncoupled the idea of proprietary technology and component capabilities. It is basically a proprietary technology for a cost-effective infrastructure."
  • "It uncoupled the idea of proprietary technology and component capabilities, and it is basically a proprietary technology for a cost-effective infrastructure."
  • "They can package it in a way that is specific to the hardware infrastructure and the hardware platform. It should stay fairly up to date with the drivers and the manufacturer issues. The problem with uncoupling the proprietary technology and component capabilities is that by uncoupling them, you run into some concerns or challenges over the poor performance model. These concerns really come when you start talking about high performance, high bandwidth, and high availability types of environments. While vSAN is a leader, in a critical view, it is not about being cost-effective. It is more about the immediate impact of money loss to the business in critical applications where we want to maintain a continuous operational 59 model. It is, however, good for QA/QC tasks. I don't necessarily know how it works in regards to VDI or virtual desktop infrastructure."
  • "The problem with uncoupling the proprietary technology and component capabilities is that by uncoupling them, you run into some concerns or challenges over the poor performance model."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for commoditization and cost-effectiveness. We use it only to be able to spin up instances for monitoring and to do some application testing for other contracts. We are using the latest version.

What is most valuable?

It uncoupled the idea of proprietary technology and component capabilities. It is basically a proprietary technology for a cost-effective infrastructure. 

What needs improvement?

They can package it in a way that is specific to the hardware infrastructure and the hardware platform. It should stay fairly up to date with the drivers and the manufacturer issues.

The problem with uncoupling the proprietary technology and component capabilities is that by uncoupling them, you run into some concerns or challenges over the poor performance model. These concerns really come when you start talking about high performance, high bandwidth, and high availability types of environments. While vSAN is a leader, in a critical view, it is not about being cost-effective. It is more about the immediate impact of money loss to the business in critical applications where we want to maintain a continuous operational 59 model. It is, however, good for QA/QC tasks. I don't necessarily know how it works in regards to VDI or virtual desktop infrastructure.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using VMware vSAN for one and a half years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is fairly good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I wouldn't really be able to comment on that because we don't really have enough of an environment to understand what the cost of scale would look like. Our customers are small to medium enterprises.

How are customer service and technical support?

They are pretty good. I would rate them a seven out of ten. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We didn't use any solution previously. We just had monolithic storage. We just wanted to test this solution out.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is fairly straightforward. You just need to do a level of due diligence before you do the installation. You can run into issues depending upon the compatibility with drivers.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is fairly cost-effective for entry to mid-level performance based on the underlying hardware components.

What other advice do I have?

I would advise doing your homework and making sure that it scales according to your expectations, performance, and ownership cost.

DataCore is a company that competes against them. DataCore is more focused, whereas VMware is wide. DataCore is a little bit better in terms of due diligence and information. vSAN is one of the many products based on the VMware industry, whereas DataCore is very focused and very niche. They've been doing virtualization since 1986.

I would rate VMware vSAN an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
systemen519357 - PeerSpot reviewer
System Administrator for virtual platforms at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Dec 26, 2019
A stable storage solution that we have come to trust
Pros and Cons
  • "It is more stable now than it was before. It's not like it was in the first year. Now it is stable, and we trust it more."
  • "Now it is stable, and we trust it more."
  • "Disaster recovery needs to be improved, when there is a crisis, there is a problem with what is the quickest way to get out of it."
  • "Disaster recovery needs to be improved, when there is a crisis, there is a problem with what is the quickest way to get out of it."

What is our primary use case?

We use this as storage solution for specific VMware services and for backup solution.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is stability.

What needs improvement?

Disaster recovery needs to be improved, when there is a crisis, there is a problem with what is the quickest way to get out of it. This should be done automatically, not manually.

If we have a power failure then you have to find your way manually. There 's no way to automatically fix it. So there should be an automatic way to repair such crises from disaster recovery.

In the next release, I would like to see more clarity on where the files are. the details of the files, for example, where the owners of the files are, and more audits.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have beeing using VSAN for the last three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is more stable now than it was before. It's not like it was in the first year.

Now it is stable, and we trust it more.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We don't want to enlarge the environment. If we have a new need, we will separate and start a new system.

We don't want to have a general-purpose infrastructure. It's not a good idea for our purposes.

We value less scalability more accurate assessment as it is not the way in our environment. We don't want to add more nodes to the same cluster, it's not a good idea. We separate it.

How are customer service and technical support?

We get immediate response from the vendor on phone. For tasks onsite its not sufficient.

of course its a matter of service level, no complaints.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

No, software solutions from VMware based on VMware platforms no migrations.

What about the implementation team?

The integrator "vendor team" had good experience at the last project. level of expertise was very good.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
it_user1254525 - PeerSpot reviewer
Co-Founder/CEO at StorSolv
Real User
Dec 23, 2019
Reduces rack space, power consumption, cooling, and support costs
Pros and Cons
  • "VMware vSAN has greatly reduced refresh spending."
  • "The most valuable features are the reduced rack space, reduced power consumption, reduced cooling, and reduced support costs."
  • "The most valuable features are the reduced rack space, reduced power consumption, reduced cooling, and reduced support costs."
  • "This solution is not great for large file shares/object/rich media repository."
  • "This solution is not great for large file shares/object/rich media repository."
  • "This solution is not great for large file shares/object/rich media repository."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case is the consolidation of compute and storage for VDI and Virtual Servers. 

How has it helped my organization?

VMware vSAN has greatly reduced refresh spending. 

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are the reduced rack space, reduced power consumption, reduced cooling, and reduced support costs.

What needs improvement?

This solution is not great for large file shares/object/rich media repository.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for two years.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. We sell VMware, Dell EMC, Starwind, Nutanix, and DataCore.
PeerSpot user
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Download our free VMware vSAN Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2026
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free VMware vSAN Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.