Dell vSAN Ready Nodes vs SteelFusion comparison

Dell Technologies and Riverbed are both solutions in the HCI category. Dell Technologies is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.2, while Riverbed is ranked #30. Dell Technologies holds a 2.7% mindshare in HCI, compared to Riverbed’s 1.2% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Riverbed users who would recommend it.

Dell vSAN Ready Nodes

Read 21 Dell vSAN Ready Nodes reviews

2,751 Views
2,751 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

SteelFusion

Read 2 SteelFusion reviews

892 Views
821 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Dell vSAN Ready Nodes

SteelFusion

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

SteelFusion and Dell vSAN Ready Nodes are competing products in the realm of data storage and virtualization solutions. SteelFusion often receives commendations for its seamless integration with existing networks and perceived cost-effectiveness, whereas Dell vSAN Ready Nodes is favored for its robust features and scalability.

Features: SteelFusion includes capabilities for remote office computing, high efficiency in data caching, and disaster recovery, making it ideal for businesses with distributed environments. Dell vSAN Ready Nodes offers an advanced hyper-converged infrastructure, built-in security features, and extensive scalability options, appealing to enterprises with comprehensive solution needs. Key differences highlight SteelFusion's strength in remote branch integration versus Dell's superior infrastructure focus.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SteelFusion is recognized for a straightforward deployment model with effective remote management options, making it attractive for businesses with limited IT resources. Dell vSAN Ready Nodes typically demands more initial setup involvement but benefits from Dell's extensive support network, offering superior customer service post-deployment.

Pricing and ROI: SteelFusion is generally perceived to have a lower setup cost, particularly beneficial for smaller to medium-sized operations with budget constraints, providing a good ROI over time due to its efficiency. Dell vSAN Ready Nodes entail a higher initial investment, yet the advanced functionalities and scalability offered ensure substantial ROI, particularly for larger organizations. The contrast lies in budget-friendly SteelFusion versus the more robust, investment-intensive Dell solution.

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Buyer's Guide

HCI

June 2026

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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

Dell vSAN Ready Nodes

Ranking in HCI

10th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SteelFusion

Ranking in HCI

30th

Average Rating

9.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the HCI category, the mindshare of Dell vSAN Ready Nodes is 2.7%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SteelFusion is 1.2%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

HCI Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Dell vSAN Ready Nodes	2.7%
SteelFusion	1.2%
Other	96.1%

HCI

Featured Reviews

Humphrey Hlatshwayo

Systems Engineer at First Rand Bank Ltd.

Virtual environment achieves seamless management and reduces downtime through improved fault tolerance

With regards to storage area networks versus virtual SAN, vSAN is better off. It is much faster because the disk is within, utilizing NVMe type disks running SSD for the OS and capacity, making it easier to expand storage. It is stable, and similar to any issues on a standalone machine, there's resilience; if we lose one host, data will not be lost because of the technology on vSAN that allows us to free up that host into maintenance mode without issues. The benefit of using vSAN is that it's easy to manage on vCenter. You can see if there are issues, get recommendations, and overall, it's highly fault-free which is beneficial because we want to minimize downtime. Operationally, we perform well enough during the week; the only time we are highly operational on vSAN is when we do switch upgrades on the MX7000 switches and firmware, which we schedule outside of business hours.

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it_user866178

Chief Technology Officer at MAZZETTI+GBA

Sync to Central and edge protection mitigate my risk in our branch offices

The level of tech support depends on who you get. There are some techs that just read the script and ask you if you’ve rebooted, but once you get past that - or if you have a very technical issue - the support is great. They really know the product and get you up and running again ASAP.

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

"I rate vSAN ReadyNodes as a nine out of ten."

"They are heading in the right direction and moving to integrate everything with a hybrid cloud, and moving workloads back and forth."

"No concerns regarding the footprint in the data center."

"Dell EMC vSAN Ready Nodes is scalable"

"The most beneficial feature is the consolidated storage which is the vSAN. It handles most of the heavy work."

"I have found the most important features of Dell EMC vSAN Ready Nodes are the capacity to manage the storage because the storage is built in the servers. The type of profiles you can attribute to the storage is a benefit. You can manage the storage by profiles. Overall the solution is a good speed and performance."

"The product is useful for DR and other things."

"The tool's most valuable feature is high availability."

Cons

"Currently, it's like a black box that only Dell technical support knows how to handle."

"The solution doesn't scale."

"The deployment is done by doing it one by one and could be simplified."

"Scalability is an area that could be improved. We are looking at a maximum of 32 nodes now in a cluster, but going to 64 or 128 would be a major advantage."

"The solution should provide daily task alerts for data recovery maintenance, usage, and other instructions to ensure the systems are in a good status."

"Although vSAN ReadyNodes work well, a faster firmware lifecycle with the release of validated firmware catalogs more quickly would be a desired improvement."

"Dell vSAN Ready Nodes doesn't perform as well as IBM. There are significant limitations, especially with scalability and flexibility over time. For example, adding drives can be problematic if the specific drives aren't available with older nodes that are four or five years old. Unlike IBM, Dell vSAN Ready Nodes isn't as flexible and doesn't scale easily. Additionally, while present, features like deduplication and compression don't perform as efficiently as they do on IBM. Our experience shows that the tool isn't as robust or flexible as advertised."

"The power switch on the hardware is located in a poor location where it can accidentally be pushed. In an update, they should solve this issue so people do not push it accidentally to have their service go down. A possible solution is the switch should be inside."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have a four-year contract to use Dell EMC vSAN Ready Nodes."

"The solution is more expensive than a traditional array. The prices are skyrocketing."

"My company makes yearly payments towards the licensing charges attached to the solution. The solution is expensive."

"The price of the solution was reasonable."

"Comparing the price of Dell vSAN Ready Nodes to other solutions it is not expensive."

"There is a problem, which is the lack of an integrated price structure."

"The tool's pricing is competitive compared to others. The tool's licensing is based on annual subscriptions."

"Price is an issue – this is expensive stuff. My advice is to beat up Riverbed as much as possible on price. These things are expensive and there is room for negotiation."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

16%

Government

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	12

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell vSAN Ready Nodes?

There is no specific licensing model for vSAN ReadyNodes as it is linked with Broadcom VMware's solutions rather than Dell's. As a group under Comcast, we receive very good pricing from Dell due to...

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What needs improvement with Dell vSAN Ready Nodes?

I would want VMware to ensure that when there's a hardware failure on a host, it should gracefully migrate the VMs to another host available in the cluster without restarting, which would be a grea...

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What is your primary use case for Dell vSAN Ready Nodes?

I am familiar with VMware Workstation, but we don't actually use a workstation. We only use ESXi because we're running a big organization. We have people that are responsible for a Citrix farm that...

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Comparisons

VxRail vs Dell vSAN Ready Nodes

Compared 17% of the time

VMware vSAN vs Dell vSAN Ready Nodes

Compared 8% of the time

Dell PowerFlex vs Dell vSAN Ready Nodes

Compared 6% of the time

Lenovo ThinkAgile MX Certified Node vs Dell vSAN Ready Nodes

Compared 6% of the time

Dell XC Appliance vs Dell vSAN Ready Nodes

Compared 3% of the time

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell vSAN Ready Nodes

June 2026

Download Dell vSAN Ready Nodes product report

Buyer's Guide

HCI

June 2026

Download SteelFusion product report

Also Known As

vSAN Ready Nodes

No data available

Overview

Dell vSAN Ready Nodes provide high availability, flexibility, and ease of deployment with integrated storage management designed for seamless VMware integration and IT modernization.

Dell vSAN Ready Nodes excel in managing workloads with enhanced storage availability and adaptability. They allow single-team administration, minimizing dependency on multiple vendors and offering robust performance and stability. The user-friendly interface ensures ease of deployment and management, enhancing data protection and operational efficiency. Despite these strengths, challenges like automation, complex upgrades, and licensing limitations affect scalability and cost-efficiency compared to competitors.

What are the key features of Dell vSAN Ready Nodes?

High Availability: Ensures continuous operations with minimal downtime.
Scalable Architecture: Allows seamless expansion to meet growing demands.
Integrated Storage Management: Streamlines storage operations for ease of use.
User-Friendly Administration: Simplifies management with straightforward policies.
VMware Environment Integration: Enhances IT modernization and security protocols.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Cost-Effectiveness: Economical options despite encountering pricing rigidity.
Technical Support: Offers strong support services albeit needing improvements in alert systems.
Performance Stability: Reliable performance with enhanced availability.

Organizations deploy Dell vSAN Ready Nodes for general virtualization, hyper-converged infrastructure, and private cloud setups. They are primarily installed on-premises for managing critical servers, allowing expansion into cloud environments. Popular in sectors like government, pharmaceuticals, hospitality, and insurance, they support VMware vSphere, ERP applications, and virtual desktops efficiently.

Dell Technologies

SteelFusion is a high-performance converged infrastructure solution designed to streamline and secure data management in branch office environments, combining server, storage, and network functionalities in a single platform.

SteelFusion enhances efficiency in remote IT operations by integrating with existing IT systems to deliver seamless data centralization and protection. Its architecture supports diverse applications without compromising on performance, making it essential for enterprises looking to optimize their remote branch office operations. Organizations can reduce data footprint, improve resiliency, and ensure data compliance across dispersed locations.

What are the key features of SteelFusion?

Edge Servers: Deliver high-speed performance with robust compute capabilities.
FusionSync: Offers real-time data replication to maintain data consistency.
Virtual Services Platform: Simplifies branch IT with centralized management.
Branch Recovery: Minimizes downtime with rapid recovery options.
Hybrid Cloud Support: Integrates seamlessly with cloud services for extended scalability.

What benefits can users expect in reviews?

Cost Efficiency: Reduces overall IT costs by consolidating infrastructure.
Data Security: Enhances data protection through centralized monitoring.
Operational Simplicity: Lowers complexity in management and deployment.
Performance Optimization: Ensures consistent application delivery across branches.
Risk Mitigation: Decreases risk with improved disaster recovery processes.

SteelFusion is prominently implemented in industries such as finance, healthcare, and retail, where secure data access and rapid recovery are critical. These environments benefit from its robust data management capabilities, enabling them to maintain continuous operations while reducing operational burdens. Its deployment allows businesses to adapt quickly and remain competitive in fast-paced markets.

Riverbed

Sample Customers

Rackspace

Roxtec, Engen, Bobst, CBP, IUCN, Mahoning County, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, Nutanix, Broadcom and others in HCI. Updated: June 2026.

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