HPE Alletra dHCI vs StarWind Virtual Tape Library comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and StarWind are both solutions in the HCI category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.3, while StarWind is ranked #27. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 3.4% mindshare in HCI, compared to StarWind’s 1.2% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of StarWind users who would recommend it.

HPE Alletra dHCI

Read 31 HPE Alletra dHCI reviews

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3,007 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

StarWind Virtual Tape Library

Read 6 StarWind Virtual Tape Library reviews

949 Views
579 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

HPE Alletra dHCI

StarWind Virtual Tape Library

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

StarWind Virtual Tape Library and HPE Alletra dHCI compete in the data storage and management sector. HPE Alletra dHCI is considered superior due to its advanced features and higher perceived value.

Features: StarWind Virtual Tape Library emphasizes seamless integration, efficient data backup, and a streamlined management process. HPE Alletra dHCI offers high-performance computing, scalable architecture, and robust data protection.

Room for Improvement: StarWind could enhance its technical deployment process and cloud replication efficiency. Additional features for advanced data management may benefit users. HPE Alletra dHCI could improve its complex deployment process and simplify integration. More cost-effective pricing could expand market reach. Increased user-friendly interfaces would enhance overall experience.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: StarWind Virtual Tape Library provides straightforward setup with comprehensive support, ensuring quick deployment. HPE Alletra dHCI offers an intricate deployment process with extensive resources and professional assistance for tailored solutions.

Pricing and ROI: StarWind Virtual Tape Library is cost-effective, offering excellent ROI for small to medium-sized businesses. HPE Alletra dHCI incurs higher initial costs but provides justified returns through enhanced capabilities and potential long-term savings.

To learn more, read our detailed HPE Alletra dHCI vs. StarWind Virtual Tape Library Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

HPE Alletra dHCI vs. StarWind Virtual Tape Library

March 2026

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Helped 884,976 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

HPE Alletra dHCI

Ranking in HCI

9th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

StarWind Virtual Tape Library

Ranking in HCI

27th

Average Rating

10.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Software Defined Storage (SDS) (23rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the HCI category, the mindshare of HPE Alletra dHCI is 3.4%, down from 4.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of StarWind Virtual Tape Library 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 (%)
HPE Alletra dHCI	3.4%
StarWind Virtual Tape Library	1.2%
Other	95.4%

HCI

Featured Reviews

Mohamed-Mousa

IT Manager at a media company with 201-500 employees

Modern infrastructure has supported critical business services and delivers strong data protection

To be honest, I did not make any changes in Nimble, and the same applies to StoreOnce. The system is built and ready-made. It was already built before we received it, but overall, everything is clear and direct, and there is nothing complex, so I do not need to do a deep dive in the system to resolve or change anything. I do not use HPE Nimble Storage HPE Alletra dHCI intelligent automation. I do not use intelligent data services in managing my data infrastructure. I have not actually used additional functionality for Nimble Storage HPE Alletra dHCI right now, but I think this feature is very useful, especially AI. AI is involved in any software now, and I do not use it in my system, but I think it's very useful.

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reviewer1414572

DevOps Director at University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics

Flexible and reliable with helpful support

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. Who would not like things to be faster? It would be nice if StarWind could come up with a best practice document for configuration. I had to do some playing around in my environment with test runs to get the configuration that really allowed for the maximum amount of throughput that I was going to get with the software. Once I had figured out what worked best, the solution was rather fast for backing up 30+ TB of data

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Nimble Storage is a capable platform with high availability."

"The solution is easy to use."

"Simply being able to move objects and the duplication feature have been quite effective."

"The product provides zero downtime."

"The nice thing about it is that it truly integrates with the cloud, so I can move my volumes bi-directionally in and out of the cloud."

"We have this feature in Nimble dHCI, wherein we can upgrade individual components in the infrastructure."

"The latency is very low."

"The product has cut down a lot of service tickets. Earlier, people complained about slowness."

More HPE Alletra dHCI pros

"The most valuable feature of the StarWind Virtual Tape Library is the archiving to the AWS cloud."

"We simply replicate our backups from Veeam to the virtual tape library that StarWind implements, while magically transporting those to B2 for our offsite backup requirements."

"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."

"StarWind VTL allowed us to back up to virtual tape that was created within Veeam and upload the tape to the cloud."

"If you currently have Veeam there is no other solution that is as easy and affordable as StarWind."

"The solution made our backups way more reliable."

Cons

"Their documentation needs to be simpler to read yet more detailed so it's easy to compare models and easier for clients to pick."

"It can be made cheaper."

"I'm not sure if there are features lacking."

"Lacking integration to the cloud."

"HPE Nimble Storage dHCI currently is promoting only VMware as a hypervisor, whereas if they can look into other OSs, such as KVM or Red Hat, it would be an improvement."

"Companies in small countries face problems with spare parts."

"The only issue I'm really running into is we have a SQL server that we're having a lot of high IO latency on one of my drives and it's my data drive from my SQL server. It's not really giving me any good information as to where that latency is coming from, so that's what I'm trying to track down and troubleshoot."

"The implementation process was problematic due to firmware incompatibilities and lengthy support intervention."

More HPE Alletra dHCI 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."

"In practice, it is somewhat technical to deploy and manage, but overall it gets the job done."

"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."

"The initial installation can be complex and should be simplified."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"HPE Nimble Storage dHCI is much cheaper than the competition and has value proposition. Customers can see an ROI in three months. There are no additional costs, and VMware licenses can be reutilized."

"The prices are very high."

"I would rate the licensing model a three out of ten, where one is extremely expensive, and ten is cheap."

"The price of HPE Nimble Storage dHCI is expensive."

"The product is very affordable."

"The product is costly."

"The customers have found the solution to be expensive. However, when compared to the competition the price is reasonable."

"With the features that HPE Nimble Storage dHCI provides, I cannot say its pricing is more."

More HPE Alletra dHCI pricing and cost advice

"The initial setup and deployment are also covered in the purchase at no additional cost."

"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 solution is cost-effective."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	25
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	3

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE Nimble Storage dHCI?

Pricing is rated at six, which is normal. The price is appropriate for the capabilities and features that the customers receive.

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What needs improvement with HPE Nimble Storage dHCI?

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What is your primary use case for HPE Nimble Storage dHCI?

We are using VMware in this product as a software, and our infrastructure is built in HPE Alletra dHCI system, which includes our CRM, Exchange servers, domain servers, payroll servers, and CRM as ...

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HPE Alletra dHCI

March 2026

Download HPE Alletra dHCI product report

Buyer's Guide

Software Defined Storage (SDS)

March 2026

Download StarWind Virtual Tape Library product report

Also Known As

HPE Nimble Storage dHCI

No data available

Overview

HPE Alletra dHCI, a data storage solution from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), offers Disaggregated Hyperconverged Infrastructure (dHCI), separating storage from compute resources for independent scaling and management. Utilizing HPE Nimble Storage technology, known for AI-driven optimization, it ensures high performance and management efficiency. With scalability and agility, users can effortlessly expand storage or processing power as data requirements evolve. Additionally, boasting rapid deployment in under 15 minutes and a claimed 99.9999% data availability, HPE Alletra dHCI promises robust and reliable storage solutions.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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

Information Not Available

Volvo, Sony, Samsung, Hitachi

Buyer's Guide

HPE Alletra dHCI vs. StarWind Virtual Tape Library

March 2026

Free Report: HPE Alletra dHCI vs. StarWind Virtual Tape Library

Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Alletra dHCI vs. StarWind Virtual Tape Library and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.

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