StarWind Virtual SAN Reviews

We are using a two-node StarWind VSAN cluster on a Dell 720xds. The StarWind VSAN helps us to better leverage the computing power of our ESXi hosts and helped solve the problem of expanding local storage.

StarWind allowed us to deploy highly available shared storage within our budget. Other solutions were far too costly.

The HA clustering and the ability to run on our own equipment have been the most valuable.

I would like to see more monitoring and alert tools. StarWind offers a management console to configure the and monitor the servers, setting up SMTP alerts would be a plus.

We evaluated other options and this one was the most cost-effective.

Our primary use case is for a distributed virtual SAN over two data centers. Virtual SAN uses three servers in two data centers.

Technically the change is enormous and the operational risk in case of disaster has been minimized. The monitoring is simple and the user interface is intuitive. The solution is stable and the upgrade was done without downtime. Now, the data is distributed on both data centers and data loss is not an option.

This solution has a very good user interface, with simple administration/management.

We find the support for NFS and iSCSI valuable. This solution is practically independent of hardware (if all of the technical prerequisites are met). It supports asynchronous replication, cloud storage, deduplication, and compression.

This product could be improved with the inclusion of new health check procedures. Operations performed in distributed file systems are complex and in case of network outage admins rarely know what is going on. Any kind of simple UI for admins is better than nothing. Something that would admins give fast, easily understandable information about status and rebuild status etc.

Technically, the solution works as described/expected.

This solution is very stable. The upgrade was done online with no downtime.

This solution can be expanded to a large environment when needed.

We were really positively impressed with the support and help they offered (purchased with the product - with no additional charges).

Their pre and post-sales support were partly the reasons that we choose this solution and overall I would rate their support as excellent.

Before we implemented StarWind Virtual SAN, we used scripts and backup software. This was more of a temporary solution than a proper solution for a production environment.

The initial setup is straightforward but we tested (evaluation) in a test environment.

Direct contact with the vendor (best option).

StarWind is best price/performance for SMB.

We evaluated other solutions including SimpliVity and VMware vSAN, but StarWind Virtual SAN was on top (best choice). This was not just because it fit our budget, but for their pre and after sales support.

We spent time evaluating this product and there is no doubt that the choice to implement this solution for production was the right one.

My advice is to call (contact) them and they will answer your questions to help you find a proper solution.

Our primary use case is to create vSAN for a small business environment and to manage it without using a physical SAN.

The managed service helps us to monitor our critical infrastructure.

The most valuable feature is the managed service, which has been an important part of monitoring our critical infrastructure.

I'd like for it to be more user-friendly in the future.

I have never felt that StarWind underperformed or was difficult to manage. The core technology just works. I am very happy that I am part of StarWind.

The team at StarWind are professional and very skilled in a variety of disciplines. The most impressive factor of the StarWind team is its quick response. They are very cooperative.

The setup and configuration for this solution is very easy and user-friendly.

Training provided by them was up to the mark. The documentation provided by them helps us to understand the functioning of the product more precisely.

I have been very impressed with the StarWind application, referring to every parameter. Reliability, cost, and support.

StarWind VSAN is used as shared storage for our Hyper-V cluster. We have two nodes, HDDs in RAID 10. HPE ProLiant servers, Windows Server 2016.

Thanks to StarWind VSAN, we were able to move to a cluster from stand-alone hypervisors with DAS (Direct attached storage). Before VSAN, hypervisor configuration changes and updates resulted in VM outages. Now, downtime is dramatically reduced.

The ability to use existing hardware, with no need to purchase hardware appliances is the most valuable feature. 

The cluster configuration is time-consuming and tedious. StarWind's guide for a two-node cluster can be found at (https://www.starwindsoftware.com/resource-library/starwind-virtual-san-hyperconverged-2-node-scenario-with-hyper-v-server-2016) and it is a long document to work through. I am not sure if it is possible to make the confiugration process more streamlined on generic hardware. This only affects the cluster configuration, not it's production use. I am very satisfied with the StarWind features so far and not interested in additional ones.

The technical support is very good.

StarWind is our first hyper-converged solution.

The licensing is straightforward, with free and trial versions available. 

Use the trial version before buying. Contact StarWind support in case of questions or issues. The support is very good.

Before choosing this solution we evaluated HPE SimpliVity, Scale Computing, and Dell EMC.

In my opinion, StarWind is a great solution for businesses with limited infrastructure budgets.

Our primary use case is data storage. It has helped us to make better strategical decisions, work safely and quickly.

This solution has improved our organization, as it gave us a data storage service that we could rely on and a very sensitive and responsive support service. We are now able to plan better for the future, knowing that support is available.

The access to our data is quicker and cheaper than it used to be in a traditional storage system. It is quite inspiring when you receive quality, speed, and a good relationship with the people in the company.

The most valuable features for our company, Cloud4Y, in this system are:

1. Convenience of work
2. Working speed
3. Usage of SATA for a large volume
4. PCIe Flash
5. A 40 GB Ethernet

In all areas, the product could be made faster.

If any additional features appear, we would appreciate having the service inform us.

We are quite satisfied with the things we have already received, but we
also would be glad to see other inspiring features from a new generation.

We are satisfied by the level of service we got almost six years ago and continue to receive. We were surprised to see a really user-friendly level of communication and a very high level of technical expertise in their specialists.

We are impressed with the working capacity and speed of answers from the support service, as well as their help to install the software we needed. The responses from the support division, and the fact they take into account all our needs and wishes have really inspired us.

Previously, we relied on our own resources. We wanted to work on this with the professionals, so we chose this solution.

The implementation and precise solution were good and fast. We had cooperation from the vendor, and the support was good.

We evaluated other options prior to this, but we didn't like them.

As we now can rely on this company, we recommend that others make the same decision. We would like to add that everyone in our organization has felt the impact of the changes in the services we use and provide.

We also appreciate the long term cooperation that has lasted for years, with a consistent level of service. This allows our company to plan further ahead, as experience has shown that every solution the company provides us is and will remain, satisfying.

Our primary use case for this product is to obtain high availability for our file servers under the control of the Microsoft Windows 2008 operating system.

We have a ready-made solution for a small cost. This has helped to improve the reliability of service and operation in all departments, without having to stop in case of emergency situations.

The most valuable feature is the ability to offer high availability service without purchasing external storage systems. It is quick, easy, and simple. This is a good, economical solution compared to data storage systems. We saved a lot of money. The system will increase the level of backup, adding an additional copy of the data for the same money.

It would help us if the vendor continues to release software updates for earlier versions of the Windows operating systems. For example, Windows Server 2008 R2. We are sitting on earlier Microsoft products while there is support. This is because of the need for new hardware when switching to new software.

The stability is very good. We have not observed failure in seven years of use.

Scaling this solution is easy and simple.

Support has standard procedures and rules. It was provided at a good level.

We did not use a different solution previously. We switched from a system that did not offer high availability.

The initial setup was simple.

The installation was completed by our in-house team.

Our return of investment on this product is 100%.

My advice is to use all the features of the service, including software updates and technical support.

We did not evaluate other products because this option was the only one available at our cost point.

Overall, this is a good product for good money.

Our primary use case is as a virtual storage area network for server clusters and file storage in a production environment for our company.

This solution reduces the cost of additional equipment and services for the creation and development of corporate infrastructure.

StarWind Virtual SAN was designed with virtualization workloads in mind. It employs server-side Flash/RAM caches and minimalist/short I/O path to provide performance unmatched by typical virtual appliances and physical shared storage.

StarWind currently has a Windows native application that it uses for management. There is not a web-based GUI at this time. This may be a choice to reduce the services running on the storage nodes but does seem like it would be a good alternative.

I feel that this solution is very stable.

Qualified online support specialists are always ready to help.

We did not use a different solution before this one.

We evaluated VMware before settling on this product.

A thorough analysis and testing of existing offerings in the network storage market has shown that StarWind Virtual SAN is the perfect network storage solution.

It provides the necessary fault tolerance and continuance of business processes.

StarWind Virtual SAN is a very easy-to-use solution that can be quickly and easily deployed and configured without intimate and specific knowledge in the virtualization sphere.

Moreover, the manufacturer's website has detailed documentation that helps to resolve issues. In cases when the documentation is not enough, qualified online support specialists are always ready to help.

In the test environment, the product has shown excellent results and currently is implemented in a production environment.

StarWind is cost effective. There's no need to purchase additional hardware as shared storage. They have great technical support.

We saved money because we did not have to purchase shared storage and we benefited from high availability in our Hyper-V environment.

It has a user-friendly interface and a straightforward implementation.

Support is great and their staff is experienced.

They recommend RAID 10 for HDD which reduces the usable storage capacity. If they could improve this area, it will be of great benefit in terms of storage.

Cost is affordable and licensing is smooth.

We chose this product based on its good reviews.

Support is very good.