StarWind Virtual SAN Reviews

The product is being utilized within an airgap lab environment, which means it is isolated from external networks and internet connectivity for security reasons. The virtual Storage Area Network (SAN) is integrated into the system alongside Hyper-V, a virtualization platform developed by Microsoft. 

This configuration allows for efficient storage management and virtualization capabilities within the isolated environment of the lab. The virtual SAN helps in providing centralized storage resources that can be dynamically allocated to virtual machines running on the Hyper-V infrastructure, enhancing the overall performance and flexibility of the system. 

By combining these technologies, users can optimize their lab environment for testing, development, or research purposes without compromising security or network integrity.

This innovative product has significantly enhanced speed, security, and organization. With its advanced features and capabilities, users can experience improved efficiency and productivity. 

The optimization of speed ensures rapid performance, allowing tasks to be completed more quickly and effectively. Additionally, the enhanced security measures provide peace of mind and safeguard sensitive information from potential threats. 

Furthermore, the organization features streamlined processes and ensures easy access to important data, ultimately contributing to a more seamless and structured workflow. 

This product has proven to be a valuable asset in enhancing overall operations and effectiveness.

When it comes to ease of installation, the whole process is designed to be user-friendly and straightforward. With simple step-by-step instructions and all the necessary tools included in the package, setting up the product is a breeze. Even for those who are not particularly tech-savvy, the installation can be completed in a matter of minutes without any hassle. Whether it's assembling a piece of furniture, installing software, or setting up a new device, the ease of installation ensures a smooth and hassle-free experience for users.

The dashboard is functional, but it could benefit from a more modern and visually appealing design. A facelift would not only enhance the overall aesthetics but also improve user experience by making it more intuitive and user-friendly. 

Updates such as streamlined navigation, clearer data visualization, and customizable widgets could make the dashboard more engaging and efficient for users. 

A fresh look and improved functionality would elevate the dashboard to better meet the needs and expectations of users.

I've used the solution for six months.

One of the standout features of the device is its exceptional stability when used for virtual SANS (Storage Area Network). The stability ensures that data transfer and storage operations are smooth and uninterrupted, making it a reliable and efficient solution for managing and accessing large volumes of data in a network environment. 

This feature enhances the overall performance and reliability of the virtual SANS, making it a valuable asset for businesses and organizations that rely on secure and high-speed data storage solutions.

One of the best features of the product is its scalability. This allows users to easily customize and adjust the product to suit their specific needs and preferences. 

Whether it's expanding storage capacity, upgrading performance capabilities, or adapting to different user requirements, the scalability of the product ensures versatility and flexibility. 

Additionally, scalability often means that the product can grow with the user, accommodating changing needs over time without the need for a complete overhaul or replacement. This feature adds significant value to the product by enhancing its longevity and adaptability in various scenarios.

Their support team is highly knowledgeable and skilled in assisting customers with any technical issues they may encounter. 

Whether it's troubleshooting a complex setup, optimizing performance, or addressing compatibility concerns, the StarWind customer service team is well-equipped to provide expert guidance and solutions. 

Customers can rely on their technical expertise to ensure smooth implementation and operation of the Virtual SAN solution.

Positive

I did not previously use a different solution. 

The installation of StarWind Virtual SAN was straightforward and seamless. The user-friendly interface guided me through the process step by step, making it easy to set up and configure. 

I was impressed by the clear instructions and the minimal technical knowledge required to get the software up and running. The whole installation process was efficient and well-organized, allowing me to quickly deploy the virtual SAN solution without any hassle.

My experience with installing StarWind Virtual SAN was smooth and hassle-free.

We used an in-house team.

We witnessed an ROI within one to three months.

I did not evaluate other options. 

We use the service to provide two-node hyper-converged storage to our application servers. 

We previously did not have any type of high-availability storage, and as you can guess, it was a mess. Getting high-availability storage was one of our first priorities when a new IT team was formed. 

Through talking with other customers, this is a great solution for us. In the more than six years of use now, we have not had any issues and support has always been great. They have helped us make config changes and do updates without any downtime.

Moving us to high availability storage has made our websites and applications more reliable. It also has allowed us to perform updates on storage and application servers without having downtime. Previously, to do any of those things was a pain as we would have to shut services down to perform any updates, whether security or features.

When compared to other providers, StarWind provided a great product at a reasonable price. Cost is also very important to a non-profit.

Having high-availability storage has made our lives easier. Having a two-node cluster without dealing with split-brain saves us the extra costs in hardware and maintenance. This is especially important to us since we are a non-profit. 

Having support is also very valuable to us as we are a small team. We have had very few vendors that we never had frustrations with their support and StarWind is definitely one of them. As for reliability, we have never had a single problem.

Since our needs are simple in comparison to large corporations, when it comes to needs, we often just need the basic plans. Therefore, we cannot speak much into what we want to see improvements in due to our simple needs but also because we rarely touch it. We mostly touch it just to do updates. 

As for the financial aspect of this, there is not much need for improvement either as they are much cheaper than the alternatives. We have found this product to suit our needs. 

I've used the solution for more than six years.

Never had an issue with stability.

We have never had issues with scaling and we run applications and databases using the storage solution.

Their support did most of the work when it came to the setup.

The StarWind vSAN product is not used directly by me. We use it in the organization via one of our clients. It is used as a shared storage solution for a Hyper-V converged project with two nodes. The project consists of a cluster with two Hyper-V nodes in which several virtual machines are running. 

The hardware is quite common. The disks used on the two virtual hosts are normal 7000 SATA disks. Only the synchronization interests are 10GB. Otherwise, there's nothing special; they are usual servers with Xeon processors from the 2018 generation.

StarWind Virtual SAN was the most optimal choice, both from a financial point of view and in terms of compatibility. It is an excellent choice for use together with Microsoft Hyper-V. Other options would have been the use of Microsoft Server Datacenter licenses on the two nodes and the use of Storage Replica and Storage Space Direct as a storage solution or VMware vSAN, both of which would have cost considerably more without bringing anything extra from the point of view of functionality or reliability, compared to Starwind Virtual SAN.

Although StarWind Virtual SAN free is fully functional and can be used in production, the support that comes with the license is priceless, the expertise of the StarWind support specialists is worth all the money. 

Also, the administration console, which is only available for the paid version, is extremely useful, being very intuitive and easy to use. The information displayed in the console is excellently structured, so that the complete solution can be seen in a single screen, which is very useful in monitoring and diagnosing the system.

While using StarWind Virtual SAN so far, I have not found anything missing. It is true that we are using it in a very strict project in which we were looking for a solution that would satisfy a strict set of requirements, and StarWind Virtual SAN explicitly fulfilled that set of requirements, we were not looking for a solution with many options. That's why I can't say if improvements are necessary. The options used in our project have everything we need and they have managed in excellent time regardless of the citations that have appeared so far.

We have been using this solution for over five years.

It is very reliable. In the five-plus years since we have had it in production, it has coped brilliantly with all the events that have occurred.

It is extremely scalable. The free version is limited to three nodes. However, the licensed version has an unlimited number of nodes.

The support was excellent. I was assisted well and all the steps were explained to me, including how it should be set up and why, making the initial implementation of the project easy.

Positive

We opted from the beginning to do the project with StarWind Virtual SAN.

The initial setup was quite intuitive. That said, I had full support from StarWind at the beginning of the project implementation.

The solution was implemented in-house.

Choose StarWind Virtual SAN, it is the most flexible, reliable and cheap solution.

I evaluated Window Server Datacenter licenses for Storage Space and B2B, and another attempt with VMware vSAN. Both did not fit very well and were also considerably more expensive.

You can use the free evaluation version to see if it is what you need.

I have a two-node high-availability setup. The first goal is to use it as a hyper-visor for critical servers to be hosted locally. If this use case works well over time, I may use the Virtual SAN as a storage cluster for multiple servers to connect to.

Two servers used for Hyper-V hosting, with high-speed NVME underlying storage, are being used for high-availability hosting and storage. No additional hardware is required beyond a high-speed network connection between the two (25gbps fiber optic in our case).

The storage/hosting cluster is currently being used for test servers. We have hosted some of our test SQL servers on the devices to ensure seamless failover and good IO performance.

Once it moves out of testing, we will host critical servers on these devices and will be able to quickly transfer servers between hosts to allow for host server maintenance without VM downtime. It will also provide instant failovers in case of hardware failures, reducing downtime that would otherwise occur while a VM is being restored from a backup or the host server is fixed.

The ability to host high availability storage between existing servers without additional hardware is a great benefit. This not only saves money but also reduces the complexity of the hardware configuration creating fewer points of failure.

I also appreciate the alternative this product provides compared with the very restrictive options provided by large vendors for Hyper-Converged Infrastructure. That this solution can be configured on existing hardware and managed on Windows servers as opposed to a proprietary hardware-tied HCI solution is a positive in my book.

Including their own hyper-visor would be a valuable improvement over simply integrating with Hyper-V. 

A more streamlined setup where components like the iSCSI connectors were configured from the application would be useful as well (currently, there is a lot of back and forth between the StarWind application and Windows Server High Availability configuration screens when setting it up)

The only issue I have dealt with is slow contact with support and things like trial license extensions through my sales rep.

I used the free version a few years ago and have been using the paid version for around six months.

The application itself has operated without issue. That said, it is utilizing a number Windows Server roles and hardware devices that themselves can have issues. The web of interconnected components can be harrowing, however, it still is a superior option to a closed-box HCI option that provides no insight for troubleshooting.

You could have significant scaling by just having more two-node or three-node clusters, but you cannot scale a single cluster past three-nodes currently.

My experience with support was terrific. The only issue was having to communicate through a sales rep instead of being able to directly contact the engineer.

Positive

Our previous solution utilized Direct-Attached Storage devices. We are evaluating this vSAN-based approach to storage and integrating hosting to reduce surface area, improve I/O performance, and provide more seamless failovers.

The setup is very complex, particularly regarding network configuration.

Pricing on this product is controlled largely by the number of nodes and the storage volumes involved. One of the cutoff points for license cost is 10TB. If you intend to use storage volumes beyond that size, expect an uptick in cost.

I did some basic research into Azure and Dell HCI options.

We successfully virtualized our entire company's data infrastructure using StarWind Virtual SAN. This implementation allowed us to consolidate and optimize our storage environment, improving overall efficiency and reducing operational costs associated with managing and maintaining a traditional SAN.

StarWind Virtual SAN seamlessly integrates with our existing hypervisors, providing us with a fault-tolerant and high-performance storage pool for our virtualized environments. 

The most valuable feature we found was the ease of use. This aspect greatly simplified the setup and management of our storage environment, ensuring smooth and efficient operations. While the solution has been instrumental in enhancing our storage infrastructure, we believe there is room for improvement in certain areas. Improvements in documentation and support resources could further enhance the user experience. Integration with containerization platforms to support modern application development practices would also be beneficial. 

More advanced configuration options would cater to our specific needs. Looking ahead, we believe that future releases of Virtual SAN could benefit from additional features such as enhanced monitoring and reporting capabilities, integration with cloud storage providers, and support for automated data tiering. 

Overall, StarWind Virtual SAN has significantly improved the efficiency and reliability of our storage infrastructure, and we anticipate further enhancements in future releases.

We utilize StarWind Virtual SAN for managing the storage area network (SAN) in our data centers. The solution enables us to ensure a fault-tolerant and high-performance storage pool to support the needs of our virtualized environments. Its seamless integration with our existing hypervisors allows us to efficiently and reliably manage the storage resources required for our virtualized applications and workloads. 

StarWind offers a free version, allowing users to test the product without any initial investments. This version runs on top of existing hypervisors and hardware, making it ideal for test and development processes in the pre-production stage. Users can easily upgrade to a commercial version later, ensuring a seamless transition without disruptions.

The most valuable aspects of the solution include:

Simplified setup and management: StarWind Virtual SAN offers ease of use, simplifying the setup and management of storage environments. 

Seamless integration: It seamlessly integrates with existing hypervisors, providing fault-tolerant storage for virtualized environments. 

Cost savings: Virtualizing data infrastructure with StarWind Virtual SAN improves efficiency and reduces operational costs. We successfully virtualized our entire company's data infrastructure using StarWind Virtual SAN. This implementation allowed us to consolidate and optimize our storage environment, improving overall efficiency and reducing operational costs associated with managing and maintaining a traditional SAN.

The solution could improve:

Documentation and support: Improvements in documentation and support resources could enhance the user experience. 

Advanced configuration options: More advanced configuration options may be needed to cater to specific needs. 

Feature expansion: This could include:

• Integration with containerization platforms for modern application development practices could be beneficial. 
• Enhanced monitoring and reporting capabilities to provide more insights into the performance and health of the storage environment. 
• Integration with cloud storage providers to enable hybrid cloud deployments and data tiering capabilities. 
• Support for automated data tiering to optimize storage utilization and performance based on usage patterns. 
• Advanced data protection features such as encryption at rest and in transit to ensure data security and compliance. 
• Integration with containerization platforms to support modern application development practices.

I've used the solution for six months.

Our primary use case for StarWind is providing our clients with a cost-effective HA storage solution utilizing existing virtualization technology already installed at the client site.

In the past, we have used other solutions. However, StarWind is our go-to and only virtual SAN solution at this point due to a number of factors which include reliability, simplicity, and the completeness of the offering. 

Further, StarWind has made no moves towards acquisition which was a large concern for us as previous vendors were acquired which ended our relationships.

StarWind has provided us with a top-notch, well-supported, robust vSAN offering when other vendors have moved to hyper-converged solutions that are outside of our average clients' reach from a financial and resource perspective. We are able to roll out solutions with confidence with StarWind as a partner.

StarWind has also provided us with a very stable platform that is extremely well-supported. Their support staff excels at identifying issues and guiding us to best practices ensuring each of our clients receives an excellent experience.

The level of confidence and support within the StarWind organization is second to none.

The simplicity of scaling the StarWind solution has also been a boon for us.  In the past, most solutions relied on a per GB or per TB model while StarWind is a simple licensing structure per node. This has enabled us to scale clients' infrastructure as needed without being concerned about running into an artificial ceiling. 

When StarWind considered a pricing model change we discussed and worked with them to ensure that the solutions and changes prevented did not have a negative impact. They are a true partner.  

We have, in rare cases, received conflicting guidance between different support folks within StarWind. The guidance is always pertinent. However, you can tell there are times when it's just a matter of preference from engineer to engineer. Although not a detriment to the product offering, it creates some minor quandaries within our own organization as to best practices.

Overall a simplified support model where each engineer provides a similar answer and not "what works for them" would be beneficial however the difference in style of each engineer has not had a negative impact on us.

We have been using this solution for five or more years.

We utilized HPE Lefthand vSAN as well as VMware vSAN. As noted previously, these products were simply not a good fit for us or were phased out.

Look at their HA appliances. The cost for these is competitive enough to our own hardware that we have begun to lean on these appliances as opposed to rolling and supporting our own.

We did. We evaluated a number of solutions which I won't name here. StarWind came out on top.

StarWind is an excellent solution with top-tier support.

StarWind was the perfect solution that I was looking for: a true, two-node virtual SAN solution.

We're too small for three physical hypervisors, however, we still have two and want high availability. Native vSAN for the hypervisor we use requires two nodes plus a witness, or three, and we just couldn't do that.

In a search for an alternative, I found StarWind. They offer a true two-node setup with agent VMs on each host and two high-bandwidth links to each other, and that's it!

We're a visiting nurse association and rely on redundant hypervisors to keep our patient software up and running around the clock.

It has cut costs that we would've spent on network links and SAN appliance(s), allowing us to just include drives with our hosts and run a Virtual SAN.

Not only that, but the addition of two 10GB links now means that our hypervisor can live-migrate virtual machines very fast between hosts, and data is also synced between StarWind RAID arrays quickly too.

All this combines into a very efficient, fast, and reliable Virtual SAN solution that blazes past our previous physical SAN infrastructure.

The accessibility is great. It's very easy to resize disks and they show up in VMware almost instantly. It's pretty darn fast at syncing and I appreciate how friendly it is to SMBs.

Pricing is also very fair and their support is top-notch. I had some trouble setting it up. That said, it didn't take long at all to get in touch with support reps and they were knowledgeable on the product, not just an agent reading a script.

PROS include:
• Relatively easy to use
• True two-node vSAN
• Redundancy
• Stability (no issues in the years thus far of using it)
• Friendly pricing for SMBs and great support
• Great solution for SMB environments overall

The only thing I could suggest to improve is the documentation. The initial setup got a little confusing at a few points with differences between the VMware version in documentation vs the latest, etc. However, they've improved the documentation greatly since I got started in 2022 (writing now as of 2025.02.19)

CONS include:
• Documentation for initial setup can be a bit ambiguous at times, yet support helps you get through it; you're good once you're up and running.
• It's not native and not a bad thing. Just keep in mind it's a third-party solution so it won't be as "drop-in" as a native solution offered by your hypervisor.

Since 2022

So far. I have had no issues or lapses in performance/stability.

The solution is scalable. It is very easy to add more virtual disks.

Customer support is very good! The support rep knew what they were talking about and quickly got back to me with an answer.

Positive

Before we had a physical SAN, maybe the HP MSA P2300 (I may have gotten the model number wrong).

It was just too expensive and demanding of physical links/resources to go with another MSA, so we decided to try a Virtual SAN.

The initial setup was both straightforward and complex. It wasn't too hard, however, there were some little parts in the documentation where I got stuck without much help other than calling for a support agent, which solved my issue and cleared up the confusion.

The implementation was done in-house.

Pricing is pretty fair and includes one year of support (as of purchase in August 2022).

The license is based on how many hosts you have and how much in TB you need the vSAN to accommodate.

We looked at our native Hypervisor's vSAN product, however, it required three nodes (or two with one witness node) and just wasn't feasible for our setup as an SMB.

We built a two-server Hyper-V failover cluster. We build typical servers like we normally would with NVME drives and plenty of storage. This software works hand in hand with Microsoft hyper-v failover manager for a seamless setup that has not given us any issues since implementation. 

Live failovers are tested every week, and the customer does not even notice when the failovers are tested. The performance was exceptional, and everything worked as expected. We went ahead and got the three-year 24/7 support contract since it's a critical customer. While the price is a bit steep, this process and product have given us a lot of peace of mind that the servers will continue running even if one of the physical hosts goes down.

It's a very easy Implementation with the help of support. We received quick responses from support for any questions we had throughout the entire process. StarWind is a stable product that allowed us to build the cluster exactly like we wanted hardware-wise. This product has allowed us to build a two-node failover cluster without a SAN. 

We also did not need the datacenter edition of server OS. We were very worried about the implementation process. However, they helped us with the entire implementation, leaving no stone unturned and all questions answered.

Overall, it was a great experience dealing with the various StarWind team members from the pre-sales all the way through to implementation. This was our first experience with a hyper-converged failover cluster, and the team at StarWind made it easy for us. 

Before making the choice, we were weighing out all the cluster options, and everything kept coming back to StarWind. I'm glad it did, as we definitely feel we made the right choice. We test live failovers every week, and so far, everything has been running smoothly without anything unexpected.

Pricing is a bit high. That said, the support is worth it. It's really hard to point out any other negatives. The licensing and support pricing structure could have been laid out a little simpler, and then pricing could have been less, of course. However, the truth is the support really does make up for the cost, in our opinion. We did decide to go with three-year 24/7 support due to implementation in a critical communications center. We feel like we won't need to use them for much at all since the products just work. Due to this, the pricing could have been better, especially with us purchasing all three years at once.

I've used the solution for one year.