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Cisco UCS Manager vs. NetApp ONTAP Data Management Software vs. StarWind Virtual SAN

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cisco UCS Manager

    Score9 out of 10
    N/ACisco UCS Manager supports the entire Cisco UCS server and Cisco HyperFlex Series hyperconverged infrastructure portfolios. It enables server, fabric, and storage provisioning as well as, device discovery, inventory, configuration, diagnostics, monitoring, fault detection, auditing, and statistics collection.N/A

    NetApp ONTAP Data Management Software

    Score9.7 out of 10
    N/ANetApp's ONTAP Data Management Software is a storage and data management and protection solution. ONTAP 9 allows users to build an intelligent hybrid cloud that is the foundation of a NetApp Data Fabric that spans flash, disk, and cloud. Flexibly deploy storage on a choice of architectures—hardware storage systems, software-defined storage (SDS), and the cloud—while unifying data management across all of them.N/A

    StarWind Virtual SAN

    Score9.5 out of 10
    N/AStarWind Virtual SAN is software-defined storage for efficient storage and backup.N/A
    Pricing
    Cisco UCS ManagerNetApp ONTAP Data Management SoftwareStarWind Virtual SAN
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco UCS ManagerNetApp ONTAP Data Management SoftwareStarWind Virtual SAN
    Free Trial
    NoNoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details———
    More Pricing Information
    Best Alternatives
    Cisco UCS ManagerNetApp ONTAP Data Management SoftwareStarWind Virtual SAN
    Small Businesses
    Cyberduck
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Cyberduck
    Score8.6 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    AWS Storage Gateway
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Cisco UCS Manager
    Score9 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Enterprises
    SolarWinds Storage Resource Monitor (SRM)
    Score10 out of 10
    Cisco UCS Manager
    Score9 out of 10
    IBM Storage Scale
    Score9.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cisco UCS ManagerNetApp ONTAP Data Management SoftwareStarWind Virtual SAN
    Likelihood to Recommend
    10.0
    (23 ratings)
    10.0
    (8 ratings)
    9.5
    (163 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.6
    (14 ratings)
    Usability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.8
    (33 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    9.4
    (119 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.8
    (8 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.3
    (2 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco UCS ManagerNetApp ONTAP Data Management SoftwareStarWind Virtual SAN
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cisco
    It [Cisco UCS Manager] is extremely well suited to large virtual infrastructure environments with resource dense blades. This solution is also great if you want to consolidate a large number of servers (if they are servers that need to stay physical, but can fit in the profile of a blade) - this would reduce data center space utilization as well as power and cooling. Cisco UCS Manager is also great if you're looking for centralized management of a larger number of servers. This would not be a great solution if you have a very small shop - it's not cheap and probably wouldn't give you a ROI if you only have a couple dozen servers total. I'd say it would be overkill for small shops, but if you have the money and don't care, you'll still like it.
    Incentivized
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    NetApp
    I have highly benefited from the performance of this great tool. Storage and data management programs have been running as planned since we deployed this system. Under NetApp ONTAP Data Management Software our data and customers contacts are always secure. It has helped our company in reducing storage costs as we can safely use cloud storage services. It gives us continuity guarantee even after our systems fail to function due to strong backup system.
    Incentivized
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    StarWind
    For remote locations, where communications are limited and cloud services are difficult to obtain, on-premises servers are the only solution. Hardware solutions require spares in storage for redundancy and are more expensive than software solutions. If communications and cloud computing are highly available, then solutions such as StarWnd Virtual SAN would not be needed.
    Read full review
    Pros
    Cisco
    • It is very all inclusive for management of every part our our Cisco blade center.
    • It allows us to directly connect to a hardware-based server in the blade center as though we were physically at the console.
    • It allows us to monitor the entire system for faults.
    • It lets us manage connectivity.
    • It is set to alert us via email if a fault occurs.
    Incentivized
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    NetApp
    • Cloud tool for easy multiple data management.
    • Creating reports is incredible through the package.
    • Data transportation and the real-time data analytics, this tool is the best ever.
    • Data threats Protection capability is amazing.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    StarWind
    • the StarWind Virtual SAN allows us to use Starwind Management Console to confirm health of the sync
    • The High Available nature of the deployment means we can fail over VMs without end users noticing any downtime
    • Their support is proactive alerting when firmware updates are needed (including iDRAC firmware) or when there are any warnings in the event logs, and schedule a time to remediate the issue with you.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Cisco
    • Automation: There is a simple power-shell CMD lets, but it leaves more to be desired.
    • Navigation: Navigating the interface can be confusing.
    • Integration: Integration with ESXi hosts while doing FW upgrades would be hugely beneficial without the need for additional tools.
    Incentivized
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    NetApp
    • More details on network interfaces are available in CLI. Would like to see similar visibility on the GUI.
    • Deleting volumes that have been snapmirrored have to be released at the snapmirror destination first. Would be nice to have that feature at the source where you are deleting the volume.
    • When creating a volume in the GUI it adds to the default junction point. Would be nice to choose the junction point as you were creating the volume (this is a feature available in the CLI).
    Incentivized
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    StarWind
    • Complexity: StarWind Virtual SAN can be complex to set up and manage, especially for organizations with limited IT resources
    • Limited protocol support: StarWind Virtual SAN supports a limited number of protocols, primarily iSCSI and SMB3
    • Limited scalability for storage-only deployments: In storage-only deployments, StarWind Virtual SAN has a limit of 32 nodes per cluster
    • Lack of reporting and analytics: StarWind Virtual SAN has limited reporting and analytics capabilities, which can make it difficult to monitor and troubleshoot performance issues
    • Limited backup and recovery options: While StarWind Virtual SAN provides some basic backup and recovery options, it lacks advanced features such as snapshot management, backup scheduling, and offsite replication
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Cisco
    Cisco UCS Manager allows for integrated management of all UCS components, streamlining processes like server provisioning, networking, and storage configuration
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    NetApp
    No answers on this topic
    StarWind
    StarWind Virtual SAN is a great solution and is now an integral part of our network of servers. The product is superb and the support has been amazing. It's perfect for our organisation and we won't be looking to come away from it any time soon!
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    Cisco
    The automation capabilities of Cisco UCS Manager help streamline tasks such as provisioning, configuration, and monitoring, leading to increased efficiency
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    NetApp
    Functionality is very impressive, practical, and useful. GUI could use several improvements.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    StarWind
    Very easy to use and manage from an IT standpoint. The user interface is well laid out, provides access to the underlying hardware configurations, and allows customization of storage volumes from each cluster node in your environment. Can provide differing levels of access, so team member access can be set up based on roles.
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    Reliability and Availability
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    NetApp
    No answers on this topic
    StarWind
    The solution has been tested under constant usage for 5 years now and there (knock on wood) has yet be an outage. There were instances if human error during the operation and the StarWind reliably intervened, either through a synchronization or reporting of a degredation of interfaces, e.g. the heartbeat interface.
    Incentivized
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    Performance
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    NetApp
    No answers on this topic
    StarWind
    The software delivered exceptional performance until now with very fast write and speed rates, around 900MB/s through a 10GBit connection on a virtualized fileserver. It meets our demands without any problems whatsoever and we are a very media heavy environment with TBs of raw data.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Cisco
    Cisco UCSM Support has been very quick to reply and address our concerns, issues, and questions. We have found that Cisco's documentation is clear and concise and fairly easy to find. With Cisco support's help, we are able to quickly and safely meet the demands of our end-users, consistently.
    Incentivized
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    NetApp
    NetApp support is always second to none. That being said I have never once had to contact support for the NetApp System Manager software. It is simple, stable and easy to use. Given that their support is stellar in all other areas I don't see how this would be any different
    Incentivized
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    StarWind
    Their support team is dedicated to providing top-notch customer service and is always available to help with any questions or issues that may arise. Their expertise and responsiveness have proven invaluable in ensuring the smooth operation of our virtualized environment. With such excellent support, we feel confident in our ability to utilize this product to its fullest potential, and we highly recommend it to others.
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    Implementation Rating
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    NetApp
    No answers on this topic
    StarWind
    Overall the setup was easy, we did require some help from the technical support team but other than that, we followed all of StarWinds prerequisites and everything else just fell nicely into place with hardly any downtime. The downtime was only due to moving VMs from our previous cluster over to the new StarWind storage cluster.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Cisco
    I think UCS Manager would be able very comparable to other vendors offerings when it comes to server configuration. I think Cisco did a good job in giving you full access to many options that you might not see with Dell or HPE. Every manufacturer would need a similar tool to control their server environment, but I think what Cisco has built into their Manager is a little better than others I've used. You can just see and change so many settings. I would say that is also a bit of a negative by a little bit because sometimes it is hard to dig in and find what you need to change and often might need to reach out to TAC or take a training course to understand all of the interface.
    Incentivized
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    NetApp
    I have only used NetApp ONTAP Select platform in our organization in data storage and file management. It has efficiently managed all data-related problems and gives us the right roadmap of managing data from all sources effectively. Data migration from our company to the cloud storage datasets has been easy and secure. It provides reliable intelligence from all information gathered from our data sources that enhances better operations and smart decisions.
    Incentivized
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    StarWind
    We have found the solution surprisingly simple to use. The management
    console allows us to monitor the solution and we have configured email
    alerts to alert us about critical issues. These alerts have been proven
    to work in an actual failure scenario, for example, when we had a memory
    issue with one of our servers that caused the entire server to crash.
    The management console also allows us to monitor the solution
    performance and provides us with access to system logs.
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    Scalability
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    NetApp
    No answers on this topic
    StarWind
    The software is very scalable storage wise. The storage is provisioned through config files, which are created either through PowerShell scripts or the Management Console on the paid version. After that the storage is provisioned through iSCSI. In our case, in case of expansion, we would have to run the PowerShell scripts and do another full synchronization to update any remaining backup nodes, but the procedure is clear and even easier via Management Console, just expand the RAID array, punch the new capacity into the console and start the synchronization!
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Cisco
    • The positive is I was able to consolidate my small server infrastructure from 3 racks to one rack giving me space back and much power savings
    • The negative would be it could feel a little daunting to manage as there are many tabs and pieces to the interface.
    Incentivized
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    NetApp
    • Previously were were running with just locally attached storage across all of our estate. With this tool we are not able to simplify the management of storage saving on resource usage across our Ops teams allowing us to focus on "more important" tasks.
    Incentivized
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    StarWind
    • It eliminates the need for expensive storage hardware and provides an affordable software-defined storage solution.
    • It allows organizations to use commodity hardware, reducing the dependency on proprietary hardware.
    • It ensures that data and applications are always available, reducing downtime and increasing productivity.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    StarWind Virtual SAN Screenshots

    Screenshot of StarWind Management ConsoleScreenshot of StarWind Management ConsoleScreenshot of StarWind Virtual SANScreenshot of StarWind Virtual SAN