Item: StarWind HyperConverged Appliance (HCA)
Rating: 9
Author: Aaron Loomis

Overall Satisfaction with StarWind HyperConverged Appliance (HCA)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We were planning on upgrading our ERP system that was running on physical servers that were near end of life and were looking at implementing a virtual infrastructure for use for the new ERP system and future servers.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Easy clustering and high availability
Pricing is attractive for the features
Uses standard server hardware that I was already familiar with

Cons

Easier integrations with things like external UPS power systems

Return on Investment

Ability to quickly spin up servers for specific tasks rather than combining functions on servers
Low cost to get into the platform

Support Rating

We had an issue with a specific memory module in one of the hosts and the monitoring picked this up and notified us of the issue and support worked with us to get the hardware replacement.

Reliability and Availability

During initial testing we had an issue with being able to move servers between hosts but it turned out to be a driver mismatch between hosts. Once this was resolved with support, everything has been smooth sailing.

Alternatives Considered

Just did some online research and a few demos, but the StarWind offering appeared to be the best mix of functionality and cost.

Likelihood to Recommend

If you're looking to get into the virtual server space and need high availability, StarWind HyperConverged Appliance is a good option at a good price point. The support is great as the onboarding team and post onboarding support is very attentive and helpful.

Comments

Please log in to join the conversation

Great mix of functionality and cost