Item: StarWind Virtual SAN
Rating: 10
Author: Ben Garrett

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

It is being used by the IT department. We chose it as we wanted to be 3-2-1 backup compliant and implement a DR strategy. Prior to implementing Starwind we had a singular backup server with a backup to disk solution. no we have a backup to disk, backup to tape and backup to cloud.In addition to the multiple backup destinations, the backups are also very secure. The StarWind server is air-gapped, in addition, the virtual tapes are also impervious to malware/ransomware. Lastly, the cloud backups are stored at Wasabi which is also highly secure.
Our backup process is now fully automated. the tapes are automatically shipped/uploaded to Wasabi.

Pros and Cons

Ease of implementation
Robust - it works well and integrates with a multitude of vendors
Support - the support team is very quick to respond

The console could use some work. It is not the most intuitive console or design. i feel it could have some improvements both from a technical perspective (introduce right click options) and introduce better formatting. when you are scrolling through your tapes its easy to get confused on what you are looking for.

Return on Investment

StarWind was a cost but the cost was minimal and the value was well worth it. we now have a 3-2-1 compliant backup solution. this has actually helped reduce the cost of our cyber insurance.

Support Rating

If i ever need support I can email into their ticketing system, I typically will get a response within 2-3 hours. Sometimes it's actually sooner. If need be the technicians can remote into my environment and we can address issues together or they can simply provide procedures on how to resolve issues that might arise.

I had a question about how to set up CHAP with iscsi. They responded within an hour, connected with me and in 5 minutes the CHAP was set up and we were able to verify the backup jobs were still working.

Alternatives Considered

I don't recall the other solutions by name. Lots of them were appliance based that were much more costly. StarWind was sort of a bring your own device solution but it worked out well for us. The appliances all had upfront costs and then additional costs for connecting to cloud storage. Since we needed to purchase cloud storage anyway it didn't seem right to have to pay for cloud storage and pay to connect to it.

With StarWind we were not nickel and dimed.

Other Software Used

Hyper-V, Veeam Backup & Replication, HPE ProLiant DL

Likelihood to Recommend

We wanted to comply with the 3-2-1 backup strategy. We only had a stand-alone backup server that performed backup to disk. We needed a second backup destination/medium and an offsite location and a means of getting backups there automatically. We found StarWind and found that it satisfied all of those needs. First, it was easy to implement. We got a new server packed it full of storage and then installed StarWind. it was a very simple next next next type of install. from there we were able to set up an ISCSI connection and lock it down with CHAP which is a requirement in our company. We were able to have our existing backup server connect and utilize the virtual tape library created by StarWind. Lastly, we were able to configure StarWind to connect directly to our cloud storage provider and automatically ship the tapes offsite. We have a full 3-2-1 backup compliant solution now

Users and Roles

3 - They are users of our internal IT team. we use StarWind as an extension of our backups. our infrastructure group is responsible for maintaining this solution. The StarWind software is easy to manage though. It's borderline set it up and forget about it. It just works

Support Headcount Required

1 - Working knowledge of backups and our backup solutions, the backup server, the hypervisors the VTL server and the cloud storage provider. One would need to be knowledgeable of these systems in order to be effective at troubleshooting and managing the StarWind solution

Business Processes Supported

backups
security
ease of use
scalability

Innovative Uses

virtual tapes
offsite cloud storage
secure backups

Future Planned Uses

backup testing and validation

Likelihood to Renew

This has become a mission-critical solution that we rely on. The cost is reasonable so we will be staying with Starwind for the foreseeable future.

StarWind Virtual SAN Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response	None

Bug Resolution

Exceptional Examples of StarWind Virtual SAN Support

I needed to setup CHAP with the iscsi connection. we do this for security requirements. When I emailed in for support, I got a response about an hour later. they then connected with me showed me how to properly implement CHAP and then tested/verified the VTL was still connected to the tapes and that the backup software could still backup successfully to tape.

StarWind - The Only Software You Will Ever Need

Overall Satisfaction with StarWind Virtual SAN