Incredible Virtual SAN
November 30, 2022
Incredible Virtual SAN
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with StarWind Virtual SAN
We bought StarWind Virtual SAN as a replacement for our unsupported NetApp SAN. Old, using HDD, out of warranty, and poor user interface, we opted to upgrade to a newer system. We have two on-site server rooms, which we fitted with storage servers holding 15TB of SSD storage respectively, which we installed StarWind Virtual SAN software into. With the help of the fantastic support from the StarWind team, we connected 5 compute servers from our previous SAN setup, running Hyper-V, and everything worked seamlessly. All our data is stored on the Storage nodes and replicated almost instantly.
When testing a power outage in one of our server rooms, we hardly noticed a difference in performance, and more importantly, the failing over of the VMs on the compute server’s downtime was minimal.
When testing a power outage in one of our server rooms, we hardly noticed a difference in performance, and more importantly, the failing over of the VMs on the compute server’s downtime was minimal.
- Amazing Technical Support
- Flawless replication
- Perfect failover capabilities
- Simplify management
- Might be hard to set up without support
- It was cheaper to virtualise our SAN than it was to buy SAN Server
- Improvement in overall performance and redundancy
Overall, StarWind Virtual SAN is incredibly easy to use, easy to manage, and has a fresh and clean user interface design. The version of NetApp we were using was out of date, poorly designed, and horrible to use, things might have changed with newer renditions, but we wanted to get away from NetApp completely and start again with a Virtual SAN, and all of the reviews for StarWind Virtual SAN were impeccable.
Do you think StarWind Virtual SAN delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with StarWind Virtual SAN's feature set?
Yes
Did StarWind Virtual SAN live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of StarWind Virtual SAN go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy StarWind Virtual SAN again?
Yes
Using StarWind Virtual SAN
5 - Everyone who uses StarWind Virtual SAN in our organization are Technical Support Administrators. Our Senior Technician primarily uses it to check the status of the replication between storage nodes, and then each technician is trained on how to use it and diagnose any issues that may arise. Due to the stability of the product, though, no one other than the senior technician has really had to use its full features.
5 - We have 5 technicians on site, all trained on how to use StarWind Virtual SAN.
- Data Replication
- Server Redundancy
- Storage Scalability
- Improved Storage Access
- Improved VM Performance
- Expand the amount of compute nodes attached to the StarWind Cluster
- Expand the storage space of the cluster
Evaluating StarWind Virtual SAN and Competitors
Yes - We previously used NetApp Santricity.
- Price
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Product Reputation
All the reviews for StarWind Virtual SAN that we saw were amazing. The key selling point was that it just worked! Set it up, and you're good to go, with minimal upkeep and downtime. Our experience with StarWind Virtual SAN so far has been exactly that! The price was great in comparison to other products that we trialed and looked into.
We wouldn't change a thing. It's rare to find a product that you don't really have a bad thing to say about. We tested 3 different products and read countless reviews, and StarWind Virtual SAN came out on top each time.
StarWind Virtual SAN Implementation
- Implemented in-house
Change management was a major issue with the implementation
- Making sure we had enough fibre connections and a straight through between nodes
- Connection our compute servers to the storage nodes with iSCSI (Previously not experienced with iSCSI)
StarWind Virtual SAN Support
| 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 |
Yes, it was required for the initial set up.
We needed help setting up iSCSI port connections for an additional compute node that we wanted to add after the initial setup. We raised a ticket, and they responded within the hour and had the new compute server fully setup the same day. All the technical support staff has been amazing, quick, and extremely helpful.
Using StarWind Virtual SAN
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | None |
- Easy to check health status
- Well layed out design
- Haven't found anything difficult yet