Item: StarWind Virtual SAN
Rating: 8
Author: Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with StarWind Virtual SAN

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use StarWind Virtual SAN to affordably repurpose old servers as a failover cluster without needing to purchase a separate SAN storage array. The free version has full functionality with no time limit but is harder to setup and manage due to being locked out of the GUI and having to rely on a collection of Powershell scripts as well as community support.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Fast and reliable storage for a failover cluster
Generous free version

Cons

Documentation could be clearer for setting up the free version

Return on Investment

Repurposed old servers as a Hyper-V failover cluster at no additional cost.

Usability

I haven't used the paid version, but the free version can be tricky to set up. You will need to use Powershell scripts and rely on community support. Once configured though, it seems to be stable and reliable.

Key Insights

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

Likelihood to Recommend

StarWind Virtual SAN is ideal if you are looking for a free or cheap alternative to a separate SAN server for a failover cluster. It also mirrors data across each node, providing extra storage redundancy and eliminating the SAN server as a single point of failure.

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A reliable SAN alternative