Item: StarWind Virtual Tape Library
Rating: 10
Author: Indeep Gill

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We were looking for physical tape backups to protect against DR situations but were concerned about the fact that it would require the manual intervention of changing the tapes and sending them offsite as we could easily forget. Luckily, I came across Starwind VTL, which is the same as having a physical tape library without the hassle of changing tapes. The whole process is automated and we have the option of choosing between multiple cloud storage providers such as Amazon, Wasabi, Azure, etc.

Pros and Cons

We can leverage our existing Veeam Infrastructure.
We can upload to multiple different cloud providers simultaneously.
Works the same as physical tapes at as lower cost.

There needs to be an estimated time of completion to determine how long the upload will take.
Needs to have an option to backup to the same cloud provider simultaneously.

Most Important Features

Replication to the Cloud
Secure Air Gap offline storage

Return on Investment

We saved a few thousands dollars by not going with physical tape drives.

Alternatives Considered

We've looked at physical tape backups, however, the infrastructure is too costly compared to Starwind VTL and it also requires manual changing of tapes that users will not want to do or forget to do. With VTL, it works exactly like a physical tape library with the same benefits and full automation.

Key Insights

Do you think StarWind Virtual Tape Library delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with StarWind Virtual Tape Library's feature set?

Yes

Did StarWind Virtual Tape Library live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of StarWind Virtual Tape Library go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy StarWind Virtual Tape Library again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Veeam Backup & Replication, IDrive

Likelihood to Recommend

Starwind VTL is a great solution for customers that want the benefits of a physical tape library without the hefty price tag and the manual intervention required when changing tapes as it is automated. In addition, Starwind VTL virtual tapes are "air-gapped" as they are in LTO format.

Business Processes Supported

Cloud Replication
Backup Retention

Likelihood to Renew

Their support is great and the interface is not as user friendly

Products Replaced

Key Differentiators

Price
Product Features
Product Usability

Support Rating

The Technical team was very helpful in answering all of my questions, including how I wanted to setup the tape backup jobs in our existing infrastructure to configure simultaneous uploads to the cloud from two different cloud storage providers.

StarWind VTL 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

Premium Support

I purchased premium support and the reason is because the process is somewhat complicated however their support makes it easy.

Bug Resolution

Exceptional Examples of StarWind VTL Support

I had noticed that the virtual tapes taking up large amount of storage to a point where I had only a few GB's of storage left. I had called Starwind support and they spent the time with me clearing up space rather than just telling me what to do.

Usability

The initial setup took some time, however, with the help of the Starwind technical team, we were able to set it up from start to finish including seamlessly adding it to our existing backup solution. After that, there was no need for any additional setup or troubleshooting.

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Well integrated Consistent	Requires technical support Lots to learn

StarWind VTL Review

Overall Satisfaction with StarWind Virtual Tape Library