HPE Hyper Converged vs HPE SimpliVity comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between HPE Hyper Converged and HPE SimpliVity based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two HCI solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed HPE Hyper Converged vs. HPE SimpliVity Report (Updated: March 2024).
771,157 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"A typical system administrator with minimal experience in Hyper-V, VMware, or Windows can do VSAN configuration and maintain VSAN operations.""The instant failover, with vSAN copying data to the second node, allowed for the continuous availability of our applications.""I like the asynchronous replication and failover features. They are what I'm primarily using it for. The asynchronous replication is helpful because our servers are backed up continuously throughout the day. If anything goes wrong we just fail over immediately. That is a very nice feature to have.""StarWind vSAN was very easy to integrate into our system and ran flawlessly during our entire use time.""We test live failovers every week, and so far, everything has been running smoothly without anything unexpected.""In our case, the cost and high availability are the two most important factors which we were looking for in a solution.""The virtual tapes can be uploaded to the object storage of your choice with object locking/governance which gives you an extra layer of protection.""The access to our data is quicker and cheaper than it used to be in a traditional storage system."

More StarWind Virtual SAN Pros →

"HPE Hyper Converged is stable.""It is a stable solution...Those who want flexibility, ease of use, and a simple support system can opt for HPE.""The product enables me to use any software or database.""The solution has good backup resolution updates.""We like the fact that the hyper-converged infrastructure provides a simple to grow, easy to configure platform.""The most valuable feature is the in-built backup system. The backup speed is also excellent.""It is a scalable solution.""The solution has many good features."

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"I have found backup and replication to be useful. We have a 10 megabit line between the data center and our main site. The backup and replication are very good. Additionally, the solution runs on VMware which is a benefit.""The backup feature is valuable, and replication is also valuable. It is very quick and easy to use.""We have not had any problem with customer support at SimpliVity.""The solution is very stable.""The backup and recovery is very fast, effective, and easy to use.""No SAN switches and having a native backup is pretty cool.""The technical support is exceptionally good.""It is easy to set up."

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Cons
"I did not see any indication that StarWinds vSAN is a usable solution with non-GUI instances of Hyper-V.""It would be nice to add the ability to use raw partitions instead of file containers.""Ability to to test the virtual storage are network area and storage speed from StarWind Management Console.""The documentation is good yet is still lacking in a few areas.""I am expecting to see it more user-friendly in the future.""The console is something that I believe could be enhanced.""The only point they should improve is the amount of documentation available for the user, especially in the first preliminary phase in which we were testing the product on our own.""For someone entering the IT sector with little knowledge of storage, iSCSI, and virtual disks, they might not find the GUI immediately obvious."

More StarWind Virtual SAN Cons →

"In my country, the biggest issue is probably pricing.""The solution can be improved on the management side. More management features should be added to future releases.""In the Hyper Converged environment, some of the brands only support the OS VMware and not Hyper-V from Microsoft or even Red Hat or KVM.""We have faced some challenges when upgrading. With Hyper Converged, you have to fully upgrade because there are no incremental upgrades available in this solution. For example, let's say we have two nodes. If we want to upgrade storage, we also need to upgrade computing. That means a full upgrade EME.""The price can be improved. We would like to see support for some open source virtualization technology like for example KVM.""Data protection and optimization: It is really weak. They do not offer deduplication or compression.""Installation and setup could be easier.""Could be more secure and more economical."

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"The way that it handles the memory could be better.""The stability and scalability of the product are areas of concern where improvements are required.""Upgrading can be complicated.""While it has been a while since HPE acquired SimpliVity, there is a lack of understanding/awareness about the product. In short, it took me time to actually make them understand they had a product named SimpliVity, which as you can imagine does not instill a great deal of confidence.""The compatibility with other products needs an improvement.""I have not seen ROI.""I wish to see an improved compute node selection, to allow us to select something other than merely the two socket system.""In the next release of the solution, they should make updating the solution easier. Currently, we have HPE doing it for us but I would like to be able to do it."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "The setup cost is very low. The pricing is great."
  • "We are happy with the price."
  • "The license is reusable. We can always rebuild it and apply the license. Then, boom, we get new servers, apply the license, and we're back up and running."
  • "The pricing is fine for the work that it does."
  • "When we did all the analysis for StarWind, it was approximately 20 percent less than any of the other solutions that we looked at."
  • "The scalability limitation for us is its licensing. At some point in the fairly near future, we will probably have to upgrade our license so we can store eight terabytes instead of four. We are currently at four terabytes, but we're starting to knock on the door of that capacity."
  • "The pricing is excellent. It will run on anything. You don't have to buy a $100,000 server, with hardware you don't need. You just pay for the license and you're good to go."
  • "The licensing is a bit weird. If you license the standard version of StarWind, it allows you four terabytes. Then, they have a pro version, but with the pro version, the only difference is it doubles the terabytes to eight."
  • More StarWind Virtual SAN Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "It could be cheaper, everything could be cheaper."
  • "With this solution, I buy everything together, pre-packaged, pre-installed, and in just 15 minutes, it's installed."
  • "The price per value compared to other solutions, like Nutanix and SimpliVity. (We made the deal before approval of HPE SimpliVity deal)."
  • "Pricing with Dell EMC is double the price which I paid for HPE. However, in the end, Dell EMC is double in performance. This is not an apple to apple comparison though, as I have a four node from Dell EMC and a three node."
  • "It is an expensive solution, however. If they could adjust the pricing, that would be helpful."
  • "The solution is too expensive for our customers. The pricing should be lower."
  • "The solution is expensive - not only the hardware costs but server costs too. And the more you scale, the more expensive it gets."
  • "There are costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
  • More HPE Hyper Converged Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "This solution, while costly as all these solutions are, was in fact less expensive than upgrading my old SAN."
  • "The price should be cheaper."
  • "ESXi licensing is a big part of initial investment if you do not already have that covered."
  • "All-in license, simple and fair."
  • "Other vendors fall short on price compared to HPE on this product."
  • "​Cost is a factor. It is quite expensive."
  • "It seemed like it was expensive at first. Now that I have had it installed for a period of time, I think I got a great deal."
  • "For most use cases, look to see if you can use all-flash as the price point, as it has come down significantly."
  • More HPE SimpliVity Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:It is easy to use and can monitor system synchronization and check Storage status. StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN) combines… more »
    Top Answer:I would highly advise new users to consult the StarWind technical team beforehand. Also, consider the paid version if… more »
    Top Answer:You can maintain and update it with little to no fuss, even the free version is incredibly capable whilst it brings the… more »
    Top Answer:The solution's most valuable features are scalability, easy migration, easy recovery, and flexible backup possibilities.
    Top Answer:On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten.
    Top Answer:The solution's pricing for the hardware and support could be reduced.
    Top Answer:HPE SimpliVity is a hyper-converged infrastructure solution that is primarily geared to mid-sized companies. We… more »
    Top Answer:The solution's technical support is good.
    Top Answer:HPE said that my company could use SimpliVity with VMware licenses, but HPE recommends that we separate it from the… more »
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    StarWind SAN & NAS
    HPE Hyper Converged 380, HPE Hyper Converged 250, HPE Hyper Converged 250 for Microsoft CPS
    SimpliVity, HPE HCI
    Learn More
    Overview

    StarWind Virtual SAN provides high availability and fault tolerance for virtualized environments without the need for dedicated SAN hardware. It allows for real-time replication between servers, shared storage for Hyper-V clusters, and enables vMotion and High Availability features for VMware vSphere. The solution reduces costs and leverages existing hardware while providing a scalable and reliable infrastructure. Valuable features include ease of use, scalability, top-tier support, hardware agnosticism, and the ability to use off-the-shelf standard servers to increase storage space. StarWind VSAN has helped organizations improve performance, data availability, and data security while reducing downtime and providing cost-saving storage options.

    HPE Hyper Converged solutions combine intuitive software with the reliability of a world class platform to deliver cloud-like simplicity to your business.

    Now, IT can become an internal service provider to end-users by quickly delivering the resources they need for application development and consumption. With HPE Hyper Converged systems companies can operate with cloud efficiency to simplify IT operations with one comprehensive control panel to deploy, monitor, analyze and update – with a single generalist; consume with cloud flexibility to deliver a cloud-like experience, with multi-tenant workspaces that eliminate stranded resources and flexes on demand; and deploy at cloud speed to empower developers and lines-of-business with a self-service portal that can instantly compose and recompose VMs in minutes. Built-in enterprise grade features, such as performance and resiliency enable HPE Hyper Converged systems to easily handle a wide variety of virtualized workloads, including general purpose virtualization, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), and cloud.

    HPE SimpliVity is an HCI software solution that provides powerful data protection, reducing data loss along with lowering the risk of ransomware attacks on your enterprise.

    HPE SimpliVity Features

    HPE SimpliVity has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

    • Flexible, compact architecture
    • Centralized management
    • AI-driven intelligence
    • Built-in data protection and disaster recovery
    • VM-centric management and mobility
    • Simple to deploy, manage, and scale

    HPE SimpliVity Benefits

    There are several benefits to implementing HPE SimpliVity. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

    • Efficient: HPE SimpliVity helps reduce the number of devices in your data center while also decreasing the total cost of ownership.
    • Cloud benefits with enterprise capabilities: When your enterprise deploys HPE SimpliVity, you gain the agility, elasticity, and affordability offered by cloud computing.
    • Affordable and flexible: The solution provides IT teams with the performance, reliability, and resiliency of on-premises infrastructure. HPE SimpliVity allows them to start virtualizing their enterprise while also keeping sensitive data safe.
    • Reduced risk of data loss: Because HPE SimpliVity is a powerful solution with built-in resiliency, backup, and disaster recovery, it is able to provide advanced data protection that reduces your organization’s risk of data loss and also lowers the risk of ransomware attacks.
    • Speed: HPE SimpliVity gives you the ability to deploy blocks and manage VM environments quickly and easily by using the VMware interface. In addition, the solution allows you to quickly view all data centers and remote offices within a single interface.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by HPE SimpliVity users.

    Jeff S., Information Technology Manager at Troyer Foods, Inc. says the solution has “Phenomenal deduplication and compression, good support, and works on its own. SimpliVity is integrated with the hypervisor, and you have a single pane of glass. It is really hands-off. Once you set your backup schedules, you're done.

    A Senior Datacenter Consultant at a computer software company mentions, “The most valuable feature is the ease of use and the storage virtualization layer, together with the built-in backups. That's what makes SimpliVity really useful, and how you can replicate data between different sites without paying an extra license for that feature. All the features are built into the product.”

    PeerSpot user Doug C., IT Engineer at a government, comments, “Backups and restores occur very quickly. All SimpliVity management is done through vCenter, providing a single-pane of glass for all management and configuration functions. The advanced deduplication and compression greatly reduce the storage requirements, reducing the amount of expensive flash storage required.The 10G interfaces between the SimpliVity nodes greatly speeds up VM migrations between nodes. SimpliVity enables "stretched-cluster" operation with mirrored storage between the nodes, enabling automated failover. If a node or site goes down for any reason, the VMs on that node are automatically restarted on the other node.”

    German I., Solutions Architect Data Center Servers and Storage at Tecnologia informatica, explains, “The integration possibilities regarding the administration console are one of the best configurations and one of the best features that differentiates this product from others in the market. Also, you can add extra coverage protection that includes everything inside of the hard drives — similar products don't do this. You can use it directly from the hypervisor, which is great.”

    Sample Customers
    Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School
    North Lindsey College, FireWhat?, HudsonAlpha
    Red Bull Racing, Mandarin Oriental, Brigham Young University, UCLA, Merlin Entertainments, Sasa Cosmetics, Travelport, St. John’s Riverside Hospital, Princess House
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company11%
    Construction Company8%
    Computer Software Company8%
    Educational Organization8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company18%
    Manufacturing Company9%
    Government8%
    Financial Services Firm8%
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company22%
    Computer Software Company17%
    University6%
    Agriculture6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company16%
    Manufacturing Company11%
    Government10%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm12%
    Manufacturing Company9%
    Computer Software Company8%
    Construction Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization50%
    Computer Software Company9%
    Government5%
    Manufacturing Company5%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business65%
    Midsize Enterprise22%
    Large Enterprise13%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business25%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise58%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business42%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise42%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business22%
    Midsize Enterprise19%
    Large Enterprise59%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business34%
    Midsize Enterprise26%
    Large Enterprise40%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business14%
    Midsize Enterprise59%
    Large Enterprise27%
    Buyer's Guide
    HPE Hyper Converged vs. HPE SimpliVity
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Hyper Converged vs. HPE SimpliVity and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    771,157 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    HPE Hyper Converged is ranked 10th in HCI with 34 reviews while HPE SimpliVity is ranked 5th in HCI with 151 reviews. HPE Hyper Converged is rated 8.2, while HPE SimpliVity is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of HPE Hyper Converged writes " Ensures end-to-end data security with redundancy measures and provides visibility into the system but node expansion challenges". On the other hand, the top reviewer of HPE SimpliVity writes "Provides a unified management interface that allows administrators to manage all aspects of the infrastructure". HPE Hyper Converged is most compared with VxRail, VMware vSAN, Dell PowerFlex, HPE Alletra dHCI and Sangfor HCI - Hyper Converged Infrastructure, whereas HPE SimpliVity is most compared with VxRail, VMware vSAN, Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI), HPE Alletra dHCI and Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series. See our HPE Hyper Converged vs. HPE SimpliVity report.

    See our list of best HCI vendors.

    We monitor all HCI reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.