DataCore SANsymphony vs HPE SimpliVity comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between DataCore SANsymphony 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 DataCore SANsymphony vs. HPE SimpliVity Report (Updated: March 2024).
771,170 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
"StarWind Virtual SAN is essentially hardware agnostic, allowing us to build out a specific hardware layer based upon the customer's unique requirements.""The backup is readily available for use, and the restoration process is easy.""This software lets us maintain storage redundancy across both of our Hyper-V hosts, so if one goes down the environment fails over to the other and we have minimal to no downtime.""A typical system administrator with minimal experience in Hyper-V, VMware, or Windows can do VSAN configuration and maintain VSAN operations.""Support keeps track of alerts of the system and verifies with us if we need help to fix any issues. They have great and quick technical support.""The features that I found most valuable are ease of use of the software that StarWind offers - with the first setup being a bit painful.""I've had to open a few support cases over the years due to administrator errors, and the support received was top-notch.""The failover redundancy is why we bought this product and it has never let us down."

More StarWind Virtual SAN Pros →

"Supporting of Automated-Storage-Tiering (AST) is a good feature that saves money.""Our system is designed to be scalable and flexible, so it can grow and adapt to meet the changing needs of our clients.""Storage is always available.""The most valuable feature of DataCore SANsymphony SDS is its high availability. This solution also exhibits good performance and has high stability.""The synchronous mirror allows us to operate a fully redundant storage solution that is distributed across two sites.""I'd have to say that the biggest improvement gained by using SANsymphony has to be the performance of the product.""Auto-tiering to obtain performance at a lower cost without the customer having to purchase ultra-fast storage is great.""The most valuable feature for us is that we can adjust the size of the storage very easily, without stopping production."

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"The HCI concept by itself is the most valuable feature of the solution. It is a full-fledged HCI. It is the main component. I think this is what makes the project valuable.""The solution has eliminated the need for overprovisioning. It is designed to take advantage of deduplication strategies, which means we don't have to have as much disk in the system to do the job that we used to have to do.""The performance is good. It's stable and easy to operate.""It is simple and easy to use.""The solution's simplicity is its most valuable feature. The usability is also good.""The most valuable features of this solution are the backup rate and the backup transfer.""​My impression is that it is a very nice solution. Very simple to use.""The department that ran our reporting in the legacy environment, it took them about six hours to run their report. Now, it is taking the same department less than an hour."

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Cons
"I wish they would improve the documentation for the beginner level as it's not very clear on the web page.""I had issues locating the documentation that applied to my version of StarWind vSAN.""New versions of this solution should be tested more thoroughly before the release as we had a few problems with one version due to a bug.""I found that certain browsers are not fully compatible with the administration web access portal.""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.""It is difficult to control all of the hardware components.""An update caused a syncing issue and it took over a month to resolve it""We just need more integration with Veeam."

More StarWind Virtual SAN Cons →

"We'd like to manage the raid on the disk directly in SanSymphony.""The main problem is there is no DataCore OS.""For customers or technicians who don't speak and understand English, it would be great to have other language support, all the more so given the number of countries in which SanSymphony is used.""Problem detection could be easier. It should help customers identify problems very quickly because it's not easy to analyze on the platform today.""We are waiting for container support (on the roadmap), as well as a user-friendly full web-administration capability, and an improved API.""Having an enterprise "Storage Dashboard" that can show capacity, usage, performance, and any issues would be very beneficial.""NVMeoF should be implemented. This protocol will play a major role in storage infrastructure in the future.""The alert system could have more features."

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"Needs decoupling of distributed data fabric to run in a hyperscale deployment outside the hypervisor on dedicated nodes.""The installation is quite easy but it could still be improved.""SimpliVity has no file server services. That's one of the solution's biggest shortcomings.""The stability and scalability of the product are areas of concern where improvements are required.""I think that they should have their own hyper-converged system.""Upgrading the firmware/software could be more seamless.""I have not seen ROI.""SimpliVity's data management could be better. Nutanix's interface is a bit more user-friendly."

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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 →

  • "In my case, the licensing per terabytes is very high and it must be licensed for each extra functionality."
  • "The pricing and licensing are better with DataCore."
  • "The cost is at the same level as other storage solutions and it is easy to understand the licensing."
  • "Make sure you are made aware of the annual subscription cost when purchasing."
  • "Pricing has improved but it is still expensive."
  • "This product has a good ratio between quality and price. In many cases, it's less expensive to work with DataCore than other storage systems."
  • "This solution allows the use of off-the-shelf hardware and charges by the TB of storage."
  • "The solution is cost effective."
  • More DataCore SANsymphony 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:Good sizing is the basis for a stable and high-performance environment. It is important to plan in sufficient reserves… more »
    Top Answer:It's difficult to say if something is missing in this solution. Maybe we'd like to manage the raid on the disk directly… more »
    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
    DataCore Virtual SAN
    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.

    Experience peace of mind with DataCore SANsymphony, the ultimate software-defined storage solution alleviating storage management challenges. Say goodbye to the complexities of managing different storage tiers and disruptions with SANsymphony's block-level storage virtualization technology, empowering you to automate capacity provisioning and data placement across diverse storage environments including SAN, DAS, HCI, and JBOD. Break down silos, control data placement, meet business continuity objectives, boost performance, and seamlessly expand or refresh hardware with SANsymphony. Benefit from features like asynchronous replication for disaster recovery, minimizing data loss, accelerating application responsiveness, and integrating new technology non-disruptively. Trusted by industry leaders like NASA, Thorntons, Inc., and TUI Cruises, DataCore SANsymphony guarantees unparalleled flexibility, scalability, and reliability, ensuring uninterrupted data access and application availability while reducing storage costs and inefficiencies.

    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
    Volkswagen , Maimonides Medical Center, NASA, Thorntons, Inc., TUI, ISCO Industries, Pee Dee Electric Cooperative, United Financial Credit Union, Derby Supply Chain Solutions, Mission Community Hospital, Bellarmine College Preparatory, Colby-Sawyer College, Mount Sinai Health System, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Quorn Foods, Bitburger, University of Birmingham, Stadtverwaltung Heidelberg, NetEnt to name a few.
    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
    Non Profit27%
    Government11%
    Computer Software Company8%
    Comms Service Provider5%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company26%
    Comms Service Provider6%
    Financial Services Firm6%
    Government6%
    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 Business50%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise34%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business43%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise41%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business34%
    Midsize Enterprise26%
    Large Enterprise40%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business14%
    Midsize Enterprise59%
    Large Enterprise27%
    Buyer's Guide
    DataCore SANsymphony vs. HPE SimpliVity
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about DataCore SANsymphony vs. HPE SimpliVity and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    771,170 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    DataCore SANsymphony is ranked 7th in HCI with 54 reviews while HPE SimpliVity is ranked 5th in HCI with 151 reviews. DataCore SANsymphony is rated 9.2, while HPE SimpliVity is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of DataCore SANsymphony writes "Robust with good replication and access protection ". 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". DataCore SANsymphony is most compared with VMware vSAN, Red Hat Ceph Storage, StorMagic SvSAN, NetApp ONTAP and VxRail, whereas HPE SimpliVity is most compared with VxRail, VMware vSAN, Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI), HPE Alletra dHCI and Lenovo ThinkAgile VX Series. See our DataCore SANsymphony 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.