Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] vs Dell PowerFlex comparison

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89% willing to recommend
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94% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] and Dell PowerFlex 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 Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] vs. Dell PowerFlex Report (Updated: March 2024).
769,976 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
"We went from "no way DB applications would have good performance" to "Wow! We can now actually have a DB running and have some VMs running at the same time."""vSAN we found was simple to set up, easy to configure and manage and allows us to achieve storage redundancy.""The main benefit is that StarWind is almost maintenance-free.""The most useful aspect is the hyper-converged SD SAN and the ease to expand it by just adding cheap SSD or NVME disks.""The product creates opportunities with hybrid on-premise solutions.""The failover redundancy is why we bought this product and it has never let us down.""The ProActive support gives me peace of mind because I am a one man shop, but with the technical support behind me, I feel like more than just one person. We spent two to three hours, depending on what we have to do, always on the phone, and they do not push to end the call.""The management and monitoring have been very easy since the solution's dashboard is very simple and user-friendly."

More StarWind Virtual SAN Pros →

"The initial setup is very straightforward.""On the VDI side, because the storage is local to the HyperFlex, it was very easy and convenient. The performance is exceptional.""The scalability of the product is quite good overall - as long as you plan correctly from the outset.""When we use it for VDI solutions, it is very easy to deploy and support.""Cisco HyperFlex HX has improved the way our organization functions on the storage side by having one big storage space for hosting VMs. We do not have to provision other ones. That's a positive aspect of it.""Cisco technical support is very skilled. From what I've had to access, there were quick responses and the necessary escalation.""The implementation process is okay.""It is scalable and easy to use."

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"The most valuable feature of this solution is integration.""The catalog of APIs for automation has been most valuable, although they are quite limited.""The solution is quite stable.""It has reduced downtime. Before, on our previous solution, we used to have downtime on some of the servers because of the sort of convention. But currently I've not experienced any downtime on any of the servers, and there is no more resource congestion.""The setup was very straightforward.""The most valuable feature is high availability.""We've had no issues with scaling the solution.""The solution was connected to alternate storage. It provides great scalability and reliability."

More Dell PowerFlex Pros →

Cons
"The system performs as expected, but we're always looking for performance improvements regarding the best utilization of NVMe disks.""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.""Feature-wise we are only waiting for the release of a "planned disaster" feature that would allow us to patch a hypervisor node without having to take the full storage offline.""This solution should be more self-sufficient, running without creating domains or failover clusters.""While we had no problems setting the system up, and service technicians from StarWind could assist us very well, they could provide some form of in-depth documentation.""Android app for monitoring and receiving push notifications as alarms or monitoring I/O from any mobile device could be a good feature and nice to have as we are not always on our desk.""The documentation could be better.""It could have a dashboard so that you can check all servers' SAN health and performance."

More StarWind Virtual SAN Cons →

"In the next release, I would like to see them able to connect to the public cloud.""The product does not have a cloud version...The product should be made more flexible in terms of integration capabilities.""Cisco HyperFlex should decrease the amount of memory needed from the Controller VM that controls the physical discs. They control the discs by using the virtual VM over every ESXi host and the VM consumes memory and consumes more hardware resources. They have to improve that by decreasing the amount of required memory and CPUs to control this disc on the server.""With the cache disk fails in Cisco, the whole node fails, and the workload goes down.""We would like HyperFlex to connect the storage directly into Fabric Interconnect along with the features of the solution. We have enough ports in HyperFlex. We don't want to buy another set of switches to connect to Fabric Interconnect, complicating the solution.""Their technical support is very bad. We had an issue where instead of an engineer we got a PDF "doctor" that didn't know anything about our problem which was very frustrating.""There should be the opportunity to create more than one div group""If we could have just a single pane of glass, where everything can be managed through that one app, rather than have multiple apps, it would be great."

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"I think there might be some room for improvement when it comes to pricing, because although I know how to convert customers, at the end of day, it's quite expensive. Sometimes your feature architecture is still coming out much cheaper than hardware costs for your infrastructure.""I would like to see a more user-friendly interface.""I am not really impressed by the technical support of this solution.""Including instrumentation would be a helpful improvement.""Compared to similar solutions, Dell PowerFlex is not cost-effective and has room for improvement.""The storage capability must be improved.""They should provide continuous support for data migration.""We've had some issues around the licensing."

More Dell PowerFlex Cons →

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 →

  • "Cisco is quite expensive, but not in the initial first buy."
  • "Pricing is better if you buy more Cisco products."
  • "The pricing is a bit expensive."
  • "For customers in the private sector, this product can have a very high return on investment."
  • "If you don't look at the costs of the systems, the scalability is quite good."
  • "The price is a bit high. It could be better, but the product is worth the cost."
  • "I would like the pricing to be cheaper."
  • "Comparable solutions with switches, storage, and services are cheaper than HyperFlex. It should be cheaper."
  • More Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The pricing for this solution is good."
  • "The price of the solution is fair, it is priced in the average range amongst competitors."
  • "The cost of this solution is fair."
  • "The solution is expensive and I give the cost a two out of ten."
  • "The solution's price is medium."
  • "The price could be improved."
  • "The product is expensive."
  • More Dell PowerFlex 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: Cisco HyperFlex HS series vs Nutanix Acropolis AOS Cisco HyperFlex gives extended hyper-convergence functions from… more »
    Top Answer:VxRail provides stable solutions for technical problems while at the same time not being too expensive for a company to… more »
    Top Answer:VxRail vs. Dell EMC PowerFlex VxRail provides stable solutions for technical problems while at the same time not being… more »
    Top Answer:The product is expensive. I rate the pricing a nine out of ten.
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    StarWind SAN & NAS
    VxFlex, VxRack FLEX, PowerFlex
    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.

    The Cisco HyperFlex HX Data Platform is a purpose-built, high-performance, scale-out file system with a wide array of enterprise-class data management services. The data platform’s innovations redefine distributed storage technology, giving you complete hyper-convergence with enterprise storage features:

    • Enterprise-class data management
    • Continuous data optimization
    • Securely encrypted storage
    • Dynamic data placement
    • Clusterwide parallel data distribution
    • Linear and incremental scaling
    • API-based data platform architecture
    • A simplified approach

    VxRack System consists of hyper-converged rack-scale engineered systems, with integrated networking, to achieve the scalability and management requirements of traditional and cloud native workloads. The VxRack series is purposely designed to enable customers to quickly deploy Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and/or Private Cloud architectures. VxRack Systems tightly integrate hardware with software and management layers.

    The result is a fully tested, pre-configured, hyper-converged system with simplified operations at data center and Service Provider scale. VxRack Systems support the deployment of a variety of application workloads, allowing IT to rapidly deliver new services while improving overall agility and efficiency.

    Sample Customers
    Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School
    BluePearl Veterinary Partners, Ready Pac Foods, Bryant University, Bellevue Group, KPIT Technologies, City Harvest
    Canopy, 8x8Inc., Atos, Canadian Pacific, City of Denton, CenturyLink, BNP Paribas, Asyaport, EDF, CSC, Fox Sports, Insight, Hunter, KPIT, Paetec, Rosetta Stone, Sonda, Xerox
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company11%
    Construction Company8%
    Educational Organization8%
    Computer Software Company8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company18%
    Manufacturing Company9%
    Government8%
    Financial Services Firm8%
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider16%
    Manufacturing Company12%
    Government10%
    Computer Software Company10%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company25%
    Government9%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm30%
    Healthcare Company10%
    Wellness & Fitness Company10%
    Computer Software Company10%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Financial Services Firm12%
    Manufacturing Company10%
    Government8%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business65%
    Midsize Enterprise22%
    Large Enterprise13%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business25%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise58%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business26%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise59%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business22%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise61%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business23%
    Midsize Enterprise23%
    Large Enterprise55%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business22%
    Midsize Enterprise12%
    Large Enterprise66%
    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] vs. Dell PowerFlex
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] vs. Dell PowerFlex and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    769,976 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] is ranked 8th in HCI with 90 reviews while Dell PowerFlex is ranked 9th in HCI with 19 reviews. Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] is rated 8.0, while Dell PowerFlex is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] writes "A fast and easy deployment that allows secure access to our medical applications ". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Dell PowerFlex writes "Infrastructure management solution that offers rapid provisioning of computer storage but the APIs and enablers for custom automation could be improved". Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] is most compared with VMware vSAN, VxRail, Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI), HPE SimpliVity and Dell vSAN Ready Nodes, whereas Dell PowerFlex is most compared with VxRail, VMware vSAN, Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI), HPE SimpliVity and HPE Alletra dHCI. See our Cisco HyperFlex HX-Series [EOL] vs. Dell PowerFlex report.

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    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.