Scale Computing HC3 vs StarWind Virtual Tape Library comparison

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5,485 views|1,780 comparisons
100% willing to recommend
Scale Computing Logo
1,938 views|1,078 comparisons
75% willing to recommend
StarWind Logo
247 views|170 comparisons
100% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Scale Computing HC3 and StarWind Virtual Tape Library 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 Scale Computing HC3 vs. StarWind Virtual Tape Library Report (Updated: March 2024).
768,246 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
"The product creates opportunities with hybrid on-premise solutions.""We have been able to use more on-prem hardware to reduce cost and also use old disks that we do not trust enough for ordinary RAID or usage.""The support has been amazing and quick to reply.""The StarWind Virtual SAN provides a clever and unique solution to the Computing Split Brain problem.""Starwind support is excellent. They are very fast and have very good knowledge of Starwind and Hyper-V Cluster software.""StarWind allowed us to deploy highly available shared storage within our budget.""Virtual SAN runs on iSCSI, which is free and easy to configure. It's easy to manage from StarWind's GUI console, and it only required a few extra switch ports.""We have experienced multiple hardware failures at one site and the fault-tolerant volume worked exactly as expected with zero downtime."

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"The solution is scalable.""I rate Scale Computing support 10 out of 10. They're accessible and responsive.""The initial setup is pretty straightforward.""The most valuable feature of Scale Computing HC3 is if one of the devices fails, you won't even notice, the service maintains operation. The customers don't have to waste two, or three days on delays. Additionally, you do not have to waste time with recovery software, it is a lot easier.""The most valuable features are the appliance-type feel and that you don't need additional licenses as everything is built-in.""I like that Scale Computing HCR is slimmed down and gives me the features I need and not features that I don't need.""The most valuable feature of the solution is the nice GUI."

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"It is a stable solution.""I like the fact that we can simultaneously upload the virtual tapes to different cloud providers, and the settings can be adjusted to speed up the upload times even further.""StarWind VTL allowed us to back up to virtual tape that was created within Veeam and upload the tape to the cloud.""The most valuable feature of the StarWind Virtual Tape Library is the archiving to the AWS cloud.""The solution made our backups way more reliable."

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Cons
"For someone entering the IT sector with little knowledge of storage, iSCSI, and virtual disks, they might not find the GUI immediately obvious.""It took a bit of knowledge and support to put in place but once installed it works fine. Migration (HyperV) from one server to another sometimes takes longer than expected but there is no data loss even if the host crashes.""It would be nice to see a new UI for the windows client, as it is not the easiest to find settings.""It is not very clear within the StarWind Management Console or the StarWind support documentation how to perform maintenance on a single node in a two-node HA cluster.""The system performs as expected, but we're always looking for performance improvements regarding the best utilization of NVMe disks.""If there was a way to automatically put disks in maintenance mode when shutting the host down and exit maintenance mode automatically, that would simplify things.""To enable the proactive support capability that is part of our support agreement, I would ask that the terms and conditions be revised and made acceptable to corporate security.""I did not see any indication that StarWinds vSAN is a usable solution with non-GUI instances of Hyper-V."

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"Scale Computing HC3 said in an announcement they were going to integrate with a backup service which would be good. If they could do this it would be beneficial.""The product could use a better control center.""The product struggles to cope with bigger workloads. In the next release, I'd like some backup solutions to be added.""I've had so many issues with the sales team when I was looking to make some improvements, and improve the performance. They would create so many excuses to force me to buy new nodes all the time and not let me add more memory to each node.""The snapshot technology takes up 500 times more space compared to other solutions.""I would like bigger clusters with more than eight nodes.""Scale HC3 improvements would involve literally fixing up the replication."

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"The initial installation can be complex and should be simplified.""The main thing that I felt could be improved was having an estimated time of completion for the virtual tape uploads to the cloud.""The solution's training process and online documentation could be more thorough.""I am not sure if this is a limitation of my physical hardware or if it is the software itself. However, I would like the throughput to be faster."

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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 →

  • "I pay for Scale Computing HC3 and it includes customer service for one year. We paid for an additional year for customer service but that includes the updates and everything for the software. Additionally, the licensing is for Windows, which is the same for everybody."
  • "I give the pricing a nine out of ten."
  • "rate HC3's pricing a five out of ten since it is affordable."
  • More Scale Computing HC3 Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "If you currently have Veeam there is no other solution that is as easy and affordable as StarWind."
  • "The pricing of the solution could be more flexible to meet the needs of smaller to mid-market size companies."
  • "The solution is cost-effective."
  • "The initial setup and deployment are also covered in the purchase at no additional cost."
  • More StarWind Virtual Tape Library 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:I like that Scale Computing HCR is slimmed down and gives me the features I need and not features that I don't need.
    Top Answer:Scale Computing HC3 is less expensive than other products. I rate HC3's pricing a five out of ten since it is… more »
    Top Answer:The product could use a better control center. The dashboard gives you a lot of control, but it could still give you a… more »
    Top Answer:The solution made our backups way more reliable.
    Top Answer:The pricing is surprisingly reasonable, and that includes the help to get it set up and running. They really want you to… more »
    Top Answer:I am not sure if this is a limitation of my physical hardware or if it is the software itself. However, I would like the… more »
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    StarWind SAN & NAS
    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.

    HC3 is an appliance-based hyperconverged infrastructure solution. HC3 combines servers, storage, virtualization, and backup/disaster recovery into a single appliance. This hyperconvergence of technologies radically simplifies IT infrastructure making it easier to implement and manage and significantly reduces the total cost of ownership of infrastructure. The HC3 hyperconverged appliance approach allows seamless, non-disruptive infrastructure scale out and automated, non-disruptive software and firmware updates. Our customers choose HC3 to reduce complexity and cost from IT infrastructure so they can focus their IT administration on improving applications and process rather than managing and maintaining complex infrastructure.

    For SMB and Enterprises, who either look to get rid of backup tapes completely, or are willing to accelerate backup process and add an extra level of protection, our solution is StarWind Virtual Tape Library (VTL). It is an appliance that eliminates the need in physical tape and “pretends” to be a supported tape drive or autoloader, keeping all data on inexpensive, fast and high-capacity spinning disks.

    Even with explosive data growth, StarWind VTL fits the backup into backup window by accelerating it, so the process does not overlap with production time. Optionally, it creates additional copy of backup data for better safety. It is also available in a software-only form, as part of StarWind VSAN functionality. 

    StarWind VTL targets those, who need to replace existing tape backup infrastructure or accelerate it if regulatory requirements prohibit replacement. In case the goal is just virtualizing tape backup or creating a stretched backup infrastructure, StarWind Tape Redirector will come in handy. 

    Sample Customers
    Baker Tilly BVI, CMS Internet, Board Harpeth Hall School
    Edgetec Systems, Triton School Corporation, Anamosa Community School District, Standard School District, Iron County School District, Sevier County Bank, St. Richard’s Catholic College, Stoke Park School and Community Technology College, City of St. Cloud Minnesota, Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly, KIB Electronics, Chaitons LLP, Reading Muhlenberg Career & Technology Center, Penlon, American College of Education, Steel Summit Holdings, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Canadian Museum of History, Canadian War Museum
    Volvo, Sony, Samsung, Hitachi
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company10%
    Construction Company8%
    Educational Organization8%
    Computer Software Company8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company18%
    Manufacturing Company9%
    Government9%
    Financial Services Firm8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization39%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Financial Services Firm6%
    Manufacturing Company5%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Healthcare Company9%
    Retailer8%
    Financial Services Firm8%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business64%
    Midsize Enterprise22%
    Large Enterprise13%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business25%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise58%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business29%
    Midsize Enterprise43%
    Large Enterprise29%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business26%
    Midsize Enterprise45%
    Large Enterprise29%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business33%
    Midsize Enterprise11%
    Large Enterprise55%
    Buyer's Guide
    Scale Computing HC3 vs. StarWind Virtual Tape Library
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Scale Computing HC3 vs. StarWind Virtual Tape Library and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    768,246 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Scale Computing HC3 is ranked 21st in HCI with 7 reviews while StarWind Virtual Tape Library is ranked 15th in HCI with 6 reviews. Scale Computing HC3 is rated 7.6, while StarWind Virtual Tape Library is rated 10.0. The top reviewer of Scale Computing HC3 writes "A reliable stripped-down solution that comes with excellent support". On the other hand, the top reviewer of StarWind Virtual Tape Library writes "Flexible and reliable with helpful support". Scale Computing HC3 is most compared with VMware vSAN, Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI), VxRail, Sangfor HCI - Hyper Converged Infrastructure and HPE SimpliVity, whereas StarWind Virtual Tape Library is most compared with Red Hat Ceph Storage, HPE StoreVirtual and VMware vSAN. See our Scale Computing HC3 vs. StarWind Virtual Tape Library 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.