Sangfor HCI - Hyper Converged Infrastructure Reviews

We use Sangfor HCI for the Sangfor Cloud platform. We are soon going to host our own cloud platform service by using Sangfor HCI. We've already got a conditional queue from one of the customers, and we're consistently in talk with Sangfor regarding this deal.

We are working with the trial license of the Sangfor platform. For the first three months, we're going to use it on a trial basis, and after the customer confirms the purchase order, we'll be permanently going for the Sangfor Cloud solution.

It should have object storage. It already has network virtualization and micro-segmentation, but it is missing object storage. It does not have object storage. vSAN also does not have object storage, but Nutanix has object storage, and it is natively integrated into its HCI. So, if you pay for the object storage license, you have that module pre-built. 

I would've been really happy if we had point-to-point network connectivity between the virtual firewall and the customer site lease line so that we could have a private IP VPN.

Sangfor is relatively new in all markets. I would request the Sangfor team to come up with a partner training program with a free voucher so that we can get some of our staff trained and certified in Sangfor and educate them in a proper way.

It has been about five months since we've been using the Sangfor platform.

We've been using it only for about five months, and I will be able to comment on the stability of this platform after about two years. I've been working with VMware for 10 years. So, there is no point in comparing it with VMware.

We're going with two nodes at the moment. There will be some downtime, but we can manage it for the next two to three months because we have fewer customers. We're going to provide the cloud service on the Sangfor platform, and soon, we'll be upgrading to the third node. After we have three nodes, it's going to be easier for us to scale up the platform.

We are a team of about 25 individuals. Four people are looking after this solution. When we start to scale up, we would need more people. With the license that we will purchase, we will also get support from Sangfor. If there are any specific cases, we will contact Sangfor support.

Previously, we had Harper from their team for support. He has now moved to a different role, and he was very good. I would rate him 4.5 out of five. 

Their technical support is pretty good, but we are having some language issues. Basically, we get support from China, and we are having some issues with English. I would rate them a four out of five.

We've worked with VxRail and vSAN in the past. We've not used Nutanix, but I would like Sangfor to grow as a competitor that could beat Nutanix. That's because the RFPs that are made are so much based on Nutanix. It is really difficult for VMware and vSAN to beat Nutanix. I would like to see Sangfor grow as a company and beat Nutanix with all its features. If they add object storage, it would be very good.

For me, it was initially a bit complex, but later on, I gave it to my team. They communicated with Harper and other support staff from the Sangfor team, and they were able to do it. It is not a difficult task for us now. We've already given the Sangfor virtualization platform to a customer. So, we already have two Sangfor clients, and we are looking forward to increasing the number.

Sangfor needs to be more aggressive because this is a new market or territory for Sangfor. Nepal is a very price-sensitive market, so Sangfor needs to be a little more aggressive with its pricing. I would rate them 3.75 out of five in terms of the price.

We're comparing it with VMware. 

To anyone looking to implement Sangfor, I would advise doing a three-month PoC. We have a system deployed right here in our test labs with two nodes, and we can give a Sangfor cloud platform tenant for a PoC. We are always ready to support customers, and I believe Sangfor is too.

It has only been about five months since we have been using it, and I'm pretty satisfied with it. I would rate it an eight out of 10.

It is useful for every case where you have to virtualize machines on-premises or on the cloud, and you need resilience, performance, and so on.

It is deployed on-premises, but you can also deploy it on the cloud. It is a hyper-convergence system. There is only one version.

It is flexible like a hyper-convergence system. You can add nodes, and you can scale to have better performance and stability. I also like the backup feature, the recovery system, and the web interface GUI to handle everything.

As far as I know, no hyper-convergence solution includes security, so you have to buy security from another brand. For example, you buy SimpliVity or Nutanix. They don't really have a security solution inside the product. It would be good if there is a security solution inside this solution so that it is not only for the virtualization of CPU, RAM, disk, and network but also for security.

Its price should also be better.

I have been using this solution for three years. 

It is scalable. You can add nodes and scale it.

Their technical support is very good. It is the best part of the product.

Its installation is very fast and easy. For two nodes, it takes maybe one or two hours.

We are doing it ourselves. We have engineers in the company who can do the job.

For deployment and maintenance, we have about 10 people. We have three engineers and three technicians.

Its price should be better, but I don't think they will change the price list.

You have to pay for licenses, and you have to pay for support, so you have an annual fee. You can use the product without the fee, but it's really dumb because you need support. We are an IT company. We provide the product, and we need the support too for our customers.

I would recommend this solution to others. It is a good product for us.

I would rate Sangfor HCI an eight out of 10. 

My organization is a gold partner for Sangfor in Pakistan. 

We are using the computer virtualization, storage virtualization, network virtualization, virtual firewall as well as the NSB part network virtualization parts of Sangfor, third-generation HCI solution. We have 50 users using the solution.

For our customers, we have also installed Sangfor for demo purposes.

I find the simplicity of Sangfor very valuable. It is easy to configure and user-friendly. The overall user experience as well as the usability of Sangfor is outstanding.

Sangfor has improved significantly over time. There are certain aspects of sizing of the solution that need improvement.

There are some security features that could be added.

We have been using Sangfor HCI for three years.

This solution is stable.

Sangfor is quite a scalable solution in terms of nodes. You can upgrade the solution it is very flexible and adaptable with zero downtime for upgrades.

Overall, the support from Sangfor is phenomenal. 

We have been partners with Dell technologies as well for the last 10 years. Sangfor is much easier to understand, easier to adapt and easier to deploy with outstanding support.

The initial setup is straightforward if you have a basic IT understanding. If you have a dedicated team to deploy the solution, it will only take a couple of hours. It does depend on the size of your organization as well. 

Since we are a seller of the solution, we deploy ourselves. It requires one person on our team to do maintenance.

The license fee is annual. It is an enterprise plus version that is bundled into a single socket-based license.

Without hesitation, I recommend Sangfor because they have a standard with the stability and is agile. 

I rate Sangfor HCI a 10 out of 10.

We use the product as a hyper-converged infrastructure for our virtualization servers.

I am impressed with the product's firewall and virtualization. 

I would want the product to include Continuous Data Protection (CDP) which can help to easily retrieve the data. 

I have been using the tool for three years. 

I would rate the product's stability a nine out of ten. We have never experienced downtime during our usage of the product. 

I would rate the product's scalability an eight out of ten since they have issues with sizing. My company has 300-500 users for the solution. 

The support team is available 24/7. However, communication is a barrier when the support person is Chinese. On the other hand, support is easy when it is from Singapore or Malaysia. 

Neutral

I would rate the product's deployment a nine out of ten. The tool's setup is easy. The technical team helps us to complete the product's deployment. The product's deployment takes two days to complete. First, we gathered information on network and hardware infrastructure topology. 

The product's pricing is less expensive and competitive than other alternatives. I would rate the product's pricing an eight out of ten. 

I would rate the product a nine out of ten. 

Sangfor HCI's best features are the ability to scale to a bigger size and the roadmap, whereby if they need to replicate their production to disaster recovery, they can do so on the same platform.

Sangfor HCI could be improved with certification and the right ecosystem for ISVs like Oracle and SAP. In the next release, I'd like to see more adapters to allow us to migrate applications to the cloud when needed.

I've been using Sangfor HCI for three to four years.

Sangfor HCI's stability is very good. We've had typical minor issues, but in four years across small to large setups, we haven't had a total 100% failure.

Sangfor HCI is pretty straightforward to scale.

Sangfor HCI's technical support is good enough for an enterprise solution. Most of the time, they're able to resolve the situation within the timeframe our customers expect.

Positive

The initial setup was pretty straightforward.

Sangfor HCI was attractive to us because of the simplicity of its licensing and lack of hidden costs compared to its competitors. I would say its pricing is between cheap and reasonable and would rate it as three out of five.

I'd advise anybody thinking of using Sangfor HCI for the first time to request a concept so you understand the solution fully. I would say there's always a place for Sangfor HCI in any environment as a cheaper parallel platform. I would give Sangfor HCI a rating of ten out of ten.

We primarily use the solution within the healthcare industry. 

The most valuable feature is the three nodes and the free hypervisor.

The initialization is not fully automated and has room for improvement.

I have been using the solution for one year.

The solution is stable with the newer systems but is not compatible with the older systems.

The solution is scalable. The scaling is pay-as-you-go. 

The technical support is good.

The initial setup is not complex but it is also not automated.

I give the initial setup a seven out of ten.

The deployment takes one hour to complete the initial configuration.

We implement the solution for our customers.

The solution is very cheap. The solution is cheaper than others and has no hidden costs. The hypervisors are free, we just need the warranty to protect the hardware.

I give the solution a seven out of ten.

We provide maintenance for our customers.

When using high-intensity workloads or if some parts are already using flash or SSDs, it is acceptable. However, if the workload is a green field, starting from scratch is necessary.

Our company is based in the Philippines and we are end users of Sangfor. I'm a network administrator.  

The product is user-friendly and easier to use than other virtualization technology. The SCI technology is great. 

I'd like to see network support, it's very useful to have support with the sub-suite solution. I'd also like to see additional features included in the future.  

I've been using this solution for two years. 

The product is stable. 

I previously used VMware. We moved to Sangfor because we switched providers and it was difficult to get support. We went with a solution that would provide us with a built-in solution for storage, network and server. It's a complete solution. 

The initial setup was easy because we have support. The company provides everything from migrating and transferring from old to new. It's a big help for us. 

The licensing costs are reasonable, it's much cheaper than other solutions on the market. 

I recommend this solution because it's reasonably priced and has similar features to other, more expensive solutions. 

I rate this solution 10 out of 10. 

It is a smart solution for virtualization. It simplifies the virtualization for clients, and their network is summarized using Sangfor HCI. We directly purchase from Sangfor and provide this solution to many clients in Pakistan with them. Clients are 110% satisfied. They understand the solution, and it's user-friendly.

I have prepared this solution with VMware, and both of them are the same. However, the processing speed and cost should be improved in Sangfor HCI. VMware is more economical than Sangfor HCI.

We have been using this solution for two years.

It is a stable solution.

The solution is scalable, and we have two major clients. We have a secured deal with our client of about 2.5 million.

Their technical support is great, and I rate them a ten out of ten

Positive

The initial setup was straightforward, and it took barely a few hours to deploy.

I rate this solution a ten out of ten and recommend it to others.