What is StarWind & This Is Why You Should Choose StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN)

We are happy to introduce StarWind VSAN solution here at ServerSimply. Being an official StarWind partner, we are committed to delivering an exceptional service that covers all your needs to perfection.

What is StarWind?

Virtual SAN (VSAN) software - HCI software that allows customers to set up and operate a storage area network supporting clustering and multi-host access on any standard 64-bit or 32-bit Windows server. The software acts as the storage back end for virtualized servers such as VMware vSphere server and Microsoft Hyper-V, and also supports standard server applications requiring network storage, such as Microsoft Exchange or SQL Server.

Open source NVMe SPDK for Windows Server is used to support the NVMe-oF uplink protocol, together with iSCSI and iSER.

What does StarWind do?

StarWind Software delivers Software-Defined Storage solutions, HyperConverged, and Storage Appliances designed to build highly resilient IT infrastructures. As Wikipedia states, StarWind develops standards-based storage virtualization and management software that will run on any x86 platform. Its software-defined storage software supports building iSCSI, iSER, NVM Express over Fabrics (NVMe-oF), and NFSv3/v4 and SMB3 NAS using commodity hardware.

How does StarWind work?

StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN) is software that eliminates any need for physical shared storage by simply "mirroring" internal hard disks and flash between hypervisor servers. It's compatible with the hypervisor of your choice, be it Microsoft Hyper-V, VMware vSphere/ ESXi, Linux KVM, or Xen.

Why do we love StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN) Software?

StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN) is a hypervisor-centric hardware- and hypervisor-agnostic software-defined storage solution. StarWind VSAN creates a fully fault-tolerant and high-performing storage pool that is purpose-built for the virtualization workload.

Virtual SAN (VSAN)

StarWind Virtual SAN is specifically created for Enterprise remote offices and branch offices (ROBO), small and medium businesses (SMB) & Edge: true two-node scenario*, transparent licensing, and exceptional support**.

Gain 99.9999% uptime and full fault tolerance provided by this unique VSAN from the only all-flash hyperconvergence vendor, using your existing commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware right now.

*No witness is required

**ProActive Premium Support - health monitoring system that сompletely eliminates customer effort involved in identifying and troubleshooting an issue or even submitting a support case.

StarWind VSAN use cases:

StarWind Virtual SAN for Hyper-V

Deployed by default from a Windows-based installer, or for fast and easy evaluation – a pre-configured VM appliance for Hyper-V
Achieves fault-tolerance on a minimalistic two-server setup. Features high performance on commodity hardware
Supports two deployment scenarios - “Hyperconverged” and “Compute and Storage Separated” (or simply “Converged”)

StarWind Virtual SAN for Hyper-V is the most universal SDS solution on the market that seeks to create ultrafast and sustainable IT infrastructures instead of squeezing out money from its customers.

Explore StarWind Virtual SAN — StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN)

StarWind Virtual SAN for vSphere

Comes as a prepackaged Linux virtual machine with no Windows OS used
Fault-tolerant storage is achieved by “mirroring” internal hard disks and flash between servers.
Conforms with all the principles of business continuity and helps to mitigate risks, prevent downtime, and preclude possible losses

StarWind Virtual SAN for vSphere liberates its users from strict hardware compatibility lists (HCLs) and "feature walls," granting the ability to make the most out of the customer's existing resources and needs.

Explore StarWind Virtual SAN — StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN)

StarWind Virtual Tape Library (VTL)

Software that converts inexpensive, high capacity SATA drives into virtual tapes, emulating real existing tape hardware to accelerate the backup process and avoid backup-production time overlap.

Performs fast and reliable disk-to-disk-to-tape (D2D2T) backup
Replicates and tiers backups to any public cloud of your choice
"Air-gaps" data from ransomware and works with any standard object storage

StarWind VTL meets regulatory requirements, significantly decreases backup cost, and keeps the performance of the system stable by increasing the speed of the backup process.

Why do we love Serverismply-StarWind Storage Appliance?

Looking for more performance and capacity for your fixed compute? Or looking for a single solution that has it all: compute, storage, network, and software? You name it, StarWind has it all! Forget about hardware compatibility lists, socket-derived licensing, or scaling problems. With hardware configurations and hyperconvergence from StarWind, you will easily satisfy the technical “cravings” of your infrastructure and save good money, too.

Serversimply-StarWind Storage Solution

ServerSimply-StarWind Storage is more than physical storage. The solution functions as a universal namespace for all industry-standard uplink protocols while providing for easy scaling and cost-effective infrastructure enhancement.

Offers a powerful boost to your computing both in capacity and performance
Speaks iSCSI, SMB3, NFS, including RDMA-capable iSER and SMB Direct fluently
Comes with pre-installed external backup, antivirus, and ProActive support

StarWind SA is not some random storage to provide capacity. It is a full-fledged storage solution equipped with unique software that will ensure a highly productive upgrade for your infrastructure with a perk of increasing ROI as well.

Explore StarWind Storage — Serversimply Starwind Storage

1) StarWind Storage Appliance Provides Simplicity

StarWind Storage Appliance is designed to serve storage to multiple platforms, including different virtualization environments. It achieves this due to flexible connectivity and support of industry-standard uplink protocols. Little effort is required to introduce StarWind SA to any existing infrastructure.

2) It Offers Cost Efficiency

StarWind Storage Appliance is a ready storage solution with optimized pricing. Additionally, Storage Appliance inherits StarWind Virtual SAN features that allow it to utilize less hardware for the same workload.

3) StarWind Storage Appliance Guarantees The Highest Performance

StarWind Storage Appliance is built with “best-of-breed” components – industry-leading software to squeeze the maximum out of top-of-the-line hardware. It can run various applications, including antivirus, backup, and management on top of the storage, offloading much of the I/O from the compute cluster. In addition, StarWind SA takes advantage and leverages the performance-related features of StarWind Virtual SAN.

StarWind Hyperconverged Appliance (HCA) - Software That Is Making Hyperconvergence Accessible

As StarWind states: "StarWind seeks to bring top-tier virtualization and hyperconvergence features to SMB, Enterprise ROBO & Edge locations. We adamantly stand by the "more for less" principle, so we act to bring IT infrastructure optimization and smart use to different businesses around the globe. StarWind strives to help companies change their take on IT resources in favor of sustainability and continuous growth by means of offering high-quality solutions at a manageable price".

StarWind Hyperconvergence appliance is #1 software for SMB, Enterprise ROBO & Edge.

About StarWind Software Inc.

In 2003, Artem Berman and Anton Kolomeytsev established Rocket Division Software, a business that focused on outsourcing all kinds of IT services. Rocket Division collaborated with IBM’s partner on the deployment of physical SAN in their environment. Artem and Anton analyzed acute the problems their customers faced and came up with solutions to effectively address them.

StarWind Software began in 2008 as a spin-off from Rocket Division Software, a company that was focused on hyperconvergence and storage virtualization on the whole.

What Sets StarWind apart?

StarWind Software focuses on ROBO and SMB companies. The company explores new markets and deployment scenarios, as its software and hardware become more energy-efficient and reliable.

StarWind develops standards-based storage virtualization and management software that will run on any x86 platform. Its software-defined storage software supports building iSCSI, iSER, NVM Express over Fabrics (NVMe-oF), and NFSv3/v4 and SMB3 NAS using commodity hardware. StarWind Software Inc. is an official Technology Alliance Partner of VMware.

ServerSimply is an official StarWind Software partner.