StarWind HyperConverged Appliance with VMware Virtual SAN: Data Sheet

Product Overview

StarWind HyperConverged Appliance (HCA) unifies commodity servers and storage hardware, hypervisor, and associated software into a single scalable layer. It is designed for ROBO, mid-sized and especially small SMB who are looking to bring in quick deployment and operational simplicity to virtualization workloads and reduce related expenses. StarWind HyperConverged Appliance has minimalistic initial hardware footprint of just two servers. Scaling unit is just one server at a time. Compute and storage resources can be leveraged individually matching customer workload and other requirements. HyperConverged Appliances are pre-configured, pre-tested and pre-tuned for every specific case, and shipped by StarWind’s hardware partners.

StarWind employs the “best of breed” components for HCA: server hardware from Dell and associated software, which plays the key role by turning the commodity servers into fully functional hyperconverged appliances. VMware vSphere is employed as the hypervisor, VMware vSAN* is used for virtual storage and Veeam Backup and Replication is utilized for VM backup. In order to manage the hypervisor, vSphere with Operations Management is used along with ESET Antivirus for better security. StarWind Virtual SAN is optionally used to expose the VMware-based infrastructure to external consumers. StarWind HCA also features “one throat to choke” support covering servers, hypervisor, storage, and backup under a single support umbrella. Finally, a pre-configured and pre-tested StarWind HCA solution costs less than all the components separately, thanks to cooperation between StarWind and their software and hardware partners.

Components

StarWind HyperConverged Appliance comes in various configurations, depending on the model. The following is a complete list. Note that the included components may differ in different models.

Servers: Dell PowerEdge R630 / Dell PowerEdge R730 provided by StarWind premier hardware partners.

Switches: Mellanox SX1012, Mellanox SX1024, Dell S4810

Hypervisor: VMware vSphere VMware vSphere is a server virtualization platform from VMware. It serves as a complete platform for implementing and managing virtual machine (VM) infrastructure on a large scale. Also referred to as a cloud operating system or virtualized data center platform, VMware vSphere enables IT departments to efficiently place application workloads on the most cost-effective compute resource available.

Virtual Shared Storage: VMware vSAN 6.2
VMware vSAN is a radically simple, enterprise-class shared storage solution for hyper-converged infrastructure optimized for today’s all-flash performance. StarWind Virtual SAN is an add-on option providing interoperability and multi-protocol features like external iSCSI, NFS, and SMB3 connectivity, allowing to seamlessly integrate with existing environments.

Virtual Machine Backup and Replication: Veeam® Backup and Replication™ V9 Veeam® Backup & Replication™ provides fast, flexible, and reliable recovery of virtualized applications and data. It brings backup and replication together in a single solution for both increasing the value of backup and reinventing data protection for virtual environments.

Monitoring, Reporting and Capacity Planning: Veeam® ONE™ V9 Veeam® ONE™ V9 provides advanced monitoring, reporting, and capacity planning for virtual environment and backup. It seamlessly integrates with Veeam® Backup and Replication™ V9 and also brings in performance and configuration assessment, enhanced 24/7 monitoring, and alerting.

Management and Security: VMware vSphere Operations Management (optional)

vSphere with Operations Management takes vSphere to the next level with intelligent operations and consistent management. It provides better insights, resulting in better performance and availability. ESET Antivirus provides antivirus and anti-spyware, virtualization support, (HIPS), exploit blocker, advanced memory scanning, and cross-platform protection. The Data Access Protection provides antiphishing and device control.

Typical Configurations

Two Model L Nodes

Small Business / ROBO setup: 2-node cluster (1), running DC, File Server, Print server, small database server, Exchange etc.

Three Model L Nodes

Small and Medium Business setup: 3- node cluster running DC, File Server, database cluster, Exchange etc. 3-node setup has enough power to co-host
isolated test environments and workloads without impacting primary production environment performance.

Three Model L Nodes + Two Model XL Nodes

Mid-sized Businesses -node cluster setup. 2 XL nodes added to the existing cluster for a 150-seat VDI project.

(1) External witness required, consult your solution engineer before purchasing.

Three Model L Nodes + Two Model XL Nodes + Six Model S Nodes

Expanding local cluster to interconnect with ROBO locations: 5-node cluster in the head office interconnected with 2-node clusters in branch locations. Branches replicating to head office where data is stored on a dedicated backup storage appliance (SA130H) with deduplication for better space efficiency and cloud replication for fulfilling the DR plan.

Models

StarWind HyperConverged Appliance comes in two model lines – L and XL. They differ by technical specs as well as purpose in order to fit most of the typical deployment scenarios. Additionally, all the models are mutually compatible, so it is easy to build a customized infrastructure in exact accordance with the business requirements. L model is a mid-level system for SMB virtualized environments. 1U form factor provides maximum compute power density in minimum rack space. All models include an ultraperforming all-flash option.

XL fills the role of hyperconverged infrastructure for larger SMB and enterprise, being a high-end virtualization platform. It provides maximum compute and storage density and uncompromised performance for high load virtual server and VDI workloads.

StarWind HCA Model L

HCA Model L is a mid-level system for SMB virtualized environments. The starter set packs all the essential components in 2 servers simplifying the configuration and minimizing the initial investment. 1U form factor provides maximum compute power density in the smallest possible rack space. The allflash version is designed for the most performance-hungry tasks. StarWind HCA Model L scales out to a maximum of 64 nodes.

StarWind HCA Model XL

StarWind HCA Model XL is a high end virtualization appliance which provides maximum compute and storage density and uncompromised performance for high load virtual server and VDI workloads. The starter set packs all the essential components in just 2 servers, simplifying the configuration and minimizing the initial investment. An all-flash option is available for extreme workloads and missioncritical tasks where performance is of the essence. StarWind HCA Model XL scales-out to a maximum of 64 nodes.

Physical Specifications

Specifications per 1 node:
H: 8.73 cm (3.44 in.) x W: 44.40 cm (17.49 in.) x D: 68.40 cm (26.92 in.)
Maximum weight: 36.5 Kg

Environmental Specifications

Environmental specifications available upon request.

Notes

All storage capacities shown in this document are calculated using Base 10
(1 GB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes)

FIPS 1.2 TPM and SAS Self Encrypting Drive packages available upon request. Information on expansion shelves and drive packages will be available soon.