StarWind Virtual SAN Free offers the easiest transition from traditional SAN-centric converged to hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI). Dive into the data center technology trusted by thousands of global Enterprises — all at zero cost.
We're not pushing you toward any decision; you have the freedom to choose your path. Examine the table below and choose what works best for you.
| Feature | VSAN Free | VSAN |
|---|---|---|
| Storage management and monitoring | ||
| PowerShell CLI | ||
| Text UI | ||
| Web UI | KVM | KVM, Hyper-V, ESXi |
| Windows GUI | KVM | KVM, Hyper-V, ESXi |
| VMware vCenter Plug-In | ESXi | |
| Deployment | ||
| Linux-based Controller Virtual Machine (CVM) Preferred deployment option | ||
| Linux application Verified and approved configurations only | KVM | |
| Windows application Restricted functionality applies | Hyper-V | |
| Cloud instances (AWS, Azure) | ||
| Infrastructure | ||
| Hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) Aggregated, compute and storage are running on the same servers | ||
| Converged infrastructure (CI) Disaggregated, compute and storage are running on the different sets of servers | ||
| Scaling | ||
| Scale-Up "Vertical" capacity expansion | ||
| Scale-Out "Horizontal" capacity expansion | ||
| SAN protocols | ||
| iSCSI | ||
| NVMe-oF NVMe over RDMA & NVMe over TCP | ||
| NAS protocols | ||
| CIFS / SMB3 | ||
| NFSv3 / NFSv4 | ||
| Data replication | ||
| Synchronous inter-node replication and instant failover High Availability (HA) | ||
| Local data redundancy | ||
| Hardware RAID | ||
| Software RAID Linux-based CVM and Linux application deployments | ||
| ZFS RAID Linux-based CVM and Linux application deployments | ||
| Technical support | ||
| Support plans | Community | Standard, Premium, ProActive Premium |
| Access to the latest public builds and updates | ||
| Access to private builds | ||
| Use case scenarios | ||
| Evaluation use | ||
| Production use | ||
Support via StarWind Community Forums
Support via e-mail, phone, ssh and Zoom remote sessions
Unlimited support tickets
Manual ticket submission
Business hours support
8 hours* response time for Severity 2 issues
4 hours* response time for Severity 1 issues
Support via e-mail, phone, ssh and Zoom remote sessions
Unlimited support tickets
Manual ticket submission
24/7/365 support
4 hours response time for Severity 2 issues
1 hour response time for Severity 1 issues
Support via e-mail, phone, ssh and Zoom remote sessions
Unlimited support tickets
Manual ticket submission
24/7/365 support
1 hour response time for Severity 2 issues
1 hour response time for Severity 1 issues
ProActive automatic issue detection and resolution using telemetry data AI analytics, “call-home”, and automatic ticket submission systems. Up to 90% tickets are generated, submitted and resolved without the customer’s intervention
*Additional information regarding StarWind Support SLA and response times is available here: www.starwindsoftware.com/support
If you find yourself deliberating between our free or paid options, uncertain about our support plans, or curious about how StarWind ProActive Premium Support can take the burden off your shoulders by eliminating up to 90% of the customer-involved support cases by using the AI-powered telemetry, Big Data processing and analytics, combined with an optional “call home” systems... We are here to assist. Let our Sales Engineering Team help you to clarify any doubts. Don’t hesitate and schedule a demo now!
StarWind Virtual SAN is only one vital part of HCI, but it's not the whole story. Our portfolio includes Virtual HCI Appliance (VHCA) - a complete hyperconverged infrastructure solution that combines hypervisor, software-defined storage and management. Explore VHCA features, use cases, and its free version to learn more.
