Top vSAN Alternatives: Finding the Right Hyperconverged Solution for Your Business
vSAN is a powerful enterprise-class storage virtualization software that, when combined with vSphere, offers a unified platform for managing compute and storage. It's designed to reduce the cost and complexity of traditional storage and pave the way for hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) and hybrid cloud. However, while vSAN is a leading solution, businesses often seek a vSAN alternative for various reasons, including specific feature requirements, budget constraints, or a preference for open-source solutions. This article explores some of the best alternatives to vSAN, helping you find the perfect fit for your IT infrastructure needs.
Top vSAN Alternatives
Whether you're looking for a more cost-effective solution, a different set of features, or greater flexibility, these vSAN alternatives offer robust options for building and managing your hyperconverged environment.
StorPool
StorPool is an intelligent software-defined storage solution that empowers service providers, enterprises, and cloud builders to run data storage on standard x86 hardware. It's a commercial solution supporting various Linux distributions like SUSE Linux Enterprise, CentOS, Fedora, Ubuntu, Debian, Ubuntu Server, and Red Hat, as well as VMware vSphere Hypervisor and Microsoft Hyper-V Server. It stands out as a strong vSAN alternative due to its extensive feature set, including HCI support, High Availability, Infiniband support, Automatic recovery, Backups and Disaster Recovery, Cloud Storage, Data tiering, Ethernet Support, Fault tolerant, ISCSI support, Network redundancy, QoS, Thin Provisioning, TRIM/Discard, Virtualization, and Kubernetes integration.
NexentaStor
NexentaStor is a network storage appliance built upon the ZFS filesystem, providing notable features like block-level checksumming and automated tier management. It's a free and open-source vSAN alternative, running on Linux. Key features include ISCSI support, NFS and SMB shares, data-management, and server management, making it a viable option for those seeking open-source flexibility.
LINBIT VSAN
LINBIT VSAN SDS for VMware is a commercial software-defined storage solution specifically designed for small and medium-sized VMware deployments. It can also be used with Oracle VM Server for Linux. This vSAN alternative focuses on simplicity and efficiency, offering High Availability as a core feature, making it a strong contender for those with existing VMware infrastructures.
OviOS Linux
OviOS Linux is a specialized, free, and open-source Linux distribution engineered to create a fast and easy Linux unified storage server. It's compatible with VMware vSphere Hypervisor and provides High Availability, presenting an excellent open-source vSAN alternative for users prioritizing speed and ease of use in a Linux environment.
SvSAN
SvSAN is a commercial, cost-effective, and flexible virtual SAN ideal for edge computing environments that require a highly available, two-server solution. It runs on Windows and VMware vSphere, offering key features like High Availability and virtual disk management. SvSAN provides a simplified approach for distributed environments, serving as a practical vSAN alternative for smaller deployments.
Starwind Virtual SAN
StarWind VSAN is a freemium solution for Windows that eliminates the need for physical shared storage by mirroring internal hard disks and flash between hypervisor servers. It's designed to maintain high performance and offers a compelling vSAN alternative by leveraging existing server hardware for storage redundancy and efficiency.
Dell EMC UnityVSA
Dell EMC UnityVSA allows you to deploy Dell EMC Unity unified storage as a virtual storage appliance. This freemium, self-hosted, software-defined storage solution runs on VMware vSphere Hypervisor, providing a familiar Dell EMC experience in a virtualized format. It's a strong vSAN alternative for organizations already invested in the Dell EMC ecosystem.
SANsymphony
DataCore SANsymphony is an enterprise-class commercial platform that delivers a high-performance, highly available, and agile storage infrastructure with a focus on the lowest Total Cost of Ownership. It supports Windows, Linux, VMware vSphere Hypervisor, and Microsoft Hyper-V Server. Its robust High Availability features make it a powerful vSAN alternative for large-scale enterprise environments.
Open-E Data Storage Software SOHO
Open-E Data Storage Software (DSS) SOHO is a freemium Linux-based solution that provides the basic functionalities of a fully featured NAS/SAN software platform. It's a suitable vSAN alternative for smaller businesses or those looking for a cost-effective entry into network-attached storage and storage area network capabilities.
The landscape of hyperconverged infrastructure is rich with options beyond vSAN. From open-source solutions offering flexibility to commercial platforms emphasizing specific performance or integration benefits, there's a vSAN alternative to fit nearly every organizational need. Evaluate your budget, existing infrastructure, and long-term goals to choose the best HCI solution for your business.