DataCore SANsymphony vs LizardFS

DataCore SANsymphony is self-hosted, block-based software-defined storage for SAN and hyperconverged environments. It pools storage from different hardware and centrally manages capacity provisioning and data placement. Performance tools include RAM caching, parallel I/O processing, auto-tiering, and load balancing. Recovery and availability features include synchronous mirroring, asynchronous replication with failover and failback, snapshots, and continuous data protection. It lists NVMe, Fibre Channel, iSCSI, and SAS/SATA protocols; NFS and SMB access is supported through Windows File Server. Administrators can use a console, REST API, PowerShell API, plug-ins, provisioning and orchestration, and real-time or historical charts. Data services include encryption and immutability, and backup-tool integration is supported. Deployment options include storage virtualization, converged, hyperconverged, and hybrid-converged configurations. Four editions address high-performance, midrange, smaller high-availability, and backup or replication needs. Pricing is on request; there is no free plan, though a trial is available. Server installations require Windows Server 2016 through 2025, with a documented minimum of 8 GB RAM and 20 GB local disk space.

LizardFS is an on-premises distributed file system that combines storage from several servers into a single namespace. Data is kept in multiple replicas across available servers, and new servers can be added without downtime; chunks move automatically to balance disk use. Erasure coding divides data into parts and parity stripes, with the maker stating that it can save up to 70% of storage capacity depending on configuration. Snapshots copy metadata while sharing data chunks until a file changes. Georeplication can copy data between data centers and lets administrators choose where data is stored. Administrators can set read and write bandwidth limits and apply soft or hard quotas for file counts and total size. Deleted files go to an administrator-visible trash bin for restoration or permanent deletion. Storage is installed on Linux, with Windows and macOS clients for cluster access. LizardFS supports NFS 3.x, NFS 4.0, and pNFS, and the maker describes using it with Elasticsearch and Logstash. Pricing is available on request; support packages include weekday or 24/7 assistance depending on tier.