StarWind Virtual SAN vs VAST Data Platform
StarWind Virtual SAN
starwindsoftware.comVAST Data Platform
vastdata.comSide by side
| Figure | StarWind Virtual SAN | VAST Data Platform |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 5 | 1 |
| Spec score · Storage Management Software | 8.4 (#3) | 6.9 (#20) |
| Spec score · Software-Defined Storage Software | 8.4 (#6) | 6.9 (#22) |
| Deployment | It can run as Windows-native software in a Hyper-V partition or as a Linux-based virtual machine on a chosen hypervisor. | VAST says it is sold as software and delivered and supported as an appliance, with on-premises appliances. |
| Founded | 2003 | 2016 |
| Headquarters | Beverly, Massachusetts, USA | New York City, United States |
| Protocols | The product supports iSCSI, SMB3, NFS v4.1, VVols iSCSI, NVMe over Fabrics and iSER. | VAST's documentation describes native support for NFS, S3, and Block protocols. |
| Purpose | StarWind Virtual SAN is software that replaces physical shared SAN storage and targets Enterprise ROBO, SMB and Edge environments. | The VAST AI Operating System unifies storage, database, and compute in one infrastructure layer. |
| Support | VSAN Free is self-supported or community-supported through StarWind Forums, while the paid edition includes deployment, configuration, integration and responsive technical support. | VAST provides a customer support portal, documentation, and training resources through its Knowledge Base. |
Plans
StarWind Virtual SAN
- StarWind Virtual SAN FreeFree
- Virtual SAN FreeFree
- DatacenterPriced on request
- EnterprisePriced on request
- StarWind Virtual SANPriced on request
In their own words
StarWind Virtual SAN
StarWind Virtual SAN is software designed to replace physical shared SAN storage in SMB, ROBO, and Edge environments. It provides fault tolerance and high availability starting with two nodes, and supports iSCSI, SMB3, NFS v4.1, VVols iSCSI, NVMe over Fabrics, and iSER. Deployment options include Windows-native software in a Hyper-V partition or a Linux-based virtual machine on a chosen hypervisor. An HTML5 console is used to monitor and manage hardware and software resources. Listed reliability features include ZFS self-healing, AI-powered telemetry, and call-home systems. Supported hypervisor versions include VMware vSphere ESXi 8.0 or later, Windows Server Hyper-V 2019 or later, oVirt/OLVM/RHV 4.4 or later, Proxmox VE 9.1 or later, and XCP-ng 8.3 or later. The free edition is self- or community-supported, and its comparison lists web UI support for KVM only; paid editions list KVM, Hyper-V, and ESXi. A 30-day trial is available, while paid pricing is on request.
VAST Data Platform
VAST Data Platform has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.