Finally, StarWind Virtual Storage Appliance is available on Linux allowing you to save costs on Windows licensing. Being hypervisor-agnostic, StarWind VSA easily integrates into any IT infrastructure as a fully pre-configured virtual machine ready for deployment and operation. It simply installs in any existing environment requiring no specialized SAN skills and is managed using StarWind Web console or thick client allowing to control the entire storage infrastructure from a centralized console.
Join our Tap Room Meeting on April 27 11 am PT / 2 pm ET to see all benefits of the StarWind Linux-based VSA.
Register now: https://www.starwindsoftware.com/dedicated-live-demo-session

StarWind Virtual SAN Free allows deploying a 2-node cluster providing a highly available storage for your virtual machines to Hyper-V or ESXi hypervisor for free. When deploying multi VSAN Free nodes, the data is synchronized across the network between the nodes. StarWind VSAN Free can be deployed in a hyperconverged model where VSAN Free is installed on hypervisor nodes or in a disaggregated model with separated compute and storage resources. StarWind VSAN Free management capabilities include PowerShell, with StarWind Management console available as a 30-day trial.

Read the full article by Romain Serre, a Senior Consultant at Lyon to learn how to deploy a 2-node StarWind VSAN Free for VMware ESXi 6.5 on Windows Server 2016 Core Edition.

StarWind gets closer to Linux users by providing them with special Linux-based Virtual Storage Appliance version combining the underlying OS and preinstalled StarWind Virtual SAN, allowing to save money on Windows Licensing when it’s unnecessary.
StarWind VSA is compatible with any hypervisor, be it Microsoft Hyper-V, VMware ESXi, Xen or KVM and can be managed via a Web Management Console while additionally containing a StarWind vCenter plugin allowing to manage the product directly from vCenter Server.

Read the full article by Vladan Seget, IT and Virtualization consultant to learn more about StarWind Virtual SAN on Linux

AlwaysOn Basic Availability Groups (BAG) supported in SQL Server Standard Edition and AlwaysOn Availability Groups (AG) introduced in SQL Server Enterprise Edition were designed to create a replicated environment with improved failover capabilities. However, the two types provide different capabilities while also requiring different licensing costs.

Read the full article by Shashank Singh, Microsoft MVP, and SQL Server Architect to learn more about BAG and AG cost and functionality differences.

Migrating your VMs from one hypervisor to another may be quite a complicated task if there’s no decent virtual machine converter at hand. Fortunately, there are various V2V tools allowing to turn this process into a simple thing. But, when choosing a V2V converter, there are several factors you should take into consideration.

Read the full article to learn how to choose a V2V converter that will become a perfect fit for your needs.

StarWind is currently working on the new product - a flexible and customizable web-based platform which will allow users get the full control over their IT infrastructures from a single HTML5 graphical interface including S2D, Failover Clustering and Hyper-V. More information to be found in a nearby thread: https://mangolassi.it/topic/14114/help-starwind-to-pick-the-name-for-the-upcoming-product

StarWind HyperConverged Appliance utilizes Local Reconstruction Codes, Replication, and Grid Architecture to provide an ultimate fault tolerance rate while delivering sustained high performance. With StarWind HCA, the whole infrastructure remains operational even after multiple disk or node failures. In case a failure occurs, applications are automatically recovered to working cluster disks or nodes, allowing to easily withstand a failure of more than 50% of the cluster nodes.

Watch our video to learn how to get uncompromised resiliency with StarWind HCA
https://www.starwindsoftware.com/get-uncompromised-fault-tolerance-of-it-infrastructure-with-starwind-hyperconverged-appliance

With PowerShell, automatic deployment of Hyper-V VMs in Windows Server 2016 becomes a piece of cake
No doubts, commercial software for automatic VM deployment is great, but it may be too expensive comparing to the goals that need to be achieved. That’s where PowerShell kicks in. With PowerShell commands, the creation and configuration of Hyper-V virtual machines in Windows Server 2016 become a fairly simple thing. But, what is more important, you can create a script which deploys VMs of the same configuration automatically.

Read the full article by Boris Yurchenko, a Support Engineer at StarWind, to learn how to automate your VMs deployment with PowerShell in Windows Server 2016.

Installing an HTTPS certificate is just a tip of the iceberg. This certificate has a huge number of options that usually are hidden deep inside config files. Actually, these tiny details allow distinguishing a site that can be rendered vulnerable via HTTPS downgrade attack and the one that is really secure.

Read the full article by Gary Williams, a virtualization, storage, and Windows systems administrator, to achieve the highest security.

StarWind team will take the floor at Storage Field Day 15 to reveal new awesome backup storage technologies: Virtual Tape Library with Cloud and Object storage and backed by ProActive Support! Our speaking slot is the first in line: March 9, 8-10 am PT, don’t miss it!

For Livestream, go to https://www.facebook.com/TechFieldDay/ or watch on http://techfieldday.com/, Livestream.com - includes the entire event.

Virtual Machines (VMs) help save money, reduce hardware sprawl, and boost flexibility. But how exactly do they work? Our latest guide by Ivan Ischenko, a StarWind Pre-Sales Engineer, makes it all easy to understand – from components to benefits and beyond. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/dc

St Peter's Church of England Aided School, an educational institution, struggled with an outdated and overly complex IT infrastructure that was costly, time-consuming, and difficult to maintain for its small IT team. It needed a streamlined, cost-effective IT solution with simplified management and proactive support. By deploying StarWind HCI Appliance (HCA), St Peter's Church of England Aided School creates a hyperconverged IT environment, reduces its hardware footprint from six to only two nodes, cuts energy costs, ensures responsive 24/7 support, and achieves substantial operational cost reduction. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/d9

Windows tends to pile up stuff you don’t need. Our new article by Vladan Seget, a virtualization expert, for StarWind introduces tools that help you declutter and fine-tune your system. Easy to use, totally free, and super effective. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/d6

Yes, you can run VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) on a single host in your home lab. And this doesn’t have to mean juggling a dozen blog posts. Our latest article by Alex Samoylenko, an expert in virtualization technology, for StarWind brings it all together: deployment, configuration, networking – all the steps, all in one place.
Want a clear, full look at how VCF works in a compact setup? Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/d3

Kundan Group, an India-based leading manufacturing and exporting company, had a non-clustered Hyper-V environment, causing frequent downtime, and lacked redundancy. The company required a shared storage solution to provide high availability (HA) and redundancy for its core applications and eliminate downtime. By implementing StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN), Kundan Group builds a clustered HA environment, ensures redundancy for its core applications, and saves $200,000 in five months. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/d0

Feeling lost with all the vSwitch load balancing options? Our latest guide by Daryna Havrada, StarWind Technical Support Engineer, explains each policy, when to use it, and how to avoid common pitfalls.
Don’t leave your network performance to chance – learn the best practices now. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/cX

AVR, Inc., a US-based software development company, faced limitations with its single, non-clustered Hyper-V servers, which put critical applications at risk of downtime. The company needed a cost-effective solution to achieve high availability (HA) and fault tolerance without investing in extra hardware. By deploying StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN), AVR, Inc. creates a clustered IT environment with HA and redundancy functionalities, reducing downtime to zero and ensuring the smooth operation of its electronic billing system. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/cU

Looking for a VMware replacement? With licensing changes shaking things up, now's the time to explore your options. We’ve analyzed top alternatives, covering features, integrations, and ecosystem support. Check out our latest guide by Marius Sandbu, a cloud-native and end-user computing expert, for StarWind to find the best fit for your needs. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/cR

Microsoft is making big improvements to ReFS in Windows Server 2025! With new features, ReFS is more powerful than ever. Don’t miss our latest article by Vladan Seget, a virtualization expert, for StarWind – learn all about the latest updates. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/cO

iF1 Solutions, a Canada-based IT services provider, struggled with scaling and upgrading its legacy HPE infrastructure due to unclear upgrade paths, high costs, and deployment complexity. The company needed a hyperconverged platform to achieve scalability and reduce licensing costs. By deploying StarWind HCI Appliance (HCA), iF1 Solutions adopts hyperconvergence, streamlines management, improves scalability, and saves $10,000–$20,000 per client compared to HPE/Dell solutions. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/cL