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.

What’s changed in VMware ’s latest release? Virtual Hardware Version 22 brings new storage and passthrough options, updated graphics support, and removes some outdated components.
Get a full overview, plus a version comparison chart to help you track what’s new, from our latest article by Vladan Seget, a virtualization expert, for StarWind. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/u2

TrendHR, a U.S.-based provider of human resource outsourcing services, needed to replace its aging DataON Cluster-in-a-Box solution, which was reaching end-of-life and becoming cost-prohibitive due to Azure focused upgrades. The company needed a reliable, budget-friendly High Availability (HA) solution for its Hyper-V environment that could scale flexibly and avoid unnecessary cloud integration costs. By deploying StarWind HCI Appliance (HCA), TrendHR moves to hyperconvergence and achieves improved performance and flexibility while significantly reducing upfront and operational costs. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/tz

Watch our latest 30-minute webinar to hear from Andrew Tuzov, Director of Alliances, as he shares how this partnership blends two decades of innovation and support into one stronger offering. Explore how the combined forces of StarWind and DataCore expand your infrastructure options without adding complexity. From the edge to the core to the cloud – it’s all about building what works for you.

Watch the webinar recording now: https://starwind.com/s/tw

Still relying on traditional storage arrays? It might be time to rethink. Software Defined Storage (SDS) offers flexibility, scalability, and freedom from vendor lock-in.
Our latest guide by Vladyslav Savchenko for StarWind breaks down the top SDS vendors of 2025 and helps you choose the right solution for your environment. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/tt

Northgate High School, a UK-based educational institution, had aging physical SAN infrastructure that was unreliable, expensive to replace, and failed to deliver true high availability (HA) under Microsoft Hyper-V. The school needed a cost-effective, fault-tolerant storage solution that could provide HA across multiple locations. By deploying StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN), Northgate High School builds a cost-effective HA storage infrastructure on Microsoft Hyper-V, eliminates downtime during hardware failures, and saves approximately £30,000 over three years, thus ensuring uninterrupted access to IT resources and maintaining seamless campus operations. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/tq

Manual IT management is slowing teams down. Our new guide by Ivan Ischenko for StarWind explains how Infrastructure Automation speeds up software deployments, reduces human error, and simplifies scaling.
Discover tools, use cases, and real-world benefits. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/tn

Want to run Virtual Machines on your Windows PC? Hyper-V is already built into Windows 10 / Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions. Our latest step-by-step guide by Karim Buzdar, an IT Engineer and Linux Expert, for StarWind explains how to turn it on using both the GUI and PowerShell, plus how to create and configure your first VM. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/tk

Ciena Healthcare, a U.S. provider of skilled nursing and assisted living services, had IBM-based infrastructure with VMware that was difficult to scale and locked them into costly hardware and licensing. The organization needed a scalable and cost-effective storage solution that could be deployed and maintained without vendor restrictions. By implementing StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN), Ciena Healthcare builds a flexible and highly available (HA) storage cluster, achieving easier scalability and management while saving over $80,000 in upfront costs. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/tf

Designing a Data Warehouse isn’t just about storing information – it’s about enabling better business decisions. Our new guide by Ivan Ischenko for StarWind walks you through all the layers, architectures, and best practices for building a scalable, efficient data warehouse. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/te

Lipsey Logistics, LLC, a U.S.-based logistics company, faced downtime risks due to aging, separate physical servers with no redundancy, making every failure a time-consuming recovery process. The company needed a cost-effective high availability (HA) solution to eliminate downtime and ensure uninterrupted operation of its critical services. By deploying StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN), Lipsey Logistics, LLC creates an HA IT infrastructure, reduces system downtime, and enhances operational efficiency without exceeding budget constraints. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/tb