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.

From GDPR and CCPA to ransomware and outages, organizations face constant risks. Our latest complete guide by Michael Rakitin for StarWind explains what data protection, data privacy, and data security mean, how they differ, and how to apply them to safeguard your most valuable asset – data. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/wv

News Corp Australia, a major media organization, had an ESXi-based infrastructure that relied on traditional storage and was difficult to manage and upgrade. A software-defined storage solution was needed to reduce complexity, improve manageability, and support seamless scalability within the existing environment. By deploying StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN), News Corp Australia simplifies storage management and upgrades in its ESXi environment, achieving improved operational efficiency and reducing IT overhead. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/ws

VMware Cloud Foundation9 (with vSphere9 and NSX 9) introduces big changes – and that includes dropping some long-standing features. Check out our latest article by Alex Samoylenko for StarWind to see what’s deprecated and what to use instead. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/wp

Proxmox is leveling up! The new Proxmox Data center Manager (Beta 0.9) offers a centralized UI for managing multiple Proxmox VE nodes and clusters. Dive into our latest technical overview by Vladan Seget, a virtualization expert, for StarWind. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/wm

Dijkstra Vereenigde, a Dutch supplier of laboratory equipment and packaging glass, faced performance and reliability issues due to aging, end-of-life SAN-based infrastructure that was no longer viable to maintain. The company needed a cost-effective, easy-to-deploy hyperconverged solution to replace its outdated SAN and enhance performance. By implementing StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN), Dijkstra Vereenigde replaces its aging SAN infrastructure with a high-performance hyperconverged setup, achieving greater stability and performance while reducing hardware complexity and costs. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/wj

Managing VMware clusters by hand can quickly become overwhelming as workloads grow and shift. That’s where Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) steps in – keeping clusters stable, apps fast, and admins stress-free.
In our latest guide by Dmytro Malynka for StarWind, we break down everything you need to know about VMware DRS: how it works, its requirements, key features, and why it’s a must-have for medium and large clusters. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/wg

Journey Freight International Inc., a Canada-based third-party logistics provider, was challenged by performance bottlenecks and a single point of failure in its aging HP StorageWorks SAN. To maintain uninterrupted logistics operations, the company needed a high-performance, highly available (HA), and scalable storage solution that wouldn’t break the budget. By implementing StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN), Journey Freight International Inc. modernizes its infrastructure with a robust three-node cluster, achieving significantly better IOPS, eliminating downtime risks, and ensuring continuous availability of its mission-critical systems. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/wd

Cyberthreats are growing smarter every day, and applications are now prime targets. From authentication to encryption, Application Security (AppSec) is key to protecting your business.
Our new article by Roman Bitsiuk for StarWind explains what AppSec is, why it matters, and how to secure apps end to end. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/wa

VMware ESXi is one of the most popular platforms for running multiple VMs on a single server. Learn how to install it from scratch, configure the basics, and create your first VM – all in one guide by Karim Buzdar, an IT Engineer & Linux Expert, for #StarWind. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/w7

Lynden Door, Inc., a U.S.-based manufacturer of quality doors, needed to build a small Hyper-V cluster but lacked shared storage and wanted to avoid the high cost of purchasing a separate storage array. The company required a cost-effective, reliable shared storage solution that could be quickly deployed without additional hardware. By implementing StarWind Virtual SAN (VSAN), Lynden Door, Inc. creates a high-availability (HA) Hyper-V cluster, improves scalability, and saves approximately $10,000 in infrastructure costs. Read more here: https://starwind.com/s/w4