Datacore virtualization
Server virtualization software
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- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
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What is Datacore virtualization
DataCore virtualization commonly refers to DataCore SANsymphony, a software-defined storage platform that virtualizes block storage across heterogeneous servers and storage arrays. It is used by IT infrastructure teams to pool storage, provide high availability, and improve performance for virtualized and physical server environments. The product differentiates through storage virtualization features such as synchronous mirroring, caching, and centralized management across mixed hardware, rather than acting as a hypervisor for compute virtualization.
Heterogeneous storage pooling
SANsymphony virtualizes block storage from different vendors’ arrays and direct-attached storage into a single pool. This can extend the useful life of existing storage hardware and reduce dependency on a single storage platform. It is particularly relevant in environments that run multiple server virtualization stacks and need consistent storage services across them.
High availability via mirroring
The platform supports synchronous mirroring between nodes to provide continuous availability for storage services. This design can reduce downtime from server or storage component failures when deployed with appropriate redundancy. It is commonly used to support clustered virtualization hosts and other workloads that require resilient shared storage.
Performance features for shared storage
SANsymphony includes caching and tiering capabilities intended to improve I/O performance for virtual machine and database workloads. Centralized policy-based management can standardize performance and protection settings across multiple storage backends. These capabilities can be useful where organizations want shared storage services without replacing all underlying hardware.
Not a compute hypervisor
Despite the term "virtualization," the product primarily virtualizes storage, not server compute. Organizations looking for a hypervisor to run virtual machines still need separate server virtualization software. This can create confusion during evaluation if the requirement is compute virtualization rather than storage services for virtualized hosts.
Windows-centric deployment model
SANsymphony is typically deployed on Windows Server nodes, which may not align with teams standardizing on Linux-only infrastructure. This can add Windows licensing, patching, and operational considerations. It may also be a constraint for environments that prefer appliance-based storage controllers.
Licensing and sizing complexity
Costs and configuration depend on capacity, features, and the number of nodes, and may require careful sizing to meet performance and availability targets. Achieving the intended resilience often requires at least two nodes plus appropriate networking and storage design. This can increase upfront planning effort compared with simpler single-platform storage deployments.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise (EN) | Licensed per TB (price bands; not published publicly — obtain quote via DataCore Licensing Portal / Sales) | Full-featured, highest performance; managed-capacity licensing (per TB); min capacity per group: 2 TB; min capacity per node: 1 TB; max nodes per group: 64; expansion granularity: 1 TB; includes Premier Support and free product updates (annual/multi-year terms). |
| Standard (ST) | Licensed per TB (price bands; not published publicly — obtain quote via DataCore Licensing Portal / Sales) | Midrange feature set; managed-capacity licensing (per TB); min capacity per group: 2 TB; min capacity per node: 1 TB; max nodes per group: 64; expansion granularity: 1 TB; ST can be upgraded to EN non-disruptively; includes Premier Support and free product updates (annual/multi-year terms). |
| Business (BZ) | Licensed per TB (attractive pricing; no public price bands — obtain quote via DataCore Licensing Portal / Sales) | Entry-level for smaller HA installations; min capacity per group: 10 TB (start), max 100 TB per installation; min capacity per node: 5 TB; supports 2 instances per installation; no price bands. |
| Backup Repository (BR) | Licensed per TB (scale in 25 TB increments; pricing not published — obtain quote via DataCore Licensing Portal / Sales) | Optimized as backup/replication target; min capacity per group: 50 TB; min capacity per node: 25 TB; scale in 25 TB increments for installs up to 2 nodes; supports up to 2 hosts concurrently; standalone edition (no upgrade path). |
Notes: SANsymphony is licensed based on managed capacity (TB) and can be purchased for annual and multi-year terms. Price per TB decreases with larger consumption and DataCore offers Lifetime Volume Discounts for EN and ST editions. A 30-day free trial is offered for SANsymphony (trial download/registration on the product page). For exact pricing, DataCore directs customers to the Licensing Portal (login/registration) or contact sales/orders@datacore.com.
Seller details
DataCore Software Corporation
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
1998
Private
https://www.datacore.com/
https://x.com/DataCore
https://www.linkedin.com/company/datacore-software/
