TL;DR / Quick Summary
Modern IT environments require storage solutions that combine performance, resiliency, scalability, and seamless integration with cloud platforms. This article compares leading hyperconverged storage solutions across Azure Local, VMware vSAN, Nutanix DFS, and Hyper-V (S2D and SAN/NAS). You’ll get a breakdown of architecture, performance, protection mechanisms, and cloud connectivity to guide your infrastructure decisions.
Master Storage Comparison Table
Feature Nutanix DFS (AOS) Hyper-V + SAN/NAS Hyper-V + S2D VMware vSAN Azure Local (S2D) Storage Type Distributed File System Block/File via Storage Hyperconverged SDS Hyperconverged SDS Hyperconverged SDS + Azure Backup Pooling Model Global External (Array-based) Cluster Shared Volume (CSV) Datastore Aggregation Storage Spaces + Arc Locality Awareness Yes No Partial Yes Partial Native Replication Async, Near-Sync Array-dependent Azure Backup vSAN RAID + vSphere Rep Azure Backup/ASR Snapshots & Cloning Fast Clones, Snapshot Array-dependent ReFS, VSS Snapshots vSphere Snapshots Azure Backups, VM Snapshots Performance Scaling Linear (scale-out) Controller-bound Limited by JBOD config Scale-out with hosts Limited to HCI cluster design Mgmt Tool Prism Central Vendor Tool or SCVMM WAC vCenter Azure Portal + WAC Cloud Integration Nutanix Clusters None Azure Arc VMware Cloud Azure-native, Arc-enabled Automation Calm PowerShell PowerShell, WAC Aria Automation Azure Policy, ARM, PowerShell
Section 1: Storage Architecture
Nutanix DFS (AOS)
Distributed file system across local node disks
Ensures data locality for high performance
Integrated services: replication, compression, tiering, erasure coding
Runs natively on AHV and supports VMware/Hyper-V via Nutanix Clusters
Hyper-V + SAN/NAS
Uses external storage (FC/iSCSI/SMB)
Complex LUN configuration and zoning required
Depends on array features for replication and snapshots
High throughput, high complexity
Hyper-V + S2D
Pools local disks into software-defined volumes
Supports mirroring and parity resiliency models
Optimized with RDMA networks and NVMe caching
Managed via WAC; integrates with Azure Backup
VMware vSAN
Pools SSD/HDDs into shared vSAN datastores
Integrated with vSphere and vCenter
Features: deduplication, compression, encryption
Supports stretched clusters, SPBM, and vVols
Azure Local
S2D-based local storage under Azure Arc
Governed by Azure Policy, monitored in Azure Monitor
Works with Azure Backup, ASR, Defender for Cloud
Ideal for hybrid or regulated disconnected workloads
Feature Nutanix DFS SAN/NAS (Hyper-V) S2D (Hyper-V) VMware vSAN Azure Local (S2D) Scaling Model Horizontal (node-based) Bound by controller & switch fabric Cluster-based scale-up/down Host-based scale-out Arc-host scale-out Caching SSD-based tiered Depends on SAN vendor Write cache w/ parity/mirror NVMe + SSD SSD + ReFS cache Latency Ultra-low (local access) Network dependent Low (with RDMA/NVMe) Low w/ vSAN config Low, hybrid-optimized Throughput High per-node High backend throughput High if optimized High w/ hybrid or all-flash Moderate to high Management Overhead Very low High (SAN zoning, tuning) Medium Low with SPBM Low – Azure-native control
Section 3: Resiliency & Data Protection
Feature Nutanix DFS SAN/NAS (Hyper-V) S2D (Hyper-V) VMware vSAN Azure Local Data Resiliency RF2/RF3 replication RAID from storage array 2/3-way mirror/parity RAID 1/5/6 (policy) S2D + Backup Replication Near-sync, Async Array/SAN-dependent Azure Backup, DFS-R vSphere Replication Azure ASR Snapshots Prism + Fast Clones VSS or array snapshots ReFS Snapshots VM-level Snapshots Azure Backup Snapshots DR Integration Calm, Leap DPM or manual scripting Azure Site Recovery SRM + Aria Orchestration Azure-native DR
Section 4: Management & Integration
Feature Nutanix DFS SAN/NAS (Hyper-V) S2D (Hyper-V) VMware vSAN Azure Local Management Console Prism Central SCVMM or array UI Windows Admin Center (WAC) vCenter Azure Portal + Arc + WAC Automation Options Calm, REST API PowerShell + Orchestrator PowerShell + Azure Policy Aria Automation + SPBM Azure ARM, Bicep, GitOps Cloud Integration Nutanix Clusters (GCP/Azure) None Azure Backup, Azure Monitor VMware Cloud on AWS/Azure Native Azure Backup/Monitor/ASR Monitoring & Analytics X-Fit, Prism Pro Array-specific tools Azure Monitor/Workbooks Aria Suite (vROps) Azure Monitor, Defender, Logs
Recommendations & Best Practices
Nutanix
Use RF3 for business-critical workloads
Enable predictive analytics via Prism Pro
Integrate Calm for runbook-based DR
Hyper-V + SAN/NAS
Optimize MPIO and switch zoning
Use DPM + Hyper-V Replica for VM-level recovery
Migrate to Arc + Azure Backup where possible
Hyper-V + S2D
Use 2-tier caching for write-intensive workloads
Monitor via WAC + Azure Monitor Workbooks
Implement storage QoS and ReFS snapshots
VMware vSAN
Configure SPBM per workload type
Use dedup/compression for capacity savings
Leverage stretched clusters + witness appliance
Azure Local
Enable Defender for Cloud and ASR on all nodes
Use Azure Policy for replication/encryption enforcement
Monitor health via Azure Monitor + Arc Insights
Summary & Use Cases
Use Case Recommended Platform Distributed edge storage Nutanix DFS Centralized high-IOPS DBs SAN/NAS (Hyper-V) Cost-efficient on-prem clusters Hyper-V + S2D vSphere-integrated enterprise storage VMware vSAN Hybrid cloud storage with governance Azure Local
*The thoughts and opinions in this article are mine and hold no reflect on my employer*
