aSVHypervisor
Server virtualisation
The hypervisor layer. Runs your virtual machines with live migration, high availability and automated restart if a node fails, plus VM-level snapshots — the direct replacement for ESXi or Hyper-V.
Sangfor HCI Solutions
← Private Cloud & HCI
Fully integrated hyper-converged infrastructure
Sangfor HCI: the whole stack, from one vendor
Hypervisor, distributed storage and network virtualisation — aSV, aSAN and aNET — in a single platform with one console and one support line. Enterprise-grade capability, with far less to license, learn and operate.
Why Sangfor
Where Sangfor HCI is the right call
Sangfor takes the view that a private cloud should be one product, not four. Compute, storage and networking are designed together and licensed together, which removes most of the integration work — and most of the ways a platform like this normally gets expensive and complicated to run.
- One vendor for the whole stack. Compute, storage and network virtualisation come from the same platform, so there is no integration seam and no argument about whose layer failed.
- Strong price-performance. You get the full stack — hypervisor, storage and network virtualisation — without licensing each layer as a separate product.
- One console, one skill set. Virtual machines, storage, virtual networks and monitoring in a single interface — no specialist required per layer.
- A clean way off ESXi. aSV replaces the hypervisor outright, with tooling to bring existing virtual machines across.
- Network virtualisation included, not extra. aNET builds virtual switches, routers and firewalls in software, so segmentation does not mean buying more hardware.
The platform
Three components, one platform
Sangfor names its layers plainly, which makes a quote easy to read.
aSANStorage
Distributed storage
The drives inside each node pooled into one shared, fault-tolerant store with copies held across nodes. This is what removes the SAN, the fibre fabric and the specialist skills that go with them from the design.
aNETNetwork
Network virtualisation
Virtual switches, routers and firewalls defined in software, so you can draw the network topology you need and segment workloads from each other without re-cabling or adding physical appliances.
All three are managed from the same console, so a change to a virtual network and a change to a virtual machine happen in one place.
Where we see it used
Four situations that lead here
Retiring servers and a SAN together
Both off support in the same window. Three or four nodes replace the lot, and the next expansion is a node rather than an array.
A VMware renewal that no longer fits
aSV replaces ESXi, and the migration is usually the smaller half of the project. We model staying against moving before you decide.
Main site plus a DR site
Replication to a second, smaller cluster — enough to bring the business back up without funding a full second datacenter.
One platform, one skill set
Teams that would rather go deep on a single platform than carry a certification path for every layer of the stack.
Branch and remote sites
A compact cluster per site, managed centrally, where sending a specialist to site is not realistic.
First move off single servers
Where today one physical server failing takes a business system down, and resilience is the actual requirement.
What we do
From assessment to steady state
1 · Assess & size
We measure what you actually run — CPU, memory, IOPS and growth — and size the cluster to it, rather than to a template.
2 · Design
Node specification, aSAN redundancy policy, aNET topology and segmentation, backup integration and failure domains.
3 · Deploy
Procurement, rack and stack, cluster build, console configuration, Active Directory and monitoring integration.
4 · Migrate
Existing virtual machines brought across in planned waves, with rollback at every step and cutover outside business hours.
5 · Operate (optional)
Monitoring, patching, capacity review and SLA-bound escalation — 24/7 if you would rather not carry it in-house.
6 · Optimise
Periodic right-sizing so idle capacity is reclaimed and the next node is bought only when the workload needs it.
Engagement
Two ways to buy it
Option one
Implementation only
We assess, design, procure, build and migrate. You get documentation, a handover session and a platform your team owns outright. No retainer, no ongoing commitment.
Best when you have IT staff who will run day-to-day operations.
Option two — optional
Implementation plus ongoing operations
Add the platform to one of our service plans and we run it with you, or for you.
GigaExtendYou have an IT team. We sit behind them with the platform, tooling and escalation.
GigaManaged ITWe run all of IT, infrastructure included, as your outsourced department.
Questions we get asked
Before you shortlist
What do aSV, aSAN and aNET actually mean?
They are the three layers of the platform. aSV is the hypervisor that runs your virtual machines, aSAN pools the drives in the nodes into shared resilient storage, and aNET builds the virtual network — switches, routers and firewalls — in software. You buy them as one platform, not three products.
How many nodes do we need?
Three is the normal minimum for a resilient cluster, because aSAN needs somewhere to keep its copies while a node is down or being patched. Most deployments we do start at three to six nodes and grow a node at a time from there.
Can we migrate our existing VMware machines?
Yes. Sangfor provides tooling to bring existing virtual machines onto aSV, and we run the migration in waves so each one can be validated before the next. Nothing is deleted from the old environment until you are satisfied.
Do we still need a separate backup product?
Yes, and this catches people out. Snapshots and replication protect against hardware failure — they do not protect against ransomware or a deletion that copies faithfully to every node. See backup solutions for the off-site copy that belongs alongside the cluster.
When would you recommend Nutanix instead?
When you need the widest possible platform rather than the most integrated one — the deepest DR orchestration and failover testing, the broadest automation ecosystem, or a requirement to keep ESXi running somewhere while you migrate. Nutanix goes further in those specific directions.
Find out what a Sangfor cluster would cost you
We assess what you run today, size the cluster against it, and give you an honest recommendation — including the case for Nutanix, or for staying where you are.