Simple, robust distributed storage for the cloud and on-premise
What do you like best?
I find LINSTOR simple and easy to set up and use, and robust in day to day operations. I find that it "just works", and that latest versions of the software are really a kind of "set and forget" system - you really can just set it up and let it run, and there really isn't a lot else to know. Initial setup is a fairly big task, but I find that Linbit staff are extremely knowledgeable and helpful, and I have never had any hesitation in recommending them to clients and/or potential clients.
What do you dislike?
I find on Linux it gets confusing about which are the official drivers, and which are the ones provided with the Linux distribution. Mixing these can cause variable results, and the documentation sometimes required a bit of wading through to get to the point. A bit more in the way of quick start guides would be valuable. Feedback I get from clients is that the price is too high when compared to other products - for example when compared to the cost of subscriptions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, LINSTOR seems highly priced.
Recommendations to others considering the product:
New LINSTOR installations should not be taken lightly - they do need to be well planned, and do ensure you get the backup of a VAR or other partner that knows the product well. Once this is done, with Linbit behind you, it should be plain sailing.
What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?
Redundancy and high availability of data - this for me has been the biggest use of LINSTOR - making data available on two separate nodes without the need for expensive SAN hardware or software stacks. It is highly capable when it comes to seemless data replication, especially within a local network environment, but has the capability to work well over a WAN link too!
