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    Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026

    Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026: 26 Platforms Scored

    Shared storage platforms for VM clusters, hyperconverged and disaggregated, scored on data services, resilience, performance, hypervisor integration, scale, data protection and security since 2015, plus credibility, risk and lock-in, from public records only.

    Edition October 16, 20266 min read

    Where the field put its effort, 2016 to 2026

    Each square is one capability area in one year, with the score gains of all 26 shared storage for virtualization products added up. The brighter it is, the more the field moved there; 1, 2 and 3 mark that year's biggest pushes.

    ’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26
    Data services core2133
    Resilience and HA1333
    Performance and protocols33213
    Hypervisor integration221
    Scale and topology
    Data protection and DR222
    Security22131
    Operations and automation132
    Hardware and deployment freedom
    Kubernetes and containers211113
    no changesomemoremostHover a square for the summed gain.

    Biggest pushes overall: Kubernetes and containers (+45.5), Security (+33), Data protection and DR (+30).

    Top focus each year: 2016 Resilience and HA; 2017 Data services core; 2018 Operations and automation; 2019 Kubernetes and containers; 2020 Kubernetes and containers; 2021 Kubernetes and containers; 2022 Kubernetes and containers; 2023 Performance and protocols; 2024 Security; 2025 Hypervisor integration; 2026 Security.

    Reports in this series

    Virtualization Storage Ledger Methodology: How Every Score Is Built

    How the Virtualization Storage Ledger scores vSAN, Nutanix, Storage Spaces Direct, Ceph, StarWind, DataCore, LINSTOR, PowerFlex and the rest: fixed anchors, hypervisor coverage and public evidence only.

    Blockbridge: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    Blockbridge is disaggregated iSCSI and NVMe/TCP block storage with a native Proxmox VE plug-in and tenant isolation; its core last shipped in August 2025.

    Ceph: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    The open-source engine inside IBM Storage Ceph, OpenShift Data Foundation, croit and Proxmox VE: block, file and object at any scale, with no vendor of its own.

    croit: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    A small German vendor's management layer and support for upstream Ceph: fast monthly releases and NVMe-oF failover, with no public price list or support policy.

    IBM Ceph: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    The enterprise Ceph with the deepest VMware path: NVMe/TCP, a vSphere plug-in and SRM adapters on a two plus one year support cycle, sold by IBM per TiB.

    JovianDSS: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    JovianDSS is an OpenZFS based SAN and NAS with two-node HA clusters, published prices and partner tiers, serving VMware, Hyper-V and Proxmox VE over every common protocol.

    Lightbits: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    Disaggregated NVMe/TCP block storage with a dated release every two to three months and a public per-TB price; Proxmox VE is still a Tech Preview.

    LINSTOR: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    LINSTOR manages DRBD replication over LVM or ZFS on any Linux host, serving Proxmox VE, XCP-ng, OpenNebula, CloudStack and OpenShift Virtualization, with LINBIT selling the packages.

    Longhorn: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    Replicated block storage for KubeVirt VMs inside SUSE Virtualization; the V2 engine is GA upstream but still a preview where it serves VMs.

    Nutanix AOS: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    AOS matches vSAN on data services and DR inside AHV, and since 2025 it also fronts external arrays, which is where most of its recent effort has gone.

    ONTAP Select: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    ONTAP Select brings ONTAP's data services to ESXi and KVM hosts as a VM, with the full feature set and a narrow set of hypervisors.

    OpenShift ODF: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    Ceph packaged as an OpenShift operator for OpenShift Virtualization only: strong VM-level DR, short support windows, and no life outside OpenShift.

    Portworx: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    KubeVirt VM storage with live migration and zero-RPO sync DR since 3.4.0; the free tier is gone and most release lines get six months of support.

    PowerFlex: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    PowerFlex is the scale-out block layer Dell sells to VMware, Hyper-V, KVM and now Nutanix hosts, rebuilt in 5.0 around erasure coding with no in-place upgrade from 4.x.

    Proxmox Ceph: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    Upstream Ceph packaged into Proxmox VE: installed from the GUI, covered by the Proxmox subscription, usable by Proxmox VE alone, and one release behind upstream.

    S2D: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    S2D is the only storage layer here that comes with the operating system, and Azure Local has turned the same code into a monthly, cloud-billed service.

    Sangfor aSAN: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    China-led HCI storage inside Sangfor HCI with two or three replicas, RDMA and a CSI driver; not ranked because no 2026 release could be verified.

    SANsymphony: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    SANsymphony is the long-running storage virtualization layer on Windows Server hosts, with metro mirroring, immutability since PSP21 and NVMe-oF since 2026.

    SimpliVity: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    SimpliVity is HPE's ProLiant-only HCI with inline deduplication and built-in VM backup, now on term licences and serving ESXi and Morpheus VM Essentials.

    simplyblock: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    Seed-stage NVMe/TCP storage on an SPDK fork for OpenShift Virtualization and Proxmox VE; its DR set was announced in 2026 without a GA label.

    SmartX ZBS: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    China-led block storage inside SMTX OS, VAAI-certified for vSphere since 2022 and with synchronous VM replication since 6.3; release notes are gated.

    StarWind VSAN: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    StarWind VSAN is the two and three node synchronous mirror for small sites, now DataCore owned, with NVMe-oF, Proxmox and XCP-ng support added in 2026.

    StorPool: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    Self-funded block storage for KVM clouds with erasure coding since 2023 and a Proxmox VE listing in 2026; price and lifecycle are not public.

    SvSAN: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    SvSAN is a two-node synchronous mirror for edge sites on vSphere, Hyper-V and Proxmox VE, with a shared witness and seven years of support per release.

    Virtuozzo: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    Virtuozzo Storage offers replicas or erasure coding up to 17+3 inside Virtuozzo's own KVM and OpenStack platform, renamed and repriced in 2026.

    vSAN: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    vSAN is the storage others are measured against inside ESX, and since 2024 it can only be bought as part of a VCF or VVF subscription.

    XOSTOR: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard

    XOSTOR packages LINSTOR and DRBD as the hyperconverged storage of XCP-ng 8.3, supported since June 2025 for pools of three to seven hosts.

    Part of the Virtualization Storage Ledger (edition 2026-10-16). How the scores work: methodology.

    Storage sold inside a VM platform, the Ceph family, software-defined storage you can run on any hypervisor and Kubernetes-native storage share one table. vSAN has the highest capability and the highest commercial risk in the field, which is why it sits mid-table on the balanced index. Upstream Ceph leads the index as an engine: nobody sells it, so its buyer safety counts lock-in alone, as the methodology does for every engine; the Ceph products below it (IBM Storage Ceph, OpenShift Data Foundation, Proxmox VE Ceph, croit) carry the commercial terms. The buyer lenses on the interactive page re-weight the domains for a vSAN exit, Proxmox VE and XCP-ng clusters, KubeVirt, two-node sites, performance and regulated DR.

    Ceph (upstream)IBM Storage Ceph (formerly Red Hat Ceph Storage)Nutanix AOS distributed storage (inside Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure)Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct and Azure Local storageRed Hat OpenShift Data FoundationLINBIT LINSTOR with DRBD (LINBIT SDS)Proxmox VE hyper-converged CephPortworx Enterprise (Portworx by Pure Storage)VMware vSAN (inside VMware Cloud Foundation)DataCore SANsymphonyNetApp ONTAP SelectLightbits (Lightbits Labs)croit (Ceph management and support)SUSE Longhorn (storage of SUSE Virtualization)StorPool StorageDell PowerFlexSmartX ZBS (SMTX OS)Open-E JovianDSSBlockbridgesimplyblockVirtuozzo Storage (inside Virtuozzo Infrastructure)StarWind Virtual SANStorMagic SvSANVates XOSTOR for XCP-ngHPE SimpliVitySangfor aSAN (inside Sangfor HCI) (not ranked)
    Capability today /10080.583.083.573.373.373.168.571.384.376.874.864.570.860.365.374.771.463.364.764.561.557.955.244.959.651.2
    Capability 201553.452.465.70.0n/a42.651.420.154.266.445.5n/an/an/a50.251.3n/a58.5n/an/a45.248.046.8n/a56.645.5
    Capability 202273.170.377.070.255.668.661.744.173.466.468.346.459.346.050.265.958.158.556.2n/a55.950.352.2n/a58.850.0
    Momentum since 2022+7.4+12.7+6.5+3.1+17.7+4.5+6.8+27.2+10.9+10.4+6.5+18.1+11.5+14.3+15.1+8.8+13.3+4.8+8.5+4.1+5.6+7.6+3.0+0.0+0.8+1.2
    Credibility /2519.017.017.017.516.517.016.516.017.015.513.515.514.517.515.012.513.513.012.513.014.013.514.016.013.011.0
    Commercial risk /25 (lower better)n/a11.511.511.513.58.07.013.521.014.012.511.512.08.511.013.014.010.512.013.015.014.010.510.016.013.5
    Technical lock-in /25 (lower better)7.08.014.512.011.55.06.512.015.510.012.08.57.511.08.515.514.07.58.09.511.57.57.57.515.513.0
    Integrator fit /2012.513.013.016.514.09.512.011.513.010.014.511.09.512.010.011.09.011.09.09.510.57.58.010.011.08.5
    AI leverage /203.03.07.57.04.03.03.05.06.05.04.52.03.52.02.05.02.02.03.03.03.02.01.01.52.52.0
    Ledger Index /10067.466.064.362.862.361.461.060.860.759.858.358.058.057.956.854.953.453.152.851.350.349.148.647.345.641.7
    Idea-to-need index0.250.180.330.450.210.130.140.200.430.270.110.130.330.180.080.080.300.000.000.220.180.180.000.110.000.14
    ArchetypeDependable builderDependable builderSharp opportunistIntegrated stackDependable builderDependable builderSteady upstream trackerDependable builderRent extractor with a reference productDependable builder, slow on datesSlow follower, steadily maintainedDependable builderDependable builderDependable builderDependable builderSharp opportunist, thinly documentedDependable builder, low transparencyDependable builder for two-node sitesDependable builder with a quiet coreSharp opportunistSharp opportunist in a rebrand yearDependable builder under new ownershipSharp opportunist at the edgeDependable builder, young productIntegrated stack in transitionMarket-window follower (grade C)

    n/a: the product did not exist yet that year, or the score does not apply (an open-source engine has nothing to buy, so it has no commercial risk score). Not ranked: fails an inclusion test; scored for reference only.

    Capability by domain today

    DomainCeph (upstream)IBM Storage Ceph (formerly Red Hat Ceph Storage)Nutanix AOS distributed storage (inside Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure)Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct and Azure Local storageRed Hat OpenShift Data FoundationLINBIT LINSTOR with DRBD (LINBIT SDS)Proxmox VE hyper-converged CephPortworx Enterprise (Portworx by Pure Storage)VMware vSAN (inside VMware Cloud Foundation)DataCore SANsymphonyNetApp ONTAP SelectLightbits (Lightbits Labs)croit (Ceph management and support)SUSE Longhorn (storage of SUSE Virtualization)StorPool StorageDell PowerFlexSmartX ZBS (SMTX OS)Open-E JovianDSSBlockbridgesimplyblockVirtuozzo Storage (inside Virtuozzo Infrastructure)StarWind Virtual SANStorMagic SvSANVates XOSTOR for XCP-ngHPE SimpliVitySangfor aSAN (inside Sangfor HCI) (not ranked)
    Data services core444.543.53.5434.544.5342.534343.53.5332242.5
    Resilience and HA4.54.54.5444444.54.53.53.543.53.544333.543.53.5333
    Performance and protocols4443.533.52.5344.53.53.53.52.53.53.5443.53.533.53233
    Hypervisor integration3.5443.53.5443.544.53.53333.543.53.542.52.543.533.52
    Scale and topology4.54.54.5443.53.53.54.53.53.5342.53.54.542.52.533.52.52.5232.5
    Data protection and DR3.544.53.543.5344.5443333.53.53.53.52.5332.52242.5
    Security3.543.53.53.52.533.5434332.51.53.53.52.53.5321.5311.52
    Operations and automation444.543.53.53.53.54.543.53.543.53.53.5333.533.52.5333.52.5
    Hardware and deployment freedom54.532.53.54.54.53.533.53.53.54.544.52.53.53.533.5343.53.513
    Kubernetes and containers443.534.54.5153.503.53.51.54.52.533.50342.501002.5

    Capability by year

    YearCeph (upstream)IBM Storage Ceph (formerly Red Hat Ceph Storage)Nutanix AOS distributed storage (inside Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure)Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct and Azure Local storageRed Hat OpenShift Data FoundationLINBIT LINSTOR with DRBD (LINBIT SDS)Proxmox VE hyper-converged CephPortworx Enterprise (Portworx by Pure Storage)VMware vSAN (inside VMware Cloud Foundation)DataCore SANsymphonyNetApp ONTAP SelectLightbits (Lightbits Labs)croit (Ceph management and support)SUSE Longhorn (storage of SUSE Virtualization)StorPool StorageDell PowerFlexSmartX ZBS (SMTX OS)Open-E JovianDSSBlockbridgesimplyblockVirtuozzo Storage (inside Virtuozzo Infrastructure)StarWind Virtual SANStorMagic SvSANVates XOSTOR for XCP-ngHPE SimpliVitySangfor aSAN (inside Sangfor HCI) (not ranked)
    201553.452.465.70.0n/a42.651.420.154.266.445.5n/an/an/a50.251.3n/a58.5n/an/a45.248.046.8n/a56.645.5
    201655.454.465.763.9n/a42.651.431.362.366.454.7n/an/an/a50.251.3n/a58.5n/an/a45.248.046.8n/a56.645.5
    201758.454.470.763.9n/a42.654.431.366.266.465.2n/a59.3n/a50.251.3n/a58.555.0n/a46.048.046.8n/a55.645.5
    201859.259.873.266.2n/a45.955.638.466.266.465.2n/a59.3n/a50.251.3n/a58.555.0n/a46.048.050.4n/a56.845.5
    201968.059.876.066.2n/a59.658.244.166.266.469.041.459.3n/a50.257.955.758.555.0n/a55.948.050.4n/a58.845.5
    202068.867.076.067.755.665.660.244.172.266.469.041.459.342.450.262.555.758.555.0n/a55.948.051.2n/a58.845.5
    202171.370.376.070.255.668.161.744.172.266.467.841.459.346.050.262.555.758.556.2n/a55.948.052.2n/a58.848.0
    202273.170.377.070.255.668.661.744.173.466.468.346.459.346.050.265.958.158.556.2n/a55.950.352.2n/a58.850.0
    202375.571.677.068.762.068.662.553.374.466.470.746.959.346.060.865.961.358.560.9n/a55.955.054.0n/a58.850.0
    202477.074.077.570.064.369.462.554.176.469.571.554.560.849.360.865.965.558.561.9n/a58.455.554.0n/a58.851.2
    202580.576.881.570.869.169.465.570.579.073.072.561.560.852.862.374.767.160.964.760.461.555.555.244.959.651.2
    202680.583.083.573.373.373.168.571.384.376.874.864.570.860.365.374.771.463.364.764.561.557.955.244.959.651.2

    Driver mix, 2023 to 2026 (% of tagged items)

    DriverCeph (upstream)IBM Storage Ceph (formerly Red Hat Ceph Storage)Nutanix AOS distributed storage (inside Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure)Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct and Azure Local storageRed Hat OpenShift Data FoundationLINBIT LINSTOR with DRBD (LINBIT SDS)Proxmox VE hyper-converged CephPortworx Enterprise (Portworx by Pure Storage)VMware vSAN (inside VMware Cloud Foundation)DataCore SANsymphonyNetApp ONTAP SelectLightbits (Lightbits Labs)croit (Ceph management and support)SUSE Longhorn (storage of SUSE Virtualization)StorPool StorageDell PowerFlexSmartX ZBS (SMTX OS)Open-E JovianDSSBlockbridgesimplyblockVirtuozzo Storage (inside Virtuozzo Infrastructure)StarWind Virtual SANStorMagic SvSANVates XOSTOR for XCP-ngHPE SimpliVitySangfor aSAN (inside Sangfor HCI) (not ranked)
    Vision22133329191281430219122718783000201513010013
    Customer need6738222950713836353645714782573850456440153331501025
    Market window019446196821521271270214620271430542769304050
    Upstream110000646000062001400021100701000
    Portfolio03103513602930211800008027001520005013

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