VMware vCenter Reviews

The product has broad use cases. Our customers use it for mission-critical production environments, general hosting, or for private cloud environments,

It's a very good tool for centralized management. It is a powerful tool, but it's a very basic tool. We can leverage its full power only when we include other tools like vROps. The solution is feature-rich, but it is not rich enough. We have to buy more VMware products to make it more valuable.

The product is strong in host profiles and standardization. It is much easier to manage than Hyper-V. The high availability has contributed to the efficiency of our operations. I rate it a nine out of ten. It is really good. As a basic tool, it is fine.

We have to buy more VMware products to leverage the centralized management. It doesn't come with Network Insight and vROps. The only challenge we're currently having is Broadcom buying VMware. It will be a big challenge because we don't know what is changing from a licensing perspective, from perpetual to subscription. Many of our customers are planning to migrate away due to the uncertainty.

I have been reselling the product for 20 years.

The tool is stable enough.

The scalability is adequate. Many customers do not scale beyond the limits of the tool. Our customers are small, medium, and large businesses.

The technical support is not the best. Other partners are more responsive.

Neutral

The tool is easy to deploy if someone has the right skills. If someone has skills, it's pretty easy. One person is enough to deploy the solution. It is easy to maintain.

The return on investment is pretty good.

The solution is expensive. The price could be improved. Our customers pay for monthly and annual licenses. With Broadcom buying VMware, everything is going to be subscription-based. The license and support costs are typically bundled together.

The product is on par with Prism Central. However, Prism Central is a little bit less complex.

The vendor must bundle more software into vCenter. Network Insight and vROps must not cost us additionally. It should be bundled with the solution. Overall, I rate the product an eight out of ten.

We utilize VMware vCenter for monitoring hosts, migrating virtual machines, and monitoring server performance.

Our infrastructure management has been greatly enhanced, particularly with features like vMotion being crucial for our operations.

The management and monitoring capabilities have significantly influenced our operational efficiency, proving to be highly beneficial for our needs.

The most valuable aspect for us is the ability to monitor all servers simultaneously and effortlessly move them between hosts. Additionally, adjusting server specifications such as CPU, memory, or storage capacity, whether increasing or decreasing, is incredibly convenient and beneficial for our operations.

The scalability features provided by VMware vCenter supported the growth of our organization.

There are numerous scattered versions of plugins compatible with VMware, which can be challenging to manage. Consolidating these plugins into a unified environment with customizable options to enable or disable features would be highly beneficial. Additionally, the ability to work with hardware beyond the compatibility list would add further value to the platform.

I have been working with it for five years.

The stability is exceptionally high, providing a seamless experience. I would rate it a perfect ten out of ten.

It is scalable given that I have sufficient hardware resources. If I decide to add more hardware, I can do so easily, but it's essential to select the appropriate hardware services before making any purchases. We have more than one hundred and fifty users. I would rate it seven out of ten. It is continuously in use, running throughout the entire day.

Previously, we utilized hardware, primarily within a Microsoft environment. However, we transitioned to VMware due to its capability to move servers without downtime. This flexibility makes it incredibly user-friendly and adaptable.

Our deployment was done by a third-party system integrator. The process was completed within a few hours.

In terms of return on investment, VMware proves to be cost-effective, especially when considering the long-term perspective. Evaluating its cost-effectiveness requires a considerable duration due to its long-term impact.

The pricing is significantly high. I would rate it ten out of ten.

I would recommend it to others considering implementation, particularly if they have a sufficient budget. However, for those with budget constraints, there are alternative solutions, including open-source options, albeit not as comprehensive as VMware. Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten.

Our primary use case for VMware is in our IT environment, specifically within our data center for our Enterprise Application Testing (EAT) server.

The product has improved our system's proactive support for in-built AI tools. It automatically identifies potential issues and helps customers with feedback.

The product's most valuable feature is the ability to clone and snapshot the process for POC.

vCenter's demo functionality needs enhancement. One notable area for enhancement revolves around cost considerations, as introducing features such as DDoS protection or data compression could reduce expenses. We have an infrastructure comprising around 200 VMs that require approximately 20 terabytes of storage for efficient data management. The deduplication and compression features help organizations manage large numbers of servers, streamline operations, reduce storage requirements, and navigate capacity upgrades more seamlessly.

Nowadays, all the products have cloud functionality. Thus, they could introduce a hybrid cloud system and a unified licensing model. We have to buy several SLM licenses for different components, including a demo. Instead, they could include all functionalities in one license.

We have been using VMware vCenter since 2010.

I rate the platform's stability an eight out of ten. Whenever we encounter any technical issues, the support team resolves them.

VMware vCenter is suitable for medium enterprises. We use the product for user acceptance testing and for providing cyber security for product and test environments. Thus, we are using a substantial number of 18 servers in our business infrastructure.

However, Nutanix is more scalable than VMware. We can host as many clusters as required using it.

The initial setup is simple. However, Nutanix has a simpler process.

The platform is highly-priced. It is suitable for medium enterprises. We use the product for user acceptance testing and for providing cyber security for product and test environments. Thus, we are using a substantial number of eighteen servers in our business infrastructure.

However, Nutanix is more scalable than VMware. We can host as many clusters as required using it.

We have evaluated Microsoft Hyper V, Nutanix, and other vendors along with VMware vCenter. Among them, Nutanix is more preferable.

VMware vCenter provides excellent flexibility in terms of managing virtual infrastructure. We can provision services anytime. We can easily create a distribution suite and manage networks. I rate the platform's efficiency for multicluster operations an eight out of ten.

I rate the overall product an eight out of ten.

Our clients normally use VMware vCenter for centralized management of different VMware hypervisors, mainly in private networks and private edge computing platforms.

The most valuable feature of VMware vCenter is the centralized management that allows us to see resources from different data centers and VMware clusters in a single dashboard.

We're currently working with VMware vCenter to manage two different VMware ESXi hosts. That lets you configure alarms, centralized security management, centralized VM deployment, automation, VM migration, and VM backups.

You cannot configure a centralized firewall with VMware vCenter. You need to go one by one, cluster by cluster, hypervisor by hypervisor, and VM by VM from VMware vCenter. VMware vCenter does not have a centralized security dashboard, and it is pretty tedious to configure.

I have been using VMware vCenter for four years.

I rate the solution a seven out of ten for stability.

Our clients are usually pretty big businesses that are more digital transformation-oriented.

The solution's technical support is pretty bad. The only way we received support was by reaching out to the upper company layers to ask for support through the company alliance.

Negative

On a scale from one to ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy, I rate the solution's initial setup a six to seven out of ten.

It takes a few hours to deploy the solution, and it's not a fast deployment.

The solution's pricing is not too bad for big companies. The solution is pretty expensive for small businesses because there are few lower-scale VMware vCenter solutions. The cost-effectiveness of VMware vCenter is pretty good, and I rate it at nine out of ten.

We're working with small workloads, and it's been more about technological validation. We have demonstrated to the client all the capabilities they would have by installing VMware vCenter and what they can monitor with VMware vCenter. I would recommend the solution to other users.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

We use the platform to administer virtual machines deployed on several servers.

Implementing VMware vCenter has significantly improved our organization's IT infrastructure management. It has added to our knowledge base as well. Before deploying vCenter, our teams faced challenges in manually managing desktops.

The most valuable features of VMware vCenter for our organization include its centralized management capabilities and the ability to handle virtual machines across multiple ESXi hosts efficiently. We log into the center that acts as a single pane of glass, helping us oversee all physical hosts and dependent components, combining all the resources.

VMware vCenter is an expensive product. Its price needs improvement.

We have been using VMware vCenter for a year.

It is a stable platform.

It is a scalable platform.

The initial setup of VMware vCenter was a complex process for our organization. The deployment process involves installing the vCenter Server software on a Windows-based machine.

As an end user, we engaged with a distributor or partner to facilitate the implementation. They conducted knowledge-sharing sessions and administered the platform for our team.

The product's three-year license package is inexpensive.

VMware vCenter helps us optimize infrastructure by resource provision, performance monitoring, and managing user access from a single console. Its performance management plays an instrumental role in day-to-day center operations.

In case of any system downtime from users' back-end or availability issues, it reallocates to another host. It is a good solution that was internally built and developed over time. I advise others to use it if cost is not an issue.

I rate it a nine out of ten.

We use the product to manage different hosts.

The product's technical support services could be better.

We have been using VMware vCenter for three years. At present, we are using the latest version.

I rate the platform's stability an eight out of ten.

We can add many hosts to the vCenter, and it performs well. I rate the scalability a nine out of ten.

The technical support team needs improvement.

For the deployment, we utilize the vSphere hypervisor system. It takes an hour to complete.

I rate the process a ten out of ten.

The platform has reasonable pricing.

The platform is very effective for managing virtual infrastructure. It has improved our virtual infrastructure and virtual machine deployment in several ways. It provides a centralized platform for managing hosts and enables seamless VM migrations using vMotion.

The monitoring feature is the most valuable part of our daily operations. We have also seen improvements in troubleshooting and performance monitoring, especially when hosts encounter issues. Overall, it's beneficial for maintaining optimality.

It has enhanced our virtual environment management. Specifically, it has improved our ability to create and manage virtual machines efficiently.

The product is good, stable, and easy to deploy. I rate it an eight out of ten.

There are multiple scenarios to consider. One important aspect is the use of snapshots, which are helpful for building anything on Azure. With snapshots, we can capture the state of a virtual machine and revert back to it, using VMware's features. Another valuable feature is vMotion, which allows us to manage and migrate virtual machines from one node to another. This capability is particularly useful for ensuring high availability; if there's an issue with a node, we can seamlessly migrate the virtual machines to another node.

It is easier to manage a larger number of nodes per cluster. Currently, if we are managing a minimum of 64 nodes in a single cluster, that capacity can be increased. Another notable feature is migration, facilitated by VMwareSync. There are minimum memory and CPU requirements, but these can be scaled up along with additional CPU resources for virtual machines, thereby enhancing the available features.

if VMware can introduce multiple other good features, it will further help us work.

I have been using VMware vCenter for ten years.

I rate the solution’s stability a ten out of ten.

Scalability is  impressive. I've worked with clusters comprising 15-16 nodes. VMware vCenter can manage up to 64 nodes in a single cluster, which is a substantial increase.

More than 5,000 users are using this solution.

I rate the solution’s scalability a ten out of ten.

The initial setup is easy and takes an hour to complete. It comes with ready-to-use templates for virtual machines. 

We will download the OEM template from the vCenter side, and then deploy it on the server wherever we need it.

I rate the initial setup a nine out of ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy.

The product is cheap. It is a one time purchase.

I rate the product’s pricing a out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.

The GUI interface for the monitoring tool is good. We have VMware security features integrated, which is beneficial. Data encryption and robust infrastructure are additional advantages.

One feature is DRS which manages virtual machines. Thus, it migrates virtual machines, adjusting the resources in the background.

Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

VMware vCenter helps in managing virtual infrastructure's performance and capacity.

VMware vCenter manages cluster nodes and carries configuration for VM setups. It allows for the allocation of resources such as memory, virtual CPUs, and virtual disks when creating VMs.

We typically manage VMs after the OS is installed. vCenter simplifies VM management by allowing for the configuration and operation of VMs once an OS, like Windows, is installed.

The vMotion feature of vCenter supports disaster recovery and VM migration strategies by moving the VMs on the nodes. If there's a problem on the nodes, we usually use vMotion. 

For data protection, we still take snapshots to create copies of data on the nodes. It's not a true backup, but it's a file copied for data redundancy.

vCenter is central to VMware. Without it, configuring other tools or clustering nodes would be impossible. vCenter is the best tool for VMware.

Cluster configuration, data protection, and snapshots are essential for operational efficiency and are facilitated by vCenter.

Sometimes, vCenter management can be difficult if you forget the password. You can't change or recover the password easily. We then have to reinstall vCenter, which means reconfiguring everything. That's a challenge we've encountered. Also, if the vCenter license expires, it will lock the VMs for security purposes.

So, the improvements could focus on management, password recovery, and integration challenges.

VMware has been with our company for more than 20 years. I personally joined in 2012. So, the solution was already a part of the company. 

It's stable.

It is a scalable solution. 

The customer service and support are good. 

Positive

The initial setup is easy. 

It's easy for us to perform the basic installation. However, when it comes to advanced installations or technologies within VMware, which has many updating tools, we sometimes face difficulties due to a lack of knowledge in those areas.

My role is technical; I take care of implementation. The time required for deployment depends on the client's desired configuration and the tools being installed. Installing just VMware vSphere can take about 30 minutes. However, installing and configuring additional devices typically takes half a day or even a full day for a whole vCenter setup.

We sometimes face challenges in regard to integration, especially in networking. Issues like incorrect IP addresses configured on each node can lead to errors. Addressing these issues involves searching for or changing IPs for the servers. Sometimes, the network cards or ports may also have defects.

One person can manage and maintain the solution. However, if there are multiple servers or rapid access needs, it becomes impractical for a single person to maintain everything efficiently. For larger setups, such as nine faster nodes or more, additional technical personnel are necessary.

It's important to have knowledge in VMware installation or implementation before purchasing.

Overall, I would rate the solution a ten out of ten.