System Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
We switched to vSphere from IBM Power because the hardware is cheaper.
Pros and Cons
  • "Virtualised automation is a useful feature."
  • "The pipeline feature can be improved, as it doesn't allow for specific situations."

What is our primary use case?

We are just beginning on vSphere. In the next two and three years, I would like to explore the virtualized automation.

What is most valuable?

Virtualised automation is a useful feature.

What needs improvement?

The pipeline feature can be improved, as it doesn't allow for specific situations.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using vSphere for about 2 years. 

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Because vSphere is a minimal interface, it tends to be stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

As you can set up various environments, vSphere is very scalable. In the future, we may consider switching from vSphere to Hyper-V.

How are customer service and support?

We purchased the OEM, but not from VMware. We bought it from HPE. The first year of support provided by HPE is okay for now.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

IBM Power. We switched to vSphere from IBM Power because the hardware is cheaper.

How was the initial setup?

The setup of vSphere is straight forward. I have set up a few vSphere environments.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

vSphere is very expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I would give vSphere 9 out of 10, as it is easy to use, and there is good support available.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Information System Engineer at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
It provides a centralized management interface for ESXi hosts.

What is most valuable?

A lot of the features of this product are valuable to us such as vMotion, HA, online modify VM specs, etc.

How has it helped my organization?

vCenter provides a centralized management interface for ESXi hosts. It's not only a management tool but also a performance monitor. It's easy for us to update hundreds of ESXi hosts in a few weeks. It helps us manage thousands of VMs.

What needs improvement?

vCenter is much more important than ever. The vCenter HA solution is the area in which VMware should improve. (I know vCenter version 6.5 has a similar feature, but it's not released yet.)

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used this solution for more than 10 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have not encountered any stability issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

VMware's strategy is a step away from Windows. In the future, they will focus on virtual appliances. The only pain is it's risky to migrate from vCenter Windows to a virtual appliance.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I'm also using Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 along with SCVMM 2012 R2. It's really painful for VMware users since Microsoft's hypervisor solution has a lot of bugs/problems and is hard to fix.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is a wizard. You just need to follow default settings to finish the setup, then it is ready to work with. If you are using a virtual appliance, then the only thing you need to do is import to the ESXi host.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

vCenter is expensive. It's worse to buy if you have a high volume of ESXi hosts.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated another solution namely the SCVMM 2012 R2 solution.

What other advice do I have?

For new users, virtual appliance is the best choose as it is saving costs and is much easier to set it up as well.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user616125 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user616125Works at a pharma/biotech company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User

Veeam ONE trial product is quite impressive BUT expensive per socket licensing model

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VMware vSphere
March 2024
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it_user331866 - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief General Manager at SVC Bank
Vendor
Our entire banking operation is virtualized and we can switch between servers if there's latency or slow responsiveness.

Valuable Features

We use vMotion a lot and use vCenter to manage the entire set-up.

Improvements to My Organization

Our entire banking operation is virtualized-- the application and data centers are all virtualized. It’s become easy for us to switch between servers if there's latency or slow responsive. We can switch to servers with more resources.

Use of Solution

We’ve been using it for last six years.

Stability Issues

We bought NetApp FAS storage and vSphere together, and it’s worked well. All our critical applications run on vSphere and FAS.

Scalability Issues

It goes hand in hand with growth of our business. We've used the enterprise edition and moved from 5.5 to 6.0 with no issues.

Customer Service and Technical Support

It’s a more stabilized product. Once configured properly, you don’t need support. In the last six years, we haven’t had to call them at all except for the initial setup.

Initial Setup

It was complex because we experimented by keeping data and system volumes separate. We don’t replicate the system volumes frequently. We were able to do it though, and we used only 1/10 of the bandwidth with the combination of FAS and vSphere.

Other Solutions Considered

Microsoft Hyper-V is giving them a run for the money as vSphere is more expensive. I’m already on enterprise version of Hyper-V, running both it and vSphere.

Other Advice

VMware is not as proactive. They’re not willing to correct some problems I've faced. So VMware should be a bit more flexible in their engineering. I always tell them that with the architecture I've put in place, I can’t use SRM at all, but whatever SRM does, I can do manually, yet I can’t automate it.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user320484 - PeerSpot reviewer
Program Manager at a mining and metals company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Vendor
We've been able to consolidate and distribute our infrastructure across multiple data centers. Its support for non-Windows platforms could be improved, though.

Valuable Features

Flexibility and inter-operability with other technologies are valuable features.

Improvements to My Organization

  • Our ability to attain our 100% virtualization goal
  • Being able to consolidate and distribute our infrastructure across multiple data centers

Room for Improvement

One of the biggest thing is support for non-Windows platforms, especially virtualized desktops which is big across Department of Education. It's only just been released so it's one of their most immature offerings and has room to improve and grow. A lot of the recent improvements have been leaning towards small businesses but in government we don’t have those challenges.

Stability Issues

I’ve been a VMWare customer for over a decade and we’ve experience more uptime when we were dependent on physical infrastructure.

Scalability Issues

Scalability is great – it allows us to be more resilient and more disaster resay organization. We can move workloads across the organization and keep uptime high.

Customer Service and Technical Support

Technical support has always been good – extremely responsive especially in the DC area. They are used across government and we are able to even get onsite support when we need it.

Initial Setup

Initial setup was easy and any change we make to the environment has been easy. We have made changes to VMWare based on our discoveries. Government usage can be very different than private sector so were able to communicate different feedback from private sector clients.

Other Solutions Considered

VMware has been the hypervisor of choice for a while, now we are seeing off-premise cloud technology like AWS, Azure and others. VMware is trying to allow you to move workloads on premise and off premise to those kind of technologies.

Other Advice

Everything is going in the right track so I would ultimately recommend the product. Peer reviews are 10/10 – extremely important.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Network and Security Engineer at a logistics company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Lets us publish our internal server virtually and with a high degree of stability
Pros and Cons
  • "In terms of overall features, vSphere's stability stands out on top. Not only is it highly stable, but we're also able to have a quick backup server on standby."
  • "Without a lot of physical RAM on the hardware, it's not very effective. The stability could be improved in cases like this."

What is our primary use case?

We use vSphere for virtualization in the IT center. It's the solution we use for publishing our server which supports up to 1,000 users currently. With vSphere, stability comes easily; it's nothing like physical hardware.

What is most valuable?

In terms of overall features, vSphere's stability stands out on top. Not only is it highly stable, but we're also able to have a quick backup server on standby.

What needs improvement?

Without a lot of physical RAM on the hardware, it's not very effective. The stability could be improved in cases like this. In addition, I would like to see easier and more widely available integration options.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using VMware vSphere for three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's a stable product and we have a backup server in case anything goes wrong with the virtual server we have running. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

For our business case, the scalability is good enough. 

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is all right. 

How was the initial setup?

Installation is very easy when it comes to virtualization of machines by the hypervisor. It only takes about 20 minutes.

What about the implementation team?

We have three members that handle deployment and ongoing maintenance. These are two administrators plus a senior staff member.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

In order to maintain stability, you should ensure that your physical machine is equipped with enough RAM, else it becomes ineffective. 

What other advice do I have?

I can recommend vSphere without hesitation. I would rate it an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Infrastructure Senior Specialist at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
Real User
Helps to create infrastructure
Pros and Cons
  • "VMware vSphere has helped us create our infrastructures and provide services for our customers."
  • "The UI of VMware could use some improvements, especially in dark mode."

What is our primary use case?

I use VMware solutions every day. We use VMware 6.7. We are unable to update because of hardware compatibility concerns.

Our day-to-day operation is building virtual machine applications. 

How has it helped my organization?

We are a small company. We are moving to the private cloud along with the VMware solution, starting with building computers, then storage virtualization, and then network virtualization. VMware vSphere has helped us create our infrastructures and provide services for our customers.

What needs improvement?

The UI could use some improvements, especially in dark mode. There are some features not enabled or do not function as expected.

I would like to see VMware try a new service like Blockchain.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using VMware vSphere since 2009.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

VMware has been stable. The performance is good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

All the features of VMware vSphere fit our organization and are compatible.

How are customer service and support?

We had a problem one month ago. Technical support was really able to help us.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of VMware was easy. I did not experience any problems or have any difficulty. It took two days to deploy.

What about the implementation team?

We used a local partner to implement the solution.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution has standard licensing fees. Support is the only additional cost.

What other advice do I have?

VMware vSphere are leaders in virtualization. The capital investment is high, but it is efficient.

I would rate it a ten out of ten. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Ryan Dave Brigino - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer at Es'hailSat
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
A straightforward setup with good stability and the capability to scale
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution can scale well."
  • "The solution is quite expensive."

What is our primary use case?

We are primarily using the solution as our virtualization platform.

We procure some licenses for vSphere Standard and we are using it to replicate to VM so that we can have at least that level of redundancy. On the upcoming project for VxRail, we'll be using it for a hyper-converged platform, where you can have high availability and failover capability in real-time.

What is most valuable?

The solution has been quite stable.

The solution can scale well.

We found the initial setup to be pretty straightforward.

What needs improvement?

The solution is quite expensive.

I haven't evaluated or looked at any other solutions for the most part and therefore can't speak to any aspect that is really lacking compared to what else is on the market.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the solution for about five years at this point. It's been a while.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable. The performance is good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is quite scalable. We ordered a solution where the initial number of nodes is just three, however, after the design, it can grow up to 64 nodes.

If it's deployed on a hyper-converged solution, yes, it will be scalable.

Only the system admins use the solution. There are around not more than 10.

We plan to continue to use the solution and to scale it up, as we build out our infrastructure.

How are customer service and technical support?

We bought the solution through a Dell partner and we get support through them if we need it. We don't deal directly with VMware. I can't speak to how their technical support services are. Our Dell partner connection acts as a middle man between our company and VMware, therefore, they deal with VMware directly.

How was the initial setup?

The solution is pretty simple to set up if it's a stand-alone.

We have two departments that have technical teams that can handle maintenance on the solution.

What about the implementation team?

We used an integrator that was a VMware partner and they assisted us with the implementation process.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We are currently buying some more licenses to be able to move to version 7.

The solution is expensive, however, due to the criticality of the features on offer, for us, it's worth the cost.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I haven't really looked at too many other solutions, other than Hyper-V. VMware seems to be way better overall if you compare just those two.

What other advice do I have?

We are currently in the process of moving to version 7 of the solution.

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten. We've been mostly quite satisfied with the solution overall. I'd recommend it to other companies.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Autodidact Quantum Physics- Quantum mechanics. at IC Consultancy
Real User
Best way to have a non-host based fixed solution
Pros and Cons
  • "The virtualization is set by itself. vSphere is the best way to have a non-host based fixed solution. We always try to find an agnostic environment where we can restore agnostics or just say, "I need resources, capacity." That's why VMware vSphere in particular, has been the best in the past but now also with the evolution of their product. Nowadays, you don't have to use any STEM infrastructure anymore because the bandwidth and the land speeds are getting steeper."
  • "The only way for it to be a complete product is if you integrate all the functionalities. Then you don't need any backup solution anymore and you can do it by yourself. Integration needs improvement. They should improve a lot of the functionality because normally it's half of a product. You're only protecting yourself against technical failures but not against any cyber threats or any other stuff."

What is most valuable?

The virtualization is set by itself. vSphere is the best way to have a non-host based fixed solution. We always try to find an agnostic environment where we can restore agnostics or just say, "I need resources capacity." That's why VMware vSphere in particular, has been the best in the past but now also with the evolution of their product. Nowadays, you don't have to use any STEM infrastructure anymore because the bandwidth and the LAN speeds are getting steeper. 

If you look at the interconnection if you have a dark fiber connection, you can have data sent between locations. It's getting much cheaper.

If you use Zerto on top of that, then you are protected against any cyber threats or attacks. If you do it right, if you configure it from the hypervisor layer to external storage and then you have always a way back. It's blocked by the application of the journal. You can always go back to a point in time if you want to restore. If the point in time is as short as possible then you have the best solution. You can leave any additional solutions like CrowdStrike.

What needs improvement?

The only way for it to be a complete product is if you integrate all the functionalities. Then you don't need any backup solution anymore and you can do it by yourself. Integration needs improvement. They should improve a lot of the functionality because normally it's half of a product. You're only protecting yourself against technical failures but not against any cyber threats or any other stuff. It's not about prevention, it's about time to recovery because it's going to happen anyway. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using vSphere for twelve years. 

How was the initial setup?

It was very easy to install. If you have the right piece of hardware or blade server in place, you can use it in a VM where you try XYZ and then install it. You go forward with that and it's ready to install, so it's not a big problem.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate vSphere and 9.5 out of ten. 

I really like it because it's a storage restoration additional add-on but it's really expensive now. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free VMware vSphere Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free VMware vSphere Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.