Virtualization Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Highly scalable, helpful technical support, and simple installation
Pros and Cons
  • "VMware vSphere has plenty of features."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use most of the VMware products primarily in server virtualization.

    What is most valuable?

    VMware vSphere has plenty of features.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using VMware vSphere for approximately 20 years.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The scalability of the solution is excellent.

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    How are customer service and support?

    The customer service that VMware provides is good quality.

    How was the initial setup?

    The installation is simple.

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

    The price of the solution could be cheaper compared to others.

    What other advice do I have?

    Though this is an expensive solution it has great functionality, do not try and go too cheap or it will end up costing you more in the long run.

     I rate VMware vSphere a nine out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
    PeerSpot user
    it_user320502 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Asst. manager System Operations with 1,001-5,000 employees
    Real User
    Along with the features of clustering and High Availability, it's also reduced our total cost of ownership and operational time.

    What is most valuable?

    The clustering and High Availability features are very useful and valuable.

    How has it helped my organization?

    After implementing VMware alongside some HP solutions, the total ownership cost was reduced significantly, and operational time was also reduced, which resulted in increased productivity and efficiency.

    What needs improvement?

    Management features for multi-vendor products for complex environment need work.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have six years of core experience in design and configuring VMware solutions.

    What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

    No issues encountered.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    No issues encountered.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    No issues encountered.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Customer Service:

    9/10.

    Technical Support:

    9/10.

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

    We started virtualization with Microsoft Hyper-V v2, but VMware products are more stable and scalable.

    How was the initial setup?

    It's straightforward.

    What about the implementation team?

    The first implementation was done by a vendor team, and after that we completed three upgrade project cycles in house.

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

    The cost of licensing is bit on the high side.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We also looked at Microsoft Hyper-V v2.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
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    VMware vSphere
    March 2024
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    Network and Systems Administrator at Ishango-it
    Real User
    Good for virtualization, stable, and offers visibility into local hardware and workloads
    Pros and Cons
    • "VMware is good for virtualization."
    • "The licensing costs are expensive and most of the important features require a license."

    What is most valuable?

    VMware is good for virtualization.

    What needs improvement?

    The licensing costs are expensive and most of the important features require a license. 

    For example, we would like to use DRS but there is an additional license for that. If it were free then it would be very helpful. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with VMware vSphere for three years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    This product is very stable. It gives you good visibility of your hardware and the loads on it.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Up to now, I haven't had a problem that caused me to contact the technical support team.

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

    I have experience with using Proxmox on a single host for about two months, with Hyper-V. This setup is only in a lab and not for production.

    How was the initial setup?

    For my initial setup, I am not using the entire functionality. We are using vMotion, storage, and clustering.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would rate this solution 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
    PeerSpot user
    Chief Information Officer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
    Consultant
    Helps to migrate from one storage vendor to another. Moves virtual machines off of arrays for maintenance or upgrade.

    What is most valuable?

    • Storage vMotion helps a lot when migrating from one storage vendor to another
    • Storage vMotion migrates a virtual machine and its disk files from one data store to another while the virtual machine is running, with no down time.
    • We can move virtual machines off of arrays for maintenance or upgrade
    • We have the flexibility to optimize disks for performance or to transform disk types

    How has it helped my organization?

    We migrated our storage from IBM DS4700 & V7000 to VNX 5400 smoothly through storage vMotion.

    What needs improvement?

    I would like to see data recovery responsible for the virtual machine snapshot. It is not reliable as the parent snapshot gets corrupted and the whole corresponding snapshots collapse.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using this solution since 2009.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    I did not encounter any issues with stability.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I did not encounter any issues with scalability.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is straightforward. The only complexity appears with inherited network security policies.

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

    Pricing is a little bit high, but you have to value stability, scalability and the support level which are the most valuable parts of any solution.

    What other advice do I have?

    Choose VMware to gain the proper stability, scalability, and flexibility with premium support.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    it_user320607 - PeerSpot reviewer
    System Engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
    Vendor
    We're able to manage our infrastructure of 12,000 users from a central location, although the web client, which uses HTML5, could be better.

    What is most valuable?

    We're able to centrally manage our infrastructure.

    How has it helped my organization?

    Its ability to tie into Veeam is really slick – that makes using Veeam really easy.

    What needs improvement?

    I'd like to see a different client. I know they are doing the HTML5 stuff with the web client, which has potential, but it could be better.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    I think it’s great – we've never had any issues and we've been using it for a long time, about five years.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I think it's really good, it's good for our size and for our future growth. Our company has around 12,000 users.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I haven’t had a lot of interaction because I haven’t really needed to, but when I have they’ve been responsive and support has been good.

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

    No. Our parent company has Hyper-V and it’s no good.

    How was the initial setup?

    It’s pretty straightforward, not complex at all.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    I would highlight compatibility with hosts, ease of use, consistency, reliability – all things that are better than Hyper-V.

    What other advice do I have?

    Peer reviews are significant, but you can tell the most from firsthand experience.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    PeerSpot user
    Virtualization Counsultant at a tech company with 51-200 employees
    Vendor
    The only way to use vmware features like HA, FT, and DRS.

    It is best way to manage your virtualization in your company and its the only way to use vmware features like HA, FT, DRS and so many other features that vmware provides.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    PeerSpot user
    Virtualization Counsultant at a tech company with 51-200 employees
    Vendor
    Fast, manageable, and secure. But no web interface without vCenter

    Valuable Features:

    Fast Manageable Secure Low overhead

    Room for Improvement:

    Little expensive Needs a lot of dependencies No web interface without vCenter
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    it_user2652 - PeerSpot reviewer
    it_user2652Project Manager at a non-tech company with 10,001+ employees
    PopularVendor

    Which SAN is preferred over ESXi? I am using Dell Compellent so far, it seems to be fine. But I have heard people using EMC, HP. I am planning to buy one more storage. Which one do you recommend for ESXi hosts?

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    it_user1104 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Data Center Expert at a tech company with 51-200 employees
    Vendor
    Vmware ESXi - innovation, changing the old traditional ways

    Valuable Features:

    1) Easier way of segmenting the resources. 2) Host profiles - Template to build hosts in minutes. 3) Performance and Graphs - Easy to monitor the hosts 4) Vmotion - In essence, this technique helps you to move a live server between hosts without any downtime. 5) Robust Management Tools 6) Cost saving 7) Advanced memory management - The memory unused in the hosts can be reclaimed and used effectively. 8) High availability

    Room for Improvement:

    The major disadvantage that i can think off is that we have to pay for all the features to be available. Virtualization has made datacentre operations easier. As a sysadmin, managing multiple hosts is more simpler and flexible with the vmware ESXi. Running multiple hosts, operating systems on a single host makes it more efficient and saves costs. ESXi also allows you to pool the resources of several machines effectively, thereby helping to run the application smoothly without hassles.

    Other Advice:

    This gives the technology lovers an opportunity to do all the things they want or need to do at the same time.
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    it_user1068 - PeerSpot reviewer
    it_user1068Tech Support Staff at a tech company with 51-200 employees
    Vendor

    VMware ESXi allows for excellent management of host resources such as memory and CPU processing time.

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    Buyer's Guide
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    Updated: March 2024
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free VMware vSphere Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.