Previously we used Zabbix but it is not capable of analyzing the network flow inside the SDN.

I do not have experience with any other products at this time. 

We used a combination of legacy netflow products, some freeware and the like.

My criteria for selecting a vendor include: is it somebody we already have a relationship with? Do I have to go through the vendor selection process on my end? Is it providing a compelling enough use case to warrant the effort we need to be able to go after it? At a high level, does it fit needs that we have today? What's it going to allow us to get done?

The project workload I have is so high that if it doesn't help me with my day-to-day work, or answer questions or solve a problem, I just don't have time for nice-to-have things. Network Insights has been pretty critical, helping me out. I'm working on so many projects running the business that I need all the help I can get with that. It's been great.

We did not have a previous solution. We have a project to migrate from legacy networks into NSX-T. This solution was installed to facilitate that move, so that we can get there. It was recommended by our VMware TAM Services and by some of the engineers who were working for NSX-T.

The most important criteria when selecting a vendor are access to information, whether it's documentation, knowledge-base articles, or tech support; and stability. There is nothing more frustrating than having to touch the product frequently to make sure that it's up and running for you.

We ended up going with VMware and a VDI solution and this product was a recommendation alongside of that. We looked at it and it looked like it would do the job.

There wasn't really anything similar to this before. We knew that there were things going on, but we really couldn't tell. We didn't know how to get at it and, when we found this solution, it was a no-brainer that we were going to try it. They give you a trial version on it so you can see if it's going to be of value to you before you purchase it. It showed its value right away. This solution came to us. We weren't actively searching for it at that particular time.

The most important criteria when selecting a vendor, for us, are that 

• we know the vendor has been around
• we have confidence in them
• they have a good support system.

We are always going to have issues with products, so if they can help us overcome those issues, then we're much happier with the product.

We came to the conclusion that we needed to invest in a new solution by working with the VMware team. It was not an impulsive decision by any means.

We didn't have anything in this space on the virtual side. As we moved deeper into the virtualized world, we lost some of those traditional physical network visibility tools. We were using some of the native NSX visibility tools incorrectly and causing NSX problems, trying to expose that information to our analysts. This was the solution that they gave us that would fix that. I think AppDefense now adds some of that back, but hopefully, they'll work together.

The most important criteria when we're looking at a vendor are

• reliability
• usability.
  

We had a previous version of the hardware - I'm not going to say who the vendor was - but we had a previous hardware implementation that had to be pulled out and then we had to bring in a newer version of it because it did not meet our needs.

We went with this solution because I was working with that vendor when they actually made good on the deal and made it more attractive for us to stay with their solution instead of going to bid again.

The most important criterion when selecting a vendor is the ease of working with them. Honesty, communication, obviously. We want them to let us know if there are any pitfalls, anything to give us a heads-up on, we'd like to hear that. We've had some problems in the past with some vendors that didn't disclose everything and that caused some challenges. We are definitely looking to work with vendors that are trustworthy.

We did not. Since the NSX footprint growth in data centers the majority of the cloud providers who are the companies start looking for something to have more gradual detail on the infrastructure in how the network goes and what the network traffic is, so it's better for troubleshooting, better for holistic overview of your network infrastructure. Before that, we didn't use anything. That's why the troubleshooting was a bit difficult.

We were buying VMware NSX Enterprise as a security solution, to better lock down our environment. vRealize Network Insight was one of the tools they suggested we get, as part of that package, to make the implementation easier.

The most important criteria when selecting a vendor are

• ease of use
• integration
• interoperability
• support
• vendor reputation.

I have been using VMware since v1.5. I know the reputation and the support and that helped a lot. Also, their being the leader in the industry, the direction they have been going, and their forward-thinking, were all part of our decision to go with them. A lot of the other vendors are playing catch-up or they're plugging into the VMware infrastructure, so why would I go to somebody else when I can go with somebody who owns the code?

We were not previously doing something else. When we were going to NSX, we knew we needed to do this. This is just part of our movement towards that.

We used multiple other tools before. And even now, it's all in parallel. We have different tools running in different domains.

We did not have a previous solution. We just implemented NSX recently, so we just installed vRNI along with that.

We are a heavily compliance-driven, regulatory type of business, so I needed a way to bridge the gap between an operations team that actually does firewall changes and our business stakeholders to see that the changes they made actually met their business requirements. That was the glue that we didn't have before, that was my motivation.

The selection certainly goes hand in hand with NSX, and we're pushing NSX pretty hard. That was a key factor.

We switched to this solution after it was suggested by my TAM.

In terms of selecting a vendor, we have a very stringent vetting process. Thank God, VMware was one of them that met the criteria. It was a no-brainer.

We invested in NSX, so we wanted a tool that would give us visibility into that virtual layer.

When selecting a vendor what's important for us is whether they are able to fulfill the requirements that we have defined in our business case.

We weren't using anything previously. We were going to implement the NSX, so we knew we needed to use this solution.

We've owned NSX for three years and now starting to deploy it, which is why we went with vRNI. We did not even consider another solution to go with it.

As we started moving to more critical applications of this infrastructure, we needed to be able to manage it at a higher level than we had been.