VMware vCenter Reviews

It's a centralized management service used across the platform. Our clients use it to manage their virtual infrastructure's performance and capacity.

If a customer or business requests a hundred DDI to be provisioned for a hundred users, using the provisioning and deployment automation, we can quickly provision from the existing VM workload based on the predefined configuration. So, within five to ten minutes, you'll be able to provision a hundred DDS for the users.

So, the automation capabilities have improved operations overall.

As a cloud service provider, we offer infrastructure as a service using VMware components. 

To centrally manage all ESXi servers, we use vCenter. Its features, such as high availability (HA), Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), and vMotion, make vCenter a unique and valuable product. These features significantly aid my team in delivering superior services to our customers.

As a cloud architect, I'm involved in designing and implementing various solutions, mainly with VMware for virtualization from the computing perspective. 

This includes VMware vCenter, ESXi, VROps, vRealize Automation (vRA), and NSX for networking solutions. My team also works on storage, backup, and security.

I also have experience with VMware vRealize Automation (VRA), which integrates with Center. 

In the past, my team deployed virtual machines for our customers because we couldn't offer a self-service portal or automation solutions. 

With vRealize Automation, we're not only able to automate tasks but also manage vCenter resources efficiently. It allows us to assign resources to customers as needed and provide them with a self-service portal. 

Now, customers can complete tasks independently thanks to automation and workflows in VRA, significantly reducing the need for direct support from my team.

The primary benefit is its user-friendliness. It's not overly complex, allowing new team members to quickly get up to speed. 

Centralized management of ESXi servers and virtual machines is another key advantage, enabling control from a single console. 

This centralized administration, along with vCenter's integration with other VMware products, simplifies the management of our virtual infrastructure.

The integration of vCenter server with any software, whether from VMware or a third party, is smooth and straightforward. We know the required ports and credentials for integration, allowing us to easily integrate vCenter with various products, enhancing our cloud infrastructure.

However, there was a challenge we faced with vCenter, and tried to fix it. Initially, vCenter had its own client console, which was deployed on our laptops to connect to the vCenter server. This client was amazing because it offered a clear view and direct access to vCenter without dependencies. 

However, VMware transitioned from this client software to a web-based console, aiming to eliminate dependencies and make vCenter more accessible. This change introduced challenges, such as the need for patches and browser console errors requiring restarts. 

The web-based interface felt cluttered and complicated compared to the cleaner, more straightforward client interface. This complexity can be overwhelming, especially for those not highly technical. 

This abundance of options on a single screen can be overwhelming, unlike the simplicity of a Google web page where you just type and search.

At the starting phase of my career, I dealt with VMware vCenter for multiple solution propositions for clients. My present company has multiple vCenters deployed across several countries, including UK, Australia, Ashburn in the US and also in Pakistan.

I personally manage multiple vCenters and hosts, I deal with more than 200 hosts that need to be managed. Our company is a huge client of VMware vCenter. 

The DRS, high availability and manageable switches are the most valuable features of VMware vCenter. In our company all the features of VMware vCenter are utilized. The main function of the DRS feature is resource management. For instance, suppose one VM has operations in Node 1, in case of a disaster the DRS feature transfers the VM to another host or cluster. The DRS feature of the solution ensures high availability without any downtime across VMs. 

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.

We use the product to manage all the VMware hosts.

The platform provides a single pane of glass to manage all the VMs. It allows us to consolidate multiple systems into one console.

I am using this solution for centralized management utility. Additionally, I am utilizing it for managing multiple virtual machines with the ESXi host.

I am using vMotion for live migration and storage migrations. I can use vCenter for both now. In vCenter, I can easily manage storage and move it from one server to another, which is beneficial for the environment. If any server is down, I can utilize the storage for different servers. I can easily manage from anywhere. 

Deployments are simple, and optimization can improve security management. Troubleshooting is easy, and it is possible to detect noncompliance configurations, minimizing costs. The deployment does not require high-cost human resources. I use a single dual machine for multiple VMs. This offers many benefits compared to physical servers or machines.

You use vCenter in data center operations as the core of your investment infrastructure, coordinating products like NSX, HSL, HSAX, and Cyber Recovery Manager.

Some of the most valuable features of vCenter are LACP and vSphere Distributed Switches, as they simplify VLAN propagation between hosts and enable networking duplication and replication, particularly beneficial in hyper-converged network environments.

The primary use case is for virtual machine (VM) deployment, configuration of Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), prioritizing products on VMs, and using add-on devices such as hardware, network, and graphics cards. It's mainly used for high-priority tasks and performance management within VMware vSphere and VMware vCenter environments.

VMware vCenter provides centralized management that reduces costs by eliminating the need to purchase products from different vendors. With centralized monitoring and add-on tools like OneLab Remediation and Skyline Advisor, it streamlines operations and improves productivity.