Our primary use case of this solution is for implementing the private cloud over the system center.
Program Architect (Microsoft) with 5,001-10,000 employees
The virtualized applications is a good feature, but the setup of the solution was complex
Pros and Cons
- "The virtualized applications and real time audition of the VMA is quite a good feature."
- "The initial setup was complex. It was nearly six years ago, but I remember it was complicated."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
Hyper-V 2016 is very impressive. The virtualized applications and real-time addition of the VMA is quite a good feature, which is competitive to VMware. It's not VMware but it's close to it and is a competitor.
What needs improvement?
The networking portion of Hyper-V needs improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
More than five years.
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November 2024
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable product. We have over 100 users and we are growing towards a more virtualized solution.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have previous experience with Citrix and VMware products.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was complex. It was nearly six years ago but I remember it was complicated.
What was our ROI?
The price of this solution makes it a worthwhile purchase for our organization. We have all of the features we need within a cost-effective solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
This product costs less than other competitor products on the market.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Manager of Engineering with 1,001-5,000 employees
Hyper-V 2012 - Well done Microsoft
Valuable Features:
The best hypervisor in the market! From Server 2008 to Server 2012 Hyper-v technology has evolved rapidly.As more organisations are using virtualisation, key features like VM replication, Virtual SAN Manager and Live migrations - enable organisations to design fail over and backup solutions, without the need to purchase other products.We have been evaluating Hyper-2012 server core for 3 months, up to now - we have had no issues with any virtual machines or the underlining operating system.
Room for Improvement:
To manage Windows Hyper-V Server 2012, you need an additional server 2012 server. Not very cost effective - I think Microsoft should consider pushing a Hyper-V Management console update to Server 2008 R2 to be able to manage Hyper-V 2012.Hyper-V is definitely our preferred Hypervisor. With its simple configuration console, setting up a Virtual Server is very simple. Multiple Hyper-V servers are easier to manage when integrated into a domain network, when you have a standalone server (especially server core) it can be difficult to manage.
Other Advice:
Hyper-V is a must have if you have a subscription with Microsoft’s MSDN program
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Hyper-V
November 2024
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Manager, Information Technology at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees
It's good for small or medium-sized environments, but if you want to scale larger you should consider something else
Pros and Cons
- "It's good for what it does. If you have a small or medium-scale acclimatization, it's an excellent solution."
- "I'd like to see better predictive diagnostics, so I know what's going on with the machines."
What needs improvement?
I'd like to see better predictive diagnostics, so I know what's going on with the machines.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Hyper-V since about 2012.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Hyper-V has been pretty good. I have no complaints about the stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It scales well so far, but I think we're nearing the edge of that. We have somewhere in the region of about 200 users.
How are customer service and support?
The support could be better.
How was the initial setup?
I can't say setting up Hyper-V was particularly complicated. The deployment was about two months with the help of some integrators.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I think I'm okay with the cost. There are no monthly or yearly costs or additional costs.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Hyper-V seven out of 10. It's good for what it does. If you have a small or medium-scale acclimatization, it's an excellent solution. But in terms of scaling larger, you might want to consider something else.
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.
Technical Account Manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
User-friendly GUI, good technical support, but security needs improvement
Pros and Cons
- "I have found the GUI user-friendly and having the solution be a Windows application makes it familiar to users."
- "VMware has antivirus protection that covers the entire VM. If Microsoft could have something similar to this in Hyper-V, that would be great."
What is our primary use case?
We use Hyper-V for virtualization.
What is most valuable?
I have found the GUI user-friendly and having the solution be a Windows application makes it familiar to users.
What needs improvement?
VMware has antivirus protection that covers the entire VM. If Microsoft could have something similar to this in Hyper-V, that would be great. Currently, in Hyper-V, we have to have a separate antivirus for each VM. If there could be umbrella coverage to the entire setup, then that would be beneficial.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Hyper-V for approximately 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution could be more stable as it is vulnerable to viruses, ransomware, and malware.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have approximately 100 customers using this solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
The support from Microsoft is good.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is very easy, it takes approximately 30 minutes.
What about the implementation team?
We have three supporting engineers that do the implementation of the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a perpetual license to use the solution and there are additional fees for support.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Hyper-V a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Network Administrator at Automated Outsourcing services
User-friendly, stable, and the technical support is good
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is that it is user-friendly and easy to use."
- "There is a problem with high-availability if the load is too high."
What is our primary use case?
We use Hyper-V for managing our virtual infrastructure.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is that it is user-friendly and easy to use. All you have to do is mount the VM and start it.
What needs improvement?
There is a problem with high-availability if the load is too high.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Hyper-V for eight years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is generally good, although it depends on the size of your workload.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability really depends on how much you want to expand.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support from Microsoft is good and they're able to easily assist you.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing is good for a data center environment.
What other advice do I have?
Hyper-V is a product that I recommend.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Manager IT at a healthcare company with 201-500 employees
Memory size is increased and reduced as per requirement
Pros and Cons
- "We have a higher capacity server (specification wise) so there is no need to buy another additional hardware."
- "It should be deployed with OS so there is no need to install OS separately, only select the OS and get it ready."
What is our primary use case?
We have installed a domain controller in Hyper-V, also managing arbitrator for SimpliVity. We are using it for HPE SimpliVity.
How has it helped my organization?
We have a higher capacity server (specification wise) so there is no need to buy another additional hardware.
What is most valuable?
Memory size is increased and reduced as per requirement. It's the same disk size we also use.
What needs improvement?
It should be deployed with OS so there is no need to install OS separately, only select the OS and get it ready.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Hyper-V for two years.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
A good product of Microsoft
IT at a non-profit
Stable with a high rate of availability
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is the high availability of the solution."
- "The corrupted volume is a problem."
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the high availability of the solution.
What needs improvement?
The corrupted volume is a problem.
For how long have I used the solution?
Less than one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is pretty stable.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used to use VMware.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was very complex. It needs to be simplified. It took us about a day to deploy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing is pretty straightforward.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to someone considering this solution is to back up the whole configuration. Also, you have to have things well documented and to take into consideration the maintenance times. Furthermore, updating the operating systems, host operating systems and guest operating systems is extremely important, otherwise, it could lead to unnecessary downtime.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
I am a little surprised to find that the initial setup was difficult. Maybe it was due to your VMware habits. My suggestion is to start with a simple but working configuration and as you learn more about the system, add elements such as NIC teaming or migration. In case of problems, you can go back one step, read the documentation and solve the problem.
My second advice is to read blogs on backup vendors sites like Astaro and Veeam. They have excellent articles about some difficult and sometimes screwed up Hyper-V aspects like using VLANs on teamed NICs.
Systems Architect at UST Global
Realized benefits in the smaller data center space, power, and cooling, in addition to the benefit from the virtualization layer
Pros and Cons
- "The organization has realized the benefits on smaller data center space, power, cooling, etc. apart from the benefit that the virtualization layer brings in."
- "SCVMM needs to be more user-friendly. Without SCVMM, automating is not easy to use and we look forward to the upcoming versions of SCVMM becoming simpler and more admin friendly."
What is our primary use case?
We had deployed multiple Hyper-V clusters for various projects and even have the confidence to run it for highly critical production loads.
How has it helped my organization?
Hyper-V has become a real matured virtualization platform with Windows Server 2012 R2. The organization that I work for was having a virtualization environment on Windows Server 2008 R2. Since it was not optimally used due to the limitations with Hyper-V with Windows Server 2008 R2, we evaluated the possibility to get an environment on Windows Server 2012 R2. We had more than 30 racks with the majority of them running on physical machines. By the end of 2014, the number of server racks came down to 10 and we could confidently run majority of the workloads on Hyper-V. The organization has realized the benefits on smaller data center space, power, cooling, etc. apart from the benefit that the virtualization layer brings in.
What is most valuable?
- Live migration
- P2V
- VM replica
- Snapshots
- VM export and import
- Dynamic memory, etc.
The advanced features, like Network Virtualization, have yet to be tested out, but I feel that they will be a game changer.
What needs improvement?
SCVMM needs to be more user-friendly. Without SCVMM, automating is not easy to use and we look forward to the upcoming versions of SCVMM becoming simpler and more admin friendly.
For how long have I used the solution?
One to three years.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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