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Ravikumar Korada - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Recruiter at Covalense
Reseller
Top 10
Offers simple-to-use patch management features
Pros and Cons
  • "The tool's scalability is good and easy, especially when compared to Microsoft Hyper-V."
  • "Some of the migrations are difficult to manage since the solution is not compatible with a few of the operating systems, which poses a challenge during the physical to virtual migration process."

What needs improvement?

The product's ability to support memory should be increased in the future as it is currently an area of concern in the solution.

Some of the migrations are difficult to manage since the solution is not compatible with a few of the operating systems, which poses a challenge during the physical to virtual migration process.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using vCenter Configuration Manager for five years. My company recommends the solution to our customers.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The tool's scalability is good and easy, especially when compared to Microsoft Hyper-V. Scalability in vCenter Configuration Manager can be used from the hardware itself. Hyper-V's scalability options can be used only with the help of Windows OS.

Buyer's Guide
vCenter Configuration Manager
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about vCenter Configuration Manager. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.

How are customer service and support?

I rate the technical support an eight out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The product's initial setup phase was okay, and there were no issues.

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

The product price and licensing fees are reasonable, especially when compared to other products in the market.

What other advice do I have?

The product provides very good visibility. With vCenter Configuration Manager, you can manage any kind of all these features of VMware vSAN, VMware vSphere Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), and VMware vSphere HA along with hyper-converged systems. The product is also helpful in the VMware vSphere live migration area.

Speaking about the product's ability to manage virtual environments, I feel that the migration from a physical to a virtual environment is a bit difficult. Virtual to virtual, live migrations, storage migrations, and the use of the snapshot in VMware vSphere replication are all great features of the tool.

The product can be easily integrated with Windows Hyper-V.

The product's automation capabilities benefit our company's daily operations since it supports Windows PowerShell Commands along with many other commands, including ESXCLI Commands.

The product's patch management area is very simple to use. VMware vCenter Server 6.5, 7.0, and 8.0 are okay for patch management.

I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. Nowadays, Hyper-V is implemented in most organizations since VMware is considered to be too old.

I consider vCenter Configuration Manager to be one of the best options in the market.

I rate the tool a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
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VivekSaini - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Consultant at Aon Corporation
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
A reliable solution for patch management with easy deployment
Pros and Cons
  • "Reliable, stable and scalable."
  • "If the solution could manage on-premises and cloud resources with the help of one tool, it would be an extra agent."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution for patch management. When you are using different tools like antivirus tools for patch management, there may be a separation between operating systems, such as Linux and Windows. For Windows, there are many ways to use vCenter.

How has it helped my organization?


What is most valuable?

We use both Tanium and BigFix for patching. Initially, we had multiple tools, but now we've consolidated them into one. We have a mixture of environments. It's a hybrid solution, as most are moving to the cloud rather than on-premises.

What needs improvement?

The management and the way teams are defined can be improved. If the solution could manage on-premises and cloud resources with the help of one tool, it would be an extra agent. Further, the price could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using vCenter Configuration Manager for around 2 to 3 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution’s scalability is good.

10,000+ users are using this solution. There is some percentage of growth every year.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is simple. Our engineering team takes around a few days to deploy the solution.

For deployment, there is a snow tool for the environment. We capture the requirement gathering.

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

The solution is expensive and is a great fit for large enterprises. The cloud-based version is for small enterprises.

What other advice do I have?

We have used multiple tools. Once we receive requirements, a system image is generated from the most recent data using various tools. If it's a database server, appropriate properties are configured. Therefore, it encompasses all the necessary components for the database product. If the application is web-based, it might involve some Java-related components. For simpler applications, servers or their components are installed accordingly. We leverage multiple tools to automate our tasks. This diversity is beneficial, especially during compliance audits, as sometimes we require audit reports from vendors. The system supports those reports. There are no non-compliance issues.

The solution is expensive, but it's a good and reliable one. I recommend the solution.

Overall, I rate the solution a 9 out of 10.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Buyer's Guide
vCenter Configuration Manager
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about vCenter Configuration Manager. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Owner at EnterCOM
Reseller
Exceptionally reliable and comprehensive management of virtualized data center environments
Pros and Cons
  • "I particularly appreciate the reporting capabilities, as they allow for in-depth analysis of logs and the ability to interpret alerts effectively, enabling informed responses."
  • "Many major industry players like VMware, Microsoft, and Oracle often fall short in software coding and the smooth release of new versions."

What is our primary use case?

I use it for configuring systems in the food industry.

What is most valuable?

It's challenging to pinpoint the single most valuable feature since there are several that I find highly important and interesting. I particularly appreciate the reporting capabilities, as they allow for in-depth analysis of logs and the ability to interpret alerts effectively, enabling informed responses.

What needs improvement?

The primary global issue that I've encountered during my many years working in IT, both in basic implementations and operator-level tasks, is a universal challenge and it evolves around the user interface, or more precisely, the lack of user-friendliness in IT systems. The speed at which technology evolves, new categories emerge, and customer expectations, especially in cybersecurity, are exceptionally high. Many major industry players like VMware, Microsoft, and Oracle often fall short in software coding and the smooth release of new versions. The second significant challenge relates to automation features and reports. These elements should be more consolidated and should transition from text-based to graphical representations to make them more understandable for decision-makers and eliminate the need for administrators to scour the internet for best practices and knowledge.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with it for twelve years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It offers exceptional stability capabilities. I would rate it ten out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's highly scalable, and I would rate it ten out of ten in that regard. It is suitable for organizations with well over a thousand employees, which qualifies as a large-scale deployment.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was a relatively smooth process, and I'm generally satisfied with it. I would rate it nine out of ten.

What about the implementation team?

The basic deployment typically takes around two days, and after making necessary adjustments and some minor modifications, it extends to about a week.

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

While the pricing is reasonable for large corporations, it presents a substantial financial challenge for medium-sized businesses. This high cost can deter smaller enterprises from acquiring the product, even if they are interested in it. I would rate it five out of ten.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I would rate it nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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Cyber Security Analyst at Petrotrade
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Offers flexibility in virtualization and can be easily installed
Pros and Cons
  • "Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
  • "The product's high price is an area of concern where improvements are required."

What is our primary use case?

I use the solution in my company for the virtualization of our environment.

What needs improvement?

The product's high price is an area of concern where improvements are required.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using vCenter Configuration Manager for a year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a very scalable solution since it allows users to add a few more nodes and have all the detections.

Around 500 people in my company use the product. My company manages 90,00,000 endpoints of our clients who use the product.

How was the initial setup?

The product's initial setup phase is straightforward.

For the deployment, I followed some of the same procedures that I had followed for Cisco since my company had to seek help from a third party from our country, which is Egypt. The deployment was done in a day.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

The technical team for the product's deployment consists of managers, developers, and some end users.

I haven't faced any challenges with the implementation of the product since it is very simple and straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

My company had implemented the solution with the help of a third party.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

My company chose vCenter Configuration Manager since it offers the easiest configurations and management. My company took a few VMware courses. One needs to take the courses to understand and handle VMware and to know how to use it.

What other advice do I have?

I would use vCenter Configuration Manager for patch management across our company's virtual infrastructure by creating virtual machines for my workloads, VM servers, Linux, and to deal with other such related areas.

A project or scenario where the solution improved the compliance part was related to the fact that it was meant for Oracle DB, and now our company uses it for SAP-based implementations.

The most valuable aspect of the tool for maintaining the system security posture in our company stems from the fact that the virtualization offered by the product is very flexible. For any other products, the virtualization offered by vCenter Configuration Manager is flexible. I think it is a very good solution. With the tool, I haven't faced any issues or had to do any troubleshooting until now.

The automation and configuration management tasks by the solution have impacted our company's team's productivity since automation is a very important issue for our organization. My company uses Dell VxRail, which is a very huge solution for us. My company uses VMware vSphere vMotion and some other features from VMware. Suppose the product is down or my company has to deal with some troubleshooting. In that case, we can transfer all our VMs to other nodes without thinking, especially since it can be done through automation and not by any human intervention.

The scalability feature of the product is very good in supporting our company's growing IT environment since I haven't faced issues with the product, especially since I always get help from technical support, who responds right away to any problems attached to the solution. Once a ticket is opened with the technical support team, you get a response in six or seven minutes. If a tech support person is unable to handle an issue, then they try to find an experienced and professional IT person in-house to help the customer.

I recommend the product to others who plan to use it since it is a good solution.

There are many benefits to the use of the product since my company uses it in several environments.

I rate the tool a ten 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.
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Roopesh Mohabeer - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Systems Support Analyst at WARWYCK PHOENIX PCC
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
An easy-to-install and stable tool that supports virtualization platforms with deployments
Pros and Cons
  • "The product's deployment phase was easy."
  • "The dashboards in vCenter Configuration Manager are an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."

What is our primary use case?

My company uses vCenter Configuration Manager for our virtualization platforms to do deployments.

What is most valuable?

I still use an older version of vCenter Configuration Manager for deployment, and because of this, I don't get the most out of the solution right now. I am not sure what features are available in the solution's latest version. I can say that it is not very complex in terms of deployment.

What needs improvement?

The dashboards in vCenter Configuration Manager are an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required.

Some functionalities in vCenter Configuration Manager are lacking regarding how it can be automated.

Someone told me that the latest version of the solution has some automated configuration and compliance management in place. I should probably try and get the solution's latest version to get the most out of the solution.

With vCenter Configuration Manager in my company, we still cannot deploy anything else apart from Linux and Windows. There are limitations in the solution, and because of this, I cannot deploy anything else, like with regard to VMware infrastructure using vCenter Configuration Manager. There is also an issue in the solution with regard to the utilization of other available resources. The aforementioned details can be considered for improvement in the solution.

It would be good if vCenter Configuration Manager's technical support team could provide a response to the issues faced by its users as soon as possible.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using vCenter Configuration Manager for five to six years. I don't use the product's latest version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a six out of ten.

Initially, there were some scalability issues with the product, but my company did get assistance from vCenter Configuration Manager with regard to deployment and administrative areas.

Three people in my company use vCenter Configuration Manager.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support team of vCenter Configuration Manager is knowledgeable and tends to give good advice. Sometimes, the response time can be long, which may be because my company and the technical support team of vCenter Configuration Manager do not operate in the same time zones.

I rate the technical support a seven out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

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

I have experience with Hyper-V and ESXi. The solution, vCenter Configuration Manager, was already installed in my company when I joined it. In our company, we were trying to upgrade our infrastructure, and we just carried on with the same solution.

How was the initial setup?

The product's deployment phase was easy.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises.

The solution can be deployed in a matter of minutes to an hour.

What about the implementation team?

Initially, one of my company's in-house teams did the solution's deployment process. Still, our company approached vCenter Configuration Manager for better assistance when we met some difficulties.

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

Price-wise, the product is an affordable one. The additional expenses, apart from the licensing costs of the solution, are attached to the support a user wants to receive from vCenter Configuration Manager's end.

What other advice do I have?

The basic maintenance processes related to vCenter Configuration Manager are taken care of by one of the in-house teams in our company. Getting some of the features of the solution up and running, at times, can become very cumbersome. Though the initial deployment is easy, when it comes to the process to get the solution's functionalities and features working, it can be tricky. In short, you need to have some fine knowledge of the solution to deploy some of its features, but there are a couple of places or blogs where you can get some information.

I recommend the solution to those who plan to use it.

It is a good product that remains stable.

I rate the overall tool 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
Information Technology Consultant at HighLine
Consultant
Cloning via live migration is a useful feature
Pros and Cons
  • "Configuration Manager simplifies management. Cloning via live migration is a useful feature."
  • "Configuration Manager's reporting could be better. I need to use a third-party reporting solution to get the details. They could add reporting features similar to RVTools."

What is our primary use case?

We use Configuration Manager for our production servers. We only have two users, and they're both admins.

How has it helped my organization?

Configuration Manager has allowed us to reduce the number of admins needed from three to one.

What is most valuable?

Configuration Manager simplifies management. Cloning via live migration is a useful feature. 

What needs improvement?

Configuration Manager's reporting could be better. I need to use a third-party reporting solution to get the details. They could add reporting features similar to RVTools. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We've used vCenter Configuration Manager for one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Configuration Manger is highly dependable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We haven't faced any limitations so far. We have a large footprint, with around 35 servers, so it's used extensively. Right now, we're in the process of consolidation, so the usage will likely go down a little bit. Right now, we're using it for around 10 hours a week.

How are customer service and support?

I rate the technical support eight out of 10.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

I previously used Microsoft Hyper-V. We switched to this because it has more features for managing enterprise-level infrastructure.

How was the initial setup?

Setting up Configuration Manager was pretty straightforward. It took a couple of months to get everything squared away. It required two people to set up. 

What about the implementation team?

I used a consultant, but he decided not to make it. He doesn't want to be included in it.

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

We pay a monthly subscription, but I don't have the numbers. The only cost besides the license is the expense of maintaining the servers. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate vCenter Configuration Manager nine out of 10. I recommend it to others. Don't waste time with other solutions. Just use this.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer2405787 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Associate at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
Provides a vital over-commitment identification feature but needs improvement in performance and quality of tech support
Pros and Cons
  • "vCenter Configuration Manager is the best tool for centrally managing resources"
  • "The tool's performance needs to be improved."

What is our primary use case?

Certain requirements at our company can be fulfilled using vCenter Configuration Manager. Previously, we used an internal, custom configuration manager, but its infrastructure was unable to support the requirements. 

What is most valuable?

In my experience, vCenter Configuration Manager is the best tool for centrally managing resources. The newly released feature of vCLS is also valuable in the tool. ESXi is a Hypervisor that allows the accommodation of all the resources in our organization.

The product also provides a vital over-commitment identification feature. The configuration agent deploys on the cluster label and manages the ERS, too. 

What needs improvement?

The tool's performance needs to be improved. Sometimes, in our organization, we face issues with the solution, such as replication getting blocked or becoming extensively time-consuming. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using vCenter Configuration Manager for more than eight years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

vCenter Configuration Manager offers satisfying stability. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In our company, for on-premise deployment of the product, we didn't utilize auto scalability at first; instead, we used a manual scaling approach. I would rate the scalability a seven out of ten. The solution is better suited for medium and large enterprises than small companies. 

How are customer service and support?

Sometimes in our company, we have faced some issues related to the vendor, but the quality of support wasn't up to the standard, and it needs to improve. 

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

vCenter Configuration Manager can be used to integrate with Nutanix. 

How was the initial setup?

The setup process of vCenter Configuration Manager is extremely simple. Due to my experience with VMware environments, I haven't encountered any complexities with the deployment of the solution. A beginner with VMware solutions may have some difficulty understanding the processes, services and features of vCenter Configuration Manager. 

What other advice do I have?

In our organization, we have operation managers who use the vCenter Configuration Manager for reporting purposes. I would overall rate vCenter Configuration Manager a seven out of ten. I will definitely recommend the solution to others. 

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.
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Ronald D'Souza - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Consultant for CA Southern Africa at Hyperion Holding Pty Ltd
Real User
Top 5
Simple provisioning, reliable, but lacking free training
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of vCenter Configuration Manager is the ease of provisioning."
  • "Acquiring certifications often require extensive training and successfully passing an exam, which can be costly and time-consuming, particularly if you already possess experience in the domain. As a result, this can increase the overall cost of obtaining certification and may present a challenge that requires addressing."

What is our primary use case?

I use vCenter Configuration Manager when I need to provision a VM.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of vCenter Configuration Manager is the ease of provisioning.

What needs improvement?

Acquiring certifications often require extensive training and successfully passing an exam, which can be costly and time-consuming, particularly if you already possess experience in the domain. As a result, this can increase the overall cost of obtaining certification and may present a challenge that requires addressing.

We would like to see free certification or notification of free training programs.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using vCenter Configuration Manager for a few years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

vCenter Configuration Manager is scalable. There is a lot of flexibility.

How are customer service and support?

There are a lot of technical documents if we ever face issues. Their knowledge base is good. We never had to use the technical support.

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

In the past, I utilized Hyper-V, but I find vCenter Configuration Manager to be more favorable due to its advanced features and flexibility, which were not readily available when the environment was initially established. Moreover, other virtualization competitors attempted to enter the market, but vCenter Configuration Manager had already captured a niche market. Overall, both virtualization solutions are well-developed.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of vCenter Configuration Manager is straightforward. We normally do basic installations.

What was our ROI?

I have not seen an ROI using the solution.

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

There is a free license for the standard version. Their enterprise version is expensive. I would advise starting with one server and working your way up as you go. The enterprise version provides support.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

There are a lot of open-source solutions on the market.

What other advice do I have?

I rate vCenter Configuration Manager a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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