Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users
System Administrator at Jordan customs
Real User
Great installation, high availability and useful technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "This solution is good for individual storage."
  • "It should be easier to use alternate storage."

What is our primary use case?

This solution is great for individual storage with servers and installing VMware, vSphere, and vCenter.

What needs improvement?

It should be easier to use alternate storage.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using this solution since 2012, and we use VMware 7 up to 3d. Additionally, we use software installed on our site.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable solution with high availability, and we have had no problems. We have two engineers using it. Unfortunately, in our cluster, we do not connect to the Internet because our cluster is offline.

Buyer's Guide
vCenter Configuration Manager
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about vCenter Configuration Manager. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is useful. You can also find solutions to problems through VMware articles online. If a problem occurs, we use VMware CLI and have a lot of experience with VMware ESXi. We can solve the problem by opening a VMware ticket and have opened only one to two tickets in the last five years.

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

vCenter has a standard license. As a result, VMware is not expensive compared to all hypervisor prices on the market.

What other advice do I have?

I rate this solution a ten out of ten. There are a lot of licenses, ranging from the standard to the enterprise plus with the operation manager.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Managing Director at tathya technologies pvt ltd opc
Real User
Good clustering and load balancing, easy to set up, and scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "The clustering part and the load balancing part are most valuable."
  • "Error reporting should be more precise and descriptive, and there is no way to filter the logs. It would be helpful if its logs analysis can be more detailed, and the logs can be filtered."

What is our primary use case?

The client I'm working with is basically a national ISP, and they are hosting multiple services and a couple of mail servers and hosting servers. So, basically, clusters are made with multiple hardware and things are running on them.

What is most valuable?

The clustering part and the load balancing part are most valuable.

What needs improvement?

Error reporting should be more precise and descriptive, and there is no way to filter the logs. It would be helpful if its logs analysis can be more detailed, and the logs can be filtered.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for about three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Its stability is good. It is stable and very traditional.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is indeed scalable. In terms of the number of users, we have three or four admin users. 

In this company, presently, there is not much scope for increasing the usage. It is currently able to meet their requirements. They're using it on a small scale, and they don't need all of its features. Whatever is there at the moment is sufficient for them. I'm not sure if there is an immediate requirement for expansion. They might scale up, but it is going to take time. 

How are customer service and technical support?

I never needed any support.

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

Previously, I used to use Hypervisor and OpenStack, but a lot of involvement was there, so we slowly switched to VMware vCenter.

How was the initial setup?

It was quite easy. It didn't take a long time. Anyone with basic networking knowledge can do it.

What about the implementation team?

We didn't use an integrator or a consultant.

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

It is on a yearly basis.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate vCenter Configuration Manager a nine out of 10.

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
Buyer's Guide
vCenter Configuration Manager
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about vCenter Configuration Manager. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Management Information System Officer at a mining and metals company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Great for automating and very stable, but complex to implement
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is excellent at automating processes."
  • "There are some complexities within the system center. For example, we use two different applications for updates and the deployment of the machine. We also have another third party solution."

What is our primary use case?

I provide services to our customers. We largely use it for automation.

How has it helped my organization?

It's allowed us to automate most of the processes that we have in place. All the controls can now update positioning solutions. All of that is done through this software. For the company it's quite valuable, in that it saves resources, however, it also allows the IT team to be concentrated on different tasks. The company is growing and the need to focus on adding more systems etc. is very important. There are a lot of new systems being implemented. By taking manual tasks and automating them, it provides a great value for the customer.

What is most valuable?

The solution is excellent at automating processes.

Overall, it's a great tool.

What needs improvement?

There are some complexities within the system center. For example, we use two different applications for updates and the deployment of the machine. We also have another third party solution. 

However, a third-party solution is dedicated to vulnerability management. And all the updates that have to be deployed to a specific product. You spend a lot of time in configuration due to the fact that you need to make sure all of your machines are compliant. Compliance is complicated.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for about four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of the solution is good. We haven't run into any issues with the solution. There aren't sudden crashes. There aren't bugs or glitches. It's reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We haven't had any issues with scalability. If a company needs to expand the solution's services, they can do so easily. From a technical perspective, it's possible.

How are customer service and technical support?

I've personally contacted technical support in the past.

They were able to assist us with no problem. A few times we managed to sort out the issue ourselves. Still, mainly they do support us. We're quite happy with their services. 

One of the things that puts us at an advantage is the fact that we are not yet running the latest versions. The older versions have less issues that need to be ironed out and patched. Therefore, we're working with versions that have already been pretty much perfected. It means there's less reason to contact technical support.

How was the initial setup?

There's a bit of complexity in the initial setup. There are compliance issues you'll need to sort through. Configuration can take a while because of this.

There may be better ways to do things with System Center that we're not aware of. We always try to look at audits before we try a deployment. How long it takes tends to be decided by what a user wants the solution to do and how the company is set up.

If you want to do something relatively simple like automate updates, however, the deployment is quite straightforward. It doesn't take a lot of time.

Also, if you sorted out configurations and taken the time to fix items and iron out details, the solution will deploy fairly easily and deliver its services well.

For example, a deployment that, if done with some center, may require a workaround to sort out any problem beforehand, but once that's done, everything starts working perfectly.

What other advice do I have?

We're a customer. We don't have a special relationship with the company.

I would recommend System Center. We are going through a technological era where everything is done using technology, and security measures are important. With this solution, security is already in place.

With this solution, a lot of the items are automated, including a lot of administrative work. You can minimize so many things, including security vulnerabilities, simply by using the solution. It's great.

I'd rate the solution seven out of ten. They lose a few marks due to their general complexity, which takes a lot of time. Users need to take into consideration bandwidth and network usage when they set things up. While the solution does try to minimize resources, it takes a lot of time to get things where you need them to be. It's not straightforward. You'll need to go through many processes before you get there.

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
Technical Head at eSky IT
Real User
Performs well, has good virtualization methods, and the technical support is helpful
Pros and Cons
  • "vCenter Configuration Manager is a very good product, it works well."
  • "The price could be reduced."

What is our primary use case?

We use vCenter Configuration Manager for the Virtualization use case to template our workload on a cluster and use virtualization methods.

What is most valuable?

vCenter Configuration Manager is a very good product, it works well.

What needs improvement?

The price could be reduced.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with vCenter Configuration Manager for five years.

We are using version 7.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

vCenter Configuration Manager is a stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

vCenter Configuration Manager is a scalable solution.

In our company, we have 100 users.

How are customer service and support?

I have contacted technical support and they are good.

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

We have occupation delivery switches. We use Ruckus and Juniper.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward.

The deployment took two hours.

We require four engineers to maintain this solution.

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

I have a license to cover four hosts.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others who are interested in using it.

I would rate vCenter Configuration Manager a nine 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
reviewer929742 - PeerSpot reviewer
System support engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Quick and easy to set up and very reliable
Pros and Cons
  • "The stability and reliability are great."
  • "The solution could provide even more capacity."

What is our primary use case?

vCenter makes it easy to manipulate the clusters between machines so that there is no downtime that we can observe on any machine we host on our VMware.

What is most valuable?

The stability and reliability are great.

The initial setup is quick and easy.

It's a product that can scale.

What needs improvement?

The solution could provide even more capacity.

We'd like to see more integration capabilities.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for almost two years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability has been very good. There are no bugs or glitches. It's reliable. It never crashes or freezes.

How are customer service and support?

We've never contacted technical support. I can't speak to how helpful or responsive they are.

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

Previously we dealt with VMware only.

How was the initial setup?

The installation is very simple and straightforward. It is not difficult to get everything up and running. 

The initial implementation takes about one hour.

We have two or three people that can handle deployment and maintenance. 

What about the implementation team?

At this point, we can handle the integration ourselves without the help of an integrator.

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

We pay a yearly licensing fee.

What other advice do I have?

I do not recall the exact version number we are using.

I would rate the solution at a perfect ten out of ten. I've been very happy with its capabilities.

I would recommend the solution to others. It's quite good.

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
General Manager IT/system engineer at VT Solutions
Real User
Work is simplified with patch management and template features; configurations could be reduced
Pros and Cons
  • "Beneficial patch management and template features."
  • "Not very user friendly, too many configurations."

What is our primary use case?

We use Configuration Manager at one or two companies where we provide services. I live in Fiji and people don't really go into the detail of compliance and automated configuration. Most things are generally done manually so with the implementation of Configuration Manager it becomes automated. There are some reporting and management tasks involved. We're partners with vCenter and I'm the IT general manager. 

What is most valuable?

As an engineer, I'd say the most valuable features would be the patch management and templates. Both of these features make my job easier. 

What needs improvement?

This is a good solution but it has too many configurations for what it does. In that sense, it's not particularly user friendly and requires too many clicks. From reviews I've read, I believe Acropolis might be easier to use in this regard.

I think the solution pretty much covers everything, I can't think of any additional features that might be useful.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for the past two years. 

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support is generally quite good although it depends who you're talking to. Most of the time issues are solved expediently although sometimes it takes a little longer than you'd probably want, but eventually it gets fixed. It's good but it could be better.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup can be a little complex. It's clear what needs to be done but because of compliance it becomes more complicated. It requires configuring thresholds and standard marks plus automated configurations. It's a matter of implementing some provisioning which can be tedious. I haven't worked with it too much, but it seems quite cumbersome. 

Deployment time probably took a little longer in our case because it was implementing  compliance, patch management and software package distribution, so it probably took a couple of days. We used our own team for configuration. 

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend people use this solution. It can make your life a lot easier and it has a lot of features which could help a system administrator prevent problems and foresee potential issues.

I would rate this solution quite highly but it loses a couple of points because of the complexity so I'll give it a seven out of 10. 

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
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Solution Architect, IT Consultant at Merdasco - Rayan Merdas Data Prosseccing
Real User
Top 10Leaderboard
Good disaster recovery and business connectivity capabilities but generally doesn't compare to competitors in the field
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features that VMware's vCenter Configuration Manager have, when compared with other solutions, are their disaster recovery and business connectivity capabilities."
  • "It lacks the capability to manage the other systems."

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features that VMware's vCenter Configuration Manager have when compared with other solutions are their disaster recovery and business connectivity capabilities. All the software that VMware produces has very good business connectivity and disaster recovery features.

What needs improvement?

Configuration Manager should decrease the deployment time in the data center and the management time as this could help many data centers reduce their operating costs.

I think most of VMware's software is easy and simple to use but they lack the capability to manage other systems. When working with some other software out there you have a total solution for managing and configuring your data centers. Many other virtualization systems have this feature, and it would be a good idea for VMware to switch to this approach because I think most data centers are looking for total solutions to manage their data centers. Our trends show that this kind of simple management software is going to be a part of orchestration systems. 

Overall, I think it's good enough to use for most customers who have VMware solutions in their data centers.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working on virtualization for around seven or eight years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This software helps customers to reduce management operations, including saving their resources and total cost. The basic platform is very good for reducing operational costs. Plus, the automation and easy deployment are very important to many data centers.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In terms of scalability, yes, most of the software that VMware produces is enterprise and scalable and they define the business connectivity and disaster recovery very well in most of their software.

How are customer service and technical support?

In some cases, I have contacted support when I use the software, but mostly I am helped with the data centers by our in-house engineers. The quality is not black and white. It depends on the engineer that you get, but most of these companies have good software consultants.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is perfectly easy to deploy, as well as in other VMware software. It takes less than five hours to deploy.

Most VMware software is easy to use, although you don't need support for deployment, it may be helpful for maintenance.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

If you compare the performance between virtualization solutions, I think KVM is better than VMware. But in terms of disaster recovery and business connectivity, VMware has a better-developed software here.

Our company is a data center solution architect and consultant. We look for the best solutions for our customers and we try to find the best one for each project. It doesn't matter if that solution is from a small company or a famous company - we look for the best solution for configuring the situation.

What other advice do I have?

I think before using this kind of software, most companies should train their administrators to ensure that the deployment is perfect. Also, maintenance would be easier if you train your engineers before using this kind of software.

On a scale from one to ten, I would rate vCenter Configuration Manager a six. This is because compared to the other solutions such as Microsoft's StoreSafe or Studio Team System solutions or Ubuntu it is not as good. 

This software is specific for VMware products whereas the other software is more flexible.

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
reviewer1264674 - PeerSpot reviewer
Microsoft Architect at a non-tech company with 11-50 employees
Real User
A strong solution that is easy to set up and highly available
Pros and Cons
  • "I appreciate it because it's very easy to set up and configure new disks and servers."
  • "It is not so user-friendly that you can just start the host and everything works."

What is our primary use case?

We have a basic configuration with a host in a cluster, and a virtual machine.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are vMotion and high availability.

I appreciate it because it's very easy to set up and configure new disks and servers.

What needs improvement?

The pricing can be improved.

It is not so user-friendly that you can just start the host and everything works. However, for somebody with five or ten years of experience, the administration is not very difficult.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using VCM for close to one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a stable and very strong solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have not needed to scale as of yet.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have not had the need to contact technical support.

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

Our intention is to upgrade to version 7.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not complex.

What about the implementation team?

We have an in-house team for deployment. Two of us are in charge of using and maintaining this product, and we are both administrators.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We did not continue to look for other products after evaluating VMware.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution a nine 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