VMware NSX Reviews

I primarily use the product as network virtualization software.

VMware NSX is a great product for network virtualization. No other vendor can offer this kind of solution up until now, and it's great for enhancing security at the virtual machine level. There is micro-segmentation, and a distributed firewall, and all network and network security components can be virtualized with the help of this NSX-T stack. It is a pioneer software solution for network security in a virtualized environment.

This solution comes with an API that can easily integrate with other solutions. 

NSX features include micro-segmentation, distributed IPS, IDS functionality, URL analysis, gateway firewall, logical routing, and all the staple networking solutions like DNS, DSCP, and routing. All these features are very interesting.

The solution is stable.

We can scale it if we need to.

It should support Hyper-V also. Nowadays, NSX supports the KVM and ESXi hypervisors only. It should also support Hyper-V and Citrix hypervisors.

There have already been lots of improvements. For example, they edited the intelligent plans and added an advanced load balancer. The latest version, 4.0, really has all the features you need.

It's a bit complex to set up the product.

I have a total of around three years of experience using the NSX-T solution. 

The stability is good architecture-wise. We haven't had any issues. 

The solution can scale well. 

It is not a user-based solution. We deploy it to about 20 servers. 

We did not previously use a different solution before this product.

It is a little bit complex to set up. It depends upon deployment. Either it is greenfield or brownfield deployment. If it is greenfield, it is very easy. If it is a brownfield deployment, so you need to take care of multiple scenarios of your network, and you need to understand the network architecture, then the deployment of services. 

While deployment requires a complete team, maintenance only requires on VMware administrator. 

We handled the initial setup with the help of a third-party SI team.

This product provides end-to-end visibility and security to your virtual environment. So it's a very huge return on investment in terms of security enhancement and maintaining cybersecurity posture.

The cost of the solution is moderate. I'd rate it three out of five in terms of affordability.

There is no other option available for this kind of product.

The product should be implemented in any IT infrastructure virtual environment. It is a must-have.

I'd rate it a ten out of ten.

Our primary use case is the integration with the platform, so we can use it to orchestrate everything from a single console. That's the magic of having everything in one single dashboard. 

Our customers can see how much easier having multiple integrations on a single dashboard can be for them. The speed and agility of the implementations is another way it has helped improve our clients' organizations. It's easy to monitor exactly what is missing and the speed of implementation. 

We can manage and interact with different network devices, not just the local environment but also in the remote environments. It's very effective in how easy it is to manage and orchestrate all the different devices with the different types of requirements we have. NSX is a great platform to have everything in one single pane of glass.

The easy integration and management are the two most valuable features.

In regards to Layer 4 and 7 load balancing with a solution, for us, it's about the continuity. We look for different ways to create something similar while making improvements. We like to include different services and make sure that we have high availability, not just in our closer environment but also around multiple environments.

Microsegmentation is important. We cap it depending on the compliance and regulations that are in the systems for every single company's requirements. It depends on the size of the customer, but I don't see a reason not to use it. We cap it based on industry, size of a company, and the compliance regulations that the company requires. Also, we consider the nature of the industry, although the reality is that security applies to everybody. Some industries take it more seriously than others because of their policies, rules, and regulations that they have to comply with. Ultimately, security is an issue that affects everybody and is important for all to have.

The engineering team has room for improvement. They should have more of a Knowledge Base about different case studies and should develop more advanced features. These kinds of improvements will change the way things get done.

The stability is great. That's one of the things that we can quantify and leverage through NSX, because it's less complex. We have the availability to manage multiple things at the same time. We can identify problems before they manifest. 

Their technical support is great but I believe that it also has to do with the relationship that we've built with the technical support staff. We're not afraid to have conversations. Most people try to figure things out by themselves but we don't hesitate to reach out to technical support. They have an intelligent team.

We based our decision to switch solutions on an analysis we did. We based this analysis on what we are missing and what the impact is of not having it.

In the beginning, implementation was quite challenging. Once you know your way around it, it becomes a lot easier to navigate. Every master was once a disaster. The beginning stages are the most challenging but as you pass through the initial starting point, you begin to realize how easily it can be integrated with multiple devices. 

I have been in technology for 23 years and I see the constant evolution of not just the portable technology but also the management. I believe that adapting to the multiple levels of security inside of the business management is a challenge for different vendors.

We look at different vendors for our customers. It depends on the compliance and regulations that are in the systems for every single company's requirements. Every company will have specific needs for certain features that other options do or don't have. 

This solution has helped our clients save CapEx. The agility and speed of the implementation offer CapEx savings. 

It does and doesn't prolong software refresh. It does because there is better integration with the product. It doesn't because there are new features developing and people like to replace their hardware. They will have better chances of getting more value out of their software solutions because now they can reach more control of multiple functionalities. I would approximate that it saves the hardware for around two to three years.

I have rated this product a seven because this product still needs to evolve. It's a good product but it's not great. 

If you are considering NSX or a similar solution I would advise that you have to adapt or die. Technology is emerging with different features. It is important to be in that conversation. You've got to move into the new trends. There are multiple solutions, and there will be different brands with different features but ultimately you have to find a solution that will meet your exact needs. 

To those who say NSX is complex, I would say that every master was once a disaster. In the beginning, it's going to be challenging. When you start something new, it very might well be a disaster and you will probably find it hard to navigate. Once you overcome the complexity issue, it's just a matter of perception. It's not really complex, despite what you may think. The solution is evolving, getting better. This is a smarter way to do things. This solution is at another level. 

It is for internal networking. Basically, we will be migrating the workloads to the cloud vCenter, and to manage those workloads, networking is required, which is called NSX in the VMware environment.

It provides a single pane of glass. You can do the switching, routing, load balancing, IPS, IDS, etc. Everything is under one umbrella. So, there is no vendor dependency over there.

They have some limitations in the firewall features as compared to the on-prem or dedicated hardware appliance. They can add more features, such as IPS and IDS, to the cloud firewall.

I have been using this solution for the last seven to eight months.

As per my last seven to eight months of experience, it is a stable solution.

It can be scaled.

I'm not technically involved with technical support. I'm not from the operational part where the day-to-day activities are performed. I'm from the project team, and my job is to deploy something on the product. Untill now, I haven't used VMware support for any issues. So, I'm not aware of the quality of their support.

It was easy to set up. It hardly took a week.

It provides all the networking features under a single umbrella. So, you can go with it. It is cost-effective because you don't have to spend money on different vendors.

I would rate it a seven out of ten because some of the features are missing.

The solution's most valuable feature is ease of use. Its filtering features work best for our business requirements.

It could be helpful if the solution's licensing model is based on the number of VMs rather than hypervisors.

We have been using the solution for seven years.

It is a stable solution. I rate its stability as an eight.

The solution's scalability depends on the licensing model.

The solution's customer service is good.

The solution is reasonable at the local level. But it is expensive to deploy it globally.

I advise others to understand their business requirements. They should know if they want the solution to block some protocols or to make accurate filtering. I rate the solution as an eight.

The solution is used for network virtualization. Normally, in my cases, I was billing it for the government clouds, for NIC, the National Informatics Computer of India. For them, I was making a cloud where a different government, a smaller government entity, wanted to buy a cloud from the government clouds.

Apart from the normal functionality, a few things are quite useful, including multi-cloud networking. They have container networking and load balancing. Those are quite useful in terms of when we are designing a solution.

It's a pretty mature platform right now. 

The initial setup is straightforward. 

We found the solution to be stable. 

It's scalable. 

I haven't found any shortcomings. 

It might be nice to have more AI in the future. It would help keep us from redesigning every time. 

I've worked with the solution for four years now. 

The solution is stable and perfectly fine. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

The solution can scale well. 

We had a user base of around 1200 people.

I dealt with tech support during pre-deployment, and they were fine. They were helpful when we were dealing with staging cases. I wasn't an active part of the actual deployment and can't speak of how helpful they were in that part of the process. 

I was the previous architect for the NSX, not the implementer.

My understanding is the setup process is quite straightforward. 

Our deployment was quite big. Including the staging and all the stuff, we were able to deploy in a four-month timeframe. That is not only NSX, that is the complete deployment of the cloud. We had a few issues here and there, however, overall, it was fine. 

It's easy to maintain for the most part. The orchestration layer for it was a bit hectic work for us. That needed a dedicated VMware team. Apart from that, everything was quite smooth for NSX or vSphere, et cetera, and it is quite simple to manage it.

The finance team handles the licensing agreements. I can't speak to the exact cost.

When going for multiple OEM solutions, like Juniper, Cisco, HPE, et cetera, NSX will be quite useful. Don't go for the ACSIs and all Juniper proprietary options since future upgrades will be a bit tough if something needs to be added. Therefore, if it is a multiple OEM architecture, go for NSX, it'll be more helpful.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

NSX is under the platform. NSX is used on a cloud-only platform for clients.

The solution works well overall and we are happy with it.

We enjoy the micro-segmentation and the ability to extend the network on Layer Two.

It is stable. 

The solution can scale well. 

We have found the UI to be very good. The interface is intuitive enough.

It offers good documentation. 

I'm not sure where the solution can be improved. 

We did recently need a patch to deal with an outage on NSX.

The price is rather high.

We've been using the solution for two years. 

The solution is stable. We have just had an issue that caused an outage of some of our NSX. However, now it's okay. VMware gave us a patch to correct it.

It is a scalable product. It's not a problem.

There are about 3,000 VMs on our data center. There are a lot of customers.

When we had an issue recently, VMware asked to upgrade to a high level of support to correct the problem.

The initial setup offers an average level of complexity. It's neither too difficult or too hard. 

I'm a system engineer, so I don't know exactly what the price is. However, I am aware that it's high. It's better suited to larger enterprises.

We are service providers and partners.

I'd rate the product eight out of ten.

We use it as a distributed firewall and for security purposes.

It has reduced the number of people on the network team along with the system engineer involved in the security process. So, it is valuable.

We can't go without NSX, so it's invaluable from this perspective.

Its flexibility and integration with other VMware solutions are NSX's most valuable features.

The microsegmentation feature is very useful.

We would to have a reverse proxy. This would add great value to the solution. 

We would also like better integration with the standards on the market. For example, with OSPF, their integration in NSX is very low. It's not a full OSPF integration. It is too thin from a protocol perspective.

The product need to be improved. It is too complex.

The stability used to be perfect. Now, it is okay.

From a distributed firewall perspective, it's a solid solution.

It is scalable by design, so it's perfect.

The technical support is good. We have encountered several problems with NSX, and every time, support has found the solution to resolve the issue. 

In our company, we were starting a hosting solution, so it was by design. We have worked with VMware products for a long time, so it was natural to buy NSX.

It was a complex setup.

We implemented it ourselves.

The solution is expensive.

We did not consider anyone else.

If someone is looking for security in a vSphere environment, I don't know of another solution in the market besides NSX.

We had to buy new hardware in order to introduce NSX into our data center.

We don't use load balancing with this solution.

We don't use vCloud Director.

Our primary focus is to create a layer that effectively connects to the remote site. This involves optimizing and accelerating the VXLend component, which is highly popular in our setup. We usually configure VXLend to enhance disaster recovery capabilities, specifically for applications that operate within the same subnet. This approach ensures that in the event of a disaster, such as a WAN failure or when external layers are inaccessible, there's no need to change IP addresses. It allows users to connect seamlessly from any location since the servers maintain the same subnet, and data replication occurs between the data centers. The result is minimal disruption and no requirement to modify configurations during these critical scenarios.

Traditional network management often involves dealing with individual components separately while VMware NSX offers a more streamlined approach. It operates on a logical level, providing a comprehensive and centralized way to manage your network resources. This not only simplifies management but also enhances scalability. It enables us to create and adjust policies dynamically, allowing for real-time updates and enforcement so we can effectively oversee our entire data center from a single point of control.

One aspect that needs improvement is the need for further automation. We are already operating in a software-defined data center environment, and while the product is mature, there's room for enhancing automation.

I have been using it for approximately three years.

It provides robust stability features. I would rate it nine out of ten.

It provides excellent scalability capabilities. When it comes to micro-segmentation, it allows you to scale naturally. You can distribute firewall and load-balancing functionalities efficiently as your network grows. It also offers seamless integration with the physical network infrastructure, making it easy to extend your virtualized network into the physical world.

The customer support from VMware is exceptional. Recently we encountered a critical issue where one of our virtual machines failed to start and was displaying a blue screen. Despite the urgency of the situation, we logged a support case, and within twenty minutes, we received a response. A support representative promptly called us, established a remote connection, conducted a thorough analysis, and successfully resolved the problem.

Positive

I have experience with Cisco, but I find VMware to be a superior solution. The primary reason is the seamless integration that VMware offers, especially within a data center environment. When working within a data center, VMware's virtualization capabilities are all that we need. We no longer require separate hardware, edge products, load-balancing solutions, or firewall products. Everything can be fully integrated into a unified system and it allows us to accomplish everything from one console and one central point of control, making it a highly efficient and streamlined solution.

When it comes to VMware, there are two primary options: NSX-V and NSX-T. NSX-V is known for its user-friendliness and effectiveness. Setting up SD-WAN connectivity with NSX-V is straightforward.

The price is significantly high and it can be a hurdle for many potential users.

I would highly recommend VMware for a wide range of users, spanning from large enterprises to small and medium-sized businesses. It's an ideal choice for those who require disaster recovery solutions or cloud extensions. Its versatility and capabilities make it a valuable choice for anyone looking to scale their infrastructure, whether it's within a data center or by extending into the cloud. I would rate it eight out of ten.