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Technolo19ac - PeerSpot reviewer
Technology Manager
Real User
easy set up and enables us to build one fabric over an IP transport
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup was straightforward. It follows a certain structure and you won't miss a step. It's all on the same level, step by step."
  • "I would like them to make integration with other vendors easier."

What is our primary use case?

Our customers had multiple data centers in different locations. Now, with NSX we built one fabric over an IP transport, like WAN internet. When we created the switches, it spread out over the data centers which are the configuration and the management of the underlying network for the VM workloads.

How has it helped my organization?

The reusability of the objects for the switches has improved our client's organization. For example, if I do some sort of vMotion, there is no need to recreate the portal groups on the other sides. We have one centralized NSX Manager which is managing those controllers on those sites.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features would be the easy management and the possibility of using our existing vSphere environment so that we don't need to purchase a new hardware.

Layers 4 and 7 load balancing are good. We like that it's integrated with the vSphere. This means that we can see its full capabilities because of the full visibility of the kernel on the NSX management.

Microsementation is really powerful. With the existing networks of the legacy networks, we need to build a firewall between the segments in order to do microsegmentation but now having, for example, one VLAN connected to multiple VLANs, I can do micro-segmentation between the workloads even with the ushering the same segments.

What needs improvement?

I would like them to make integration with other vendors easier.

Buyer's Guide
VMware NSX
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about VMware NSX. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's pretty stable. Just deploy it and just forget about it. It's also robust, flexible, and scalable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is really easy. We can scale within an hour. We can scale either new controllers or add new hosts to the fabric.

How are customer service and support?

We haven't had to use their technical support yet, which is a good thing.

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

I'm involved in the decision making. My boss would say that it's time to advance the customer so we'll look into a solution.

We were already a VMware-based customer so our first option for an SDN solution was to go with NSX. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. It follows a certain structure and you won't miss a step. It's all on the same level, step by step.

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

It has saved us CapEx. They should adjust the license for NSX so that we can invest in the infrastructure or purchasing of new hardware. This solution is reasonably priced compared to other vendors.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Our customers usually compare NSX to Cisco ACI. The main issue is the underlying network that VMware does not provide visibility to. They chose NSX because they were already VMware customers and they already had vSphere. The second reason they chose NSX is because of the powerful features like microsegmentation, as opposed to relying on other vendors to manage the microsegmentation feature.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution an eight because of its ease of deployment. I'm a partner so this is what I mostly care about. Also because of the ease of scalability.

If you're looking into NSX or similar solutions I would recommend you to first learn about vSphere and other VMware products because it's essential in order to implement NSX. Without that knowledge, it would be hard for you to understand.

And to those who think NSX is complex I would say it's not. You need to try it and see.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
PeerSpot user
Technical architect at Metanext
Real User
Top 10
A stable and scalable network solution with a dependable customer support team
Pros and Cons
  • "The performance is good."
  • "The setup is complex and should be made easier."

What is our primary use case?

The tool is very useful for cloud providers who need to manage things like Microsoft Enterprise.

What is most valuable?

The performance is good.

What needs improvement?

The setup is complex and should be made easier.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a scalable solution. Good to scale in and scale out, and add benefits resources. Customers use it across the globe.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support team is dependable because we use the service a lot of time. We opened a lot of cases and it was solved.

How was the initial setup?

The tool's setup is complex. When I deployed it myself, it took less than one day.

What other advice do I have?

We can do many things with NSF; for now, most of the things are the micro security capabilities and features. I recommend the solution. I rate it eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
VMware NSX
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about VMware NSX. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user746712 - PeerSpot reviewer
EVS Engineer 3 at Cabela's
Video Review
Vendor
We can add VDI desktops without having to create a new VM and recreate all the policies
Pros and Cons
  • "To be able to do the DR and SRM migrations from datacenter to datacenter, we're able to do them with SRM with VXLAN, with the NSX product."
  • "Just being more knowledgeable about the different functions."

What is most valuable?

To be able to do the DR and SRM migrations from datacenter to datacenter, we're able to do them with SRM with VXLAN, with the NSX product.

What needs improvement?

Just being more knowledgeable about the different functions. I think the product is fine. It's just learning more about the product, and how you can benefit from it, and what it's got to offer.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Very stable. We've had great success with it. It's a different mindset for the actual network folks that are used to building an old traditional way, but it's much faster to get things deployed with firewall rules.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's definitely scalable, however large, however small. We can bring people in with VDI desktops, with a control set already around that, to be able to control what they get without having to create a new VM and recreate all the policies. It's already done upfront.

How is customer service and technical support?

It's great, if we have any problems at all, we give them a call. If there's something that's new that we're trying to figure out, they're real good about helping us out.

How was the initial setup?

At first, it was a little complex, but it's more internal, just learning a new product and what it can do for you. But once you get all that set up, and done with the collaboration, and the other groups, it's really not that bad.

What other advice do I have?

In terms of selecting a vendor, our end goal is to be able to accomplish a certain function that we need to for the business. But also, if we have any trouble, to be able to call and get some support, and work through those issues without, "You bought the product now, so you're on your own." They've been real good about support.

It's changed the way we do things. It's made things a lot more easy. Once everything's set up, and you have the collaboration from all the other different groups, it just works. It's going to help me be able to do a lot of the DR stuff that I'm working on with VXLAN, working through NSX and all those rule sets.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user746721 - PeerSpot reviewer
Solutions Architect at IronBow Technologies
Video Review
Real User
The distributed nature of it is really what our customers are interested in
Pros and Cons
  • "It's very important for them to have small footprints and have as much services in their servers, as possible."
  • "Going through and getting more features sets from the routing protocols is definitely necessary for the future."

What is most valuable?

I sell to a lot of customers in the DoD. NSX has really become part of their ecosystem, especially for the tactical customers in the DoD. It's very important for them to have small footprints and have as much services in their servers, as possible. NSX has fit this role really well for them.

What needs improvement?

  • Going through and getting more features sets from the routing protocols is definitely necessary for the future.
  • Being able to properly manipulate BGP
  • Getting multiprotocol BGP into the stack
  • A little bit better redistribution

As a CCIE, I like to have all my tool sets, and there are some things which NSX is missing right now.

It's missing some more advanced features. As an engineer, we need those tools. We need to be able to manipulate routes. We need to be able to set traffic the way that we need it to be. Especially as we interact with other vendors, sometimes it makes it difficult to have to do some workarounds. Once VMware flushes out the RFC for things like BGP and OSPF, it will be better.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We've tested it in our labs, and our customers are running it now. It is definitely stable, and it does what it's supposed to with no unnecessary crashes.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's one of the major benefits of it. The distributed nature of NSX is really what the customers are interested in: spread into workloads across a lot of servers and not working out one host too hard.

How is customer service and technical support?

All my customers seem to be very happy with the technical support. Anytime they call up, everything is very responsive and the engineers are intelligent. They know how to help them solve their problems.

How was the initial setup?

NSX is one of the simplest network solutions that I've ever worked with.

I did a demo for our company's engineers about a year ago, and in 45 minutes, I stood up a cluster and had the VXLAN and some of the firewall policies, up and running in a 45-minute demo. It's really easy to use and everybody walked away from it knowing how to use NSX just from a 45-minute presentation.

What other advice do I have?

It's very important for us to have good relationships with VMware from a reseller standpoint, and especially in the DoD, we have great reps. VMware is probably a 90% of the DoD networks. It's definitely not just reputation-wise, but they've been there for seven to eight years now and everybody knows that VMware is the enterprise solution for virtualization in the DoD.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller.
PeerSpot user
Greffio Faraldo - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Operations Support at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Top 10
A stable solution with reasonable pricing but needs to improve the complexity of setup
Pros and Cons
  • "I am impressed with the tool's protection."
  • "The tool's setup is complex and we need support to implement it."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution for the software-defined network. 

What is most valuable?

I am impressed with the tool's protection. 

What needs improvement?

The tool's setup is complex and we need support to implement it. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I am working with the product for two months. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

My company has three users for the tool. We plan to increase the usage of the solution in future. 

How was the initial setup?

The solution is difficult to deploy due to network complexity. The deployment took three months to complete. We had around five to seven resources involved in the product's deployment. They were mainly from the roles of network security and infrastructure. We created a plan and deployed the solution following it. 

What about the implementation team?

Our partner helped us with the solution's implementation. 

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

The tool's pricing is reasonable. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We compared the solutions from Cisco and Nutanix. We chose VMware NSX due to its price. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate the solution 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
Manager IT Security & Infrastructure at Currimjee Jeewanjee & Co. Ltd.
Real User
Enables flexibility to deploy and to have network virtualization on different types of firewalls
Pros and Cons
  • "Provides flexibility to deploy and have network virtualization on different types of firewalls."
  • "The setup of the solution could be simplified."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution for network virtualization alongside Nutanix and for the firewall blueprint. I'm an IT manager. 

What is most valuable?

This product is like the layer between traditional networking and virtualization. It gives you the flexibility to deploy and have network virtualization on different types of firewalls. We implemented this solution when we moved to the private cloud. 

What needs improvement?

The setup of the solution could be simplified.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for two years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We haven't had any issues with stability. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable, but we haven't tested that yet. We have three network engineers using the product. We don't plan to increase usage in the near future. 

How are customer service and support?

The response time of the technical support team could improve. We also sometimes had the feeling that they didn't properly understand the issue.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not that straightforward. We used a consultant and even then deployment took a full week. It wasn't easy. 

What other advice do I have?

This is a good solution if it fits your requirements. You can achieve a lot if it suits your needs. I rate this solution eight 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
Sales Manager at Dataworld Computer Center
Reseller
An advancement in technology when compared to other solutions, but room for improvement in the non-enterprise version
Pros and Cons
  • "Technically, VMware NSX is more advanced technology-wise when compared to others. We have been studying it and so far, so good. We know that the NSX product is superior when it comes to software virtualized networks. </p> <p>If you are looking to work with new and future technologies, then NSX is one of the best options. It costs less for power consumption since it will be a virtual network and not a pure physical network that consumes more energy."
  • "The price could be better. The non-enterprise version of the product should also be improved. I would like VMware to expand beyond the network and provide some VLAN technologies and more. I think we have one, but it's more on the distribution side because it's more on the upper side of the network. I'm looking forward to that."
  • "I want to see the solution expand to more than just the network, for example, perhaps it could provide some VLAN technologies."

What is most valuable?

NSX is a virtual network, and now is the right time for it. Technology-wise, it's actually an advancement in comparison with other solutions. We've been studying it, and so far, so good. NSX is the superior product when it comes to software for virtualized networks.

What needs improvement?

The non-enterprise version of the solution should be improved.

I want to see the solution expand to more than just the network, for example, perhaps it could provide some VLAN technologies.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been distributing this solution for over six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I believe the product is very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product is very scalable. I don't think NSX would have any problems with growth if a company wanted to expand their network and business. One person is enough to manage this solution.

How are customer service and support?

Here in the Philippines, we need more technical support. I don't think they have good support here. There aren't any experts on NSX, only the distributor and reseller, so we have to really invest in training for us to able to understand the product.

How was the initial setup?

Our team is already trained, so the setup is straightforward.

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

The licensing is renewed every three years. The cost for implementation and renovation are a huge portion of that price.

What other advice do I have?

I think they need to market the solution more so that it can be accessible to more customers, because few are very familiar with it. It's hard to market it because we are provided with less marketing information about it, but in order to grow the product, it has to be properly marketed.

If you are looking for new technology of the future, NSX is one of them, and it will cost you less in power consumption since it's a virtual network as opposed to a pure physical network, which consumes more energy. That's a main advantage, that the operating expense will lessen while at the same time, the technology is great and is a secure network. When you're talking about virtual networks, I think NSX is one of the greatest products and will soon be the leader in the market.

I would rate this solution as 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: Reseller
PeerSpot user
Cloud Article at Oracle
Real User
Feature-rich platform for network virtualization and security, with straightforward installation and configuration
Pros and Cons
  • "The security offered by VMware NSX is the most valuable, plus it's a feature-rich product that's straightforward to install and configure."
  • "VMware NSX should be able to scale for different customers, even the big ones. Its scalability needs improvement. Stability for it should also be improved."

What is most valuable?

What I found most valuable is the security offered by VMware NSX. I also like that it is a feature-rich product.

What needs improvement?

VMware NSX should be able to scale for different customers, even the big ones. Its scalability needs improvement. Stability for it should also be improved.

An additional feature I'd like to see in the next release of this product is for it to have more integration with other public clouds.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have concerns on the stability of VMware NSX, because it breaks multiple times in customer environments, especially when you scale it across a big data center.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

VMware NSX still has a lot of scalability limitations, and needs improvement on how it can scale.

How are customer service and support?

The support for VMware NSX has not been good recently. Some of their experienced staff have left the company, and that has impacted all their business units, including support.

How was the initial setup?

VMware NSX is straightforward to install and configure, but for a user who's new to it, the product can be somewhat complex to understand, though not too complex.

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

The pricing model for VMware NSX is good, especially because it has a lot of features.

What other advice do I have?

VMware NSX is a good product. It's the best solution in terms of the Enterprise FTN.

I'm quite competent on this product, because I've been working on it for a long time, so I find it easier to use.

I'm rating VMware NSX nine out of ten.

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