VMware vCenter Reviews

We utilize VMware vCenter for monitoring hosts, migrating virtual machines, and monitoring server performance.

Our infrastructure management has been greatly enhanced, particularly with features like vMotion being crucial for our operations.

The management and monitoring capabilities have significantly influenced our operational efficiency, proving to be highly beneficial for our needs.

The most valuable aspect for us is the ability to monitor all servers simultaneously and effortlessly move them between hosts. Additionally, adjusting server specifications such as CPU, memory, or storage capacity, whether increasing or decreasing, is incredibly convenient and beneficial for our operations.

The scalability features provided by VMware vCenter supported the growth of our organization.

There are numerous scattered versions of plugins compatible with VMware, which can be challenging to manage. Consolidating these plugins into a unified environment with customizable options to enable or disable features would be highly beneficial. Additionally, the ability to work with hardware beyond the compatibility list would add further value to the platform.

I have been working with it for five years.

The stability is exceptionally high, providing a seamless experience. I would rate it a perfect ten out of ten.

It is scalable given that I have sufficient hardware resources. If I decide to add more hardware, I can do so easily, but it's essential to select the appropriate hardware services before making any purchases. We have more than one hundred and fifty users. I would rate it seven out of ten. It is continuously in use, running throughout the entire day.

Previously, we utilized hardware, primarily within a Microsoft environment. However, we transitioned to VMware due to its capability to move servers without downtime. This flexibility makes it incredibly user-friendly and adaptable.

Our deployment was done by a third-party system integrator. The process was completed within a few hours.

In terms of return on investment, VMware proves to be cost-effective, especially when considering the long-term perspective. Evaluating its cost-effectiveness requires a considerable duration due to its long-term impact.

The pricing is significantly high. I would rate it ten out of ten.

I would recommend it to others considering implementation, particularly if they have a sufficient budget. However, for those with budget constraints, there are alternative solutions, including open-source options, albeit not as comprehensive as VMware. Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten.

Our primary use case for VMware is in our IT environment, specifically within our data center for our Enterprise Application Testing (EAT) server.

The product has improved our system's proactive support for in-built AI tools. It automatically identifies potential issues and helps customers with feedback.

The product's most valuable feature is the ability to clone and snapshot the process for POC.

vCenter's demo functionality needs enhancement. One notable area for enhancement revolves around cost considerations, as introducing features such as DDoS protection or data compression could reduce expenses. We have an infrastructure comprising around 200 VMs that require approximately 20 terabytes of storage for efficient data management. The deduplication and compression features help organizations manage large numbers of servers, streamline operations, reduce storage requirements, and navigate capacity upgrades more seamlessly.

Nowadays, all the products have cloud functionality. Thus, they could introduce a hybrid cloud system and a unified licensing model. We have to buy several SLM licenses for different components, including a demo. Instead, they could include all functionalities in one license.

We have been using VMware vCenter since 2010.

I rate the platform's stability an eight out of ten. Whenever we encounter any technical issues, the support team resolves them.

VMware vCenter is suitable for medium enterprises. We use the product for user acceptance testing and for providing cyber security for product and test environments. Thus, we are using a substantial number of 18 servers in our business infrastructure.

However, Nutanix is more scalable than VMware. We can host as many clusters as required using it.

The initial setup is simple. However, Nutanix has a simpler process.

The platform is highly-priced. It is suitable for medium enterprises. We use the product for user acceptance testing and for providing cyber security for product and test environments. Thus, we are using a substantial number of eighteen servers in our business infrastructure.

However, Nutanix is more scalable than VMware. We can host as many clusters as required using it.

We have evaluated Microsoft Hyper V, Nutanix, and other vendors along with VMware vCenter. Among them, Nutanix is more preferable.

VMware vCenter provides excellent flexibility in terms of managing virtual infrastructure. We can provision services anytime. We can easily create a distribution suite and manage networks. I rate the platform's efficiency for multicluster operations an eight out of ten.

I rate the overall product an eight out of ten.

We use the solution for backup.

The most valuable features of the solution are virtualization and ease of backing up the virtual and on-premises servers.

The solution’s pricing could be improved.

I have been using VMware vCenter for five years.

I rate the solution’s stability an eight to nine out of ten.

I rate the solution an eight or nine out of ten for scalability.

The solution's technical support is very good compared to other virtualization tools. We used to get a response within ten days. We should have premium licensing to get support. I feel that the cost of the support is higher.

Positive

On a scale from one to ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy, I rate the solution's initial setup an eight out of ten.

The solution's deployment process is very straightforward. For a small environment, the solution can be deployed within a day. The solution's deployment time depends upon the environment. For a smaller environment, the deployment and configuration can be completed within one or two days.

On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten.

The user administration is straightforward, and the restore is quick and easy. All software has bugs. VMware vCenter is one of the standards of virtualization in the market for on-premises. I would recommend the solution to other users. After its merger with Broadcom, the solution's license price has become costlier, and the previously available customizations are no longer available.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Our clients normally use VMware vCenter for centralized management of different VMware hypervisors, mainly in private networks and private edge computing platforms.

The most valuable feature of VMware vCenter is the centralized management that allows us to see resources from different data centers and VMware clusters in a single dashboard.

We're currently working with VMware vCenter to manage two different VMware ESXi hosts. That lets you configure alarms, centralized security management, centralized VM deployment, automation, VM migration, and VM backups.

You cannot configure a centralized firewall with VMware vCenter. You need to go one by one, cluster by cluster, hypervisor by hypervisor, and VM by VM from VMware vCenter. VMware vCenter does not have a centralized security dashboard, and it is pretty tedious to configure.

I have been using VMware vCenter for four years.

I rate the solution a seven out of ten for stability.

Our clients are usually pretty big businesses that are more digital transformation-oriented.

The solution's technical support is pretty bad. The only way we received support was by reaching out to the upper company layers to ask for support through the company alliance.

Negative

On a scale from one to ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy, I rate the solution's initial setup a six to seven out of ten.

It takes a few hours to deploy the solution, and it's not a fast deployment.

The solution's pricing is not too bad for big companies. The solution is pretty expensive for small businesses because there are few lower-scale VMware vCenter solutions. The cost-effectiveness of VMware vCenter is pretty good, and I rate it at nine out of ten.

We're working with small workloads, and it's been more about technological validation. We have demonstrated to the client all the capabilities they would have by installing VMware vCenter and what they can monitor with VMware vCenter. I would recommend the solution to other users.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

In my previous company, we used the product primarily for virtualizing our compute resources, including active directories and databases, to support our contact center business. In my current role, we use it similarly for virtualizing DNS servers and compute requirements for our environment.

The user-friendliness and stability are the product’s most valuable features. Over the past five years, we've experienced minimal issues, even during upgrades and migrations.

We've been exploring a hybrid cloud setup but found the solution complex and expensive. Additionally, scalability could be enhanced to accommodate our requirements better during increased demand.

We've been using vCenter for approximately ten years now.

The product is scalable.

Due to the complexity of hybrid cloud solutions, we consulted VMware experts. We also considered proposals from public cloud providers, which proved more cost-effective.

I emphasize its robust disaster recovery capabilities. In our experience, we encountered minimal impact when one node went down due to hardware issues. Once the hardware was fixed, the recovery process was seamless. Overall, vCenter has proven to be a solid product that has served us well.

I rate it a nine out of ten. 

We use the platform to administer virtual machines deployed on several servers.

Implementing VMware vCenter has significantly improved our organization's IT infrastructure management. It has added to our knowledge base as well. Before deploying vCenter, our teams faced challenges in manually managing desktops.

The most valuable features of VMware vCenter for our organization include its centralized management capabilities and the ability to handle virtual machines across multiple ESXi hosts efficiently. We log into the center that acts as a single pane of glass, helping us oversee all physical hosts and dependent components, combining all the resources.

VMware vCenter is an expensive product. Its price needs improvement.

We have been using VMware vCenter for a year.

It is a stable platform.

It is a scalable platform.

The initial setup of VMware vCenter was a complex process for our organization. The deployment process involves installing the vCenter Server software on a Windows-based machine.

As an end user, we engaged with a distributor or partner to facilitate the implementation. They conducted knowledge-sharing sessions and administered the platform for our team.

The product's three-year license package is inexpensive.

VMware vCenter helps us optimize infrastructure by resource provision, performance monitoring, and managing user access from a single console. Its performance management plays an instrumental role in day-to-day center operations.

In case of any system downtime from users' back-end or availability issues, it reallocates to another host. It is a good solution that was internally built and developed over time. I advise others to use it if cost is not an issue.

I rate it a nine out of ten.

Our primary use case for this solution is for infrastructure services, specifically SFTP.

The most valuable features of vCenter are its monitoring capabilities and operational tools for managing virtual machines. These tools help us efficiently monitor performance, manage networking, and handle provisioning tasks.

Enhancing the product's capabilities on the backend could be beneficial. We worry about potential changes in licensing costs and structures. They could work on the pricing models. 

In the platform's next release, they could improve browser-based management capabilities, allowing full functionality without requiring a client agent. It would enable users to perform all management tasks using popular browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Safari.

We have been using VMware vCenter in our environment since 2012.

The product's stability is generally satisfactory. However, ensuring compatibility with other components, such as the text server, is crucial to maintaining stability.

I rate the product stability as seven out of ten.

We have 200 VMware vCenter users in our organization. It is highly scalable. However, automation is needed to enhance scalability further. While we can manage scalability manually, automated capabilities would be more efficient.

I rate the scalability a seven out of ten.

We contact VMware for support whenever we require assistance, and they promptly address our queries. The response time varies depending on the issue's complexity, but we typically receive a response within an hour.

Neutral

Before choosing VMware vCenter, we considered that if the licensing model was unsuitable, we might switch to alternatives like OpenStack or other virtualization solutions. However, ultimately, vCenter was the primary option we chose.

The initial setup can be straightforward, particularly with simplified configuration options. However, integration with other systems and services may require additional effort to ensure seamless operation. Depending on the complexity of the infrastructure, setup time can vary from a day to potentially more than a week, especially when extensive configuration and preparation are needed.

I rate the process a seven out of ten.

The implementation typically involves coordination between networking teams, support teams, and potential vendors. Depending on the scale and complexity of the deployment, expertise from multiple domains may be required. For larger deployments with complex networking, storage, and VMware configurations, the involvement of experienced vendor teams or in-house experts is essential. It ensures efficient deployment and ongoing maintenance.

The ROI depends on deployment size, whether on-premises or in the public cloud. Moving to the cloud can save costs by reducing hardware investment, administrative overhead, and electricity expenses, particularly for larger deployments.

We have purchased monthly licenses for the platform. There are additional costs involved. We pay per user, but we are still determining if the new licensing model will be more expensive or cheaper.

I rate the pricing a five out of ten.

VMware vCenter has notably enhanced our virtual environment management by improving operational efficiency and troubleshooting various platform issues.

It has significantly impacted our organization by facilitating troubleshooting and monitoring processes. However, we seek a more equitable licensing model based on resource usage to better align with our needs. It would ensure fair pricing and optimize resource allocation, enhancing operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Before installing VMware vCenter, users should consider the potential challenges of integrating new services and weigh the cost-effectiveness of on-premises versus cloud solutions. Evaluating pricing and scalability is crucial, as opting for public cloud alternatives may incur higher expenses. Therefore, assessing the overall price-performance ratio and scalability options is essential for making an informed decision about installing vCenter.

I rate the product a seven out of ten.

We use the product to manage different hosts.

The product's technical support services could be better.

We have been using VMware vCenter for three years. At present, we are using the latest version.

I rate the platform's stability an eight out of ten.

We can add many hosts to the vCenter, and it performs well. I rate the scalability a nine out of ten.

The technical support team needs improvement.

For the deployment, we utilize the vSphere hypervisor system. It takes an hour to complete.

I rate the process a ten out of ten.

The platform has reasonable pricing.

The platform is very effective for managing virtual infrastructure. It has improved our virtual infrastructure and virtual machine deployment in several ways. It provides a centralized platform for managing hosts and enables seamless VM migrations using vMotion.

The monitoring feature is the most valuable part of our daily operations. We have also seen improvements in troubleshooting and performance monitoring, especially when hosts encounter issues. Overall, it's beneficial for maintaining optimality.

It has enhanced our virtual environment management. Specifically, it has improved our ability to create and manage virtual machines efficiently.

The product is good, stable, and easy to deploy. I rate it an eight out of ten.