Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users
reviewer1750083 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technology Consultant at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Easy to configure with basic functionality
Pros and Cons
  • "VMware vSAN is easy to configure, with basic functionality and the customer can maintain the solution."
  • "The only thing that can be improved is the cost."

What is our primary use case?

Our company works in a multi-cloud model, hybrid environment using both the hyperscalers AWS and Azure with a combination of public and private clouds. Our organization is an integrator so VMware vSAN is used for our end customer.

VMware vSAN is used for VM workloads. We show our customers that they do not need to keep everything on-premises and that they can move not critical data to minimize data compliance security. We move them to a public cloud with the two hyperscalers. For workloads that they are not comfortable keeping in a public cloud, we recommend using a hybrid model. My use cases deal with virtual workloads, retailing and manufacturing solutions.

What is most valuable?

VMware vSAN is easy to configure, with basic functionality and the customer can maintain the solution.

What needs improvement?

The only thing that can be improved is the cost.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using VMware vSAN for more than two years.

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

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

VMware vSAN is stable. We would not recommend it to so many of our partners if it were not. It is foolproof; it's on multiple workloads.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable. Our customers have varying workloads, so we use the combination of on-premises and hybrid cloud, moving from private to public, and public to private so the scalability is always there. 

How are customer service and support?

We have in-house support for normal operational transactions. We also have a contract with VMware vSAN. Even our end customers have direct support contracts for the solution. Normally escalations to VMware support have to do with product bugs, a defect, or an engineering issue. 

What about the implementation team?

Our team deploys the solution in the customer's environment. We use VMware administrators to manage the storage. They have a combination of storage and VMware background. Our virtualization administrator is VMware certified and cross-trained with the storage administrator to increase productivity. 

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

VMware vSAN is less expensive than having a traditional three-tier solution or a full virtual VFX using a hyper-converged soluton. The cost is still too high and should be lower.

What other advice do I have?

VMware vSAN is not right for all types of use cases. It is specific to an opportunity if the customer is looking at an interim solution and wants to keep the costs low. This environment is more to do with development testing.

VMware vSAN is a good fit if you are looking at security and scale. In an environment that is more productive and needs better performance, this solution may not be the right fit.

I would rate this solution a 9 out of 10.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Muzamil Yakub - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Executive Officer at Infoview Limited
Real User
Frequent feature updates, beneficial webinars, and simple to manage
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features of VMware vSAN are that it receives updates frequently, has good compression, optimized storage, and they provide webinars on what is new. Additionally, the integration with third-party products is good and it is easy to manage."
  • "Customers who are using Essentials Plus or even Essentials have to pay for technical support. However, they should not have to pay for support."

What is our primary use case?

We are using VMware vSAN for data center virtualization.

How has it helped my organization?

The solution has benefited our organization from all the consolidation features, such as disaster recovery and backups.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of VMware vSAN are that it receives updates frequently, has good compression, optimized storage, and they provide webinars on what is new. Additionally, the integration with third-party products is good and it is easy to manage.

What needs improvement?

Customers who are using Essentials Plus or even Essentials have to pay for technical support. However, they should not have to pay for support.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using VMware vSAN for approximately seven years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is highly stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

VMware vSAN is scalable.

We have approximately 20 to 30 customers using this solution.

How are customer service and support?

The support is very good. However, there are times it could be quicker.

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

I have worked with other solutions, such as Hyper-V and Citrix. Our preference is always VMware.

How was the initial setup?

The initial implementation is straightforward. The time of installation can vary, it depends. If you're looking at virtualizing a host only, it can be done in five minutes.

What about the implementation team?

We use one engineer for the installation and maintenance of the solution.

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

There is a license required for this solution, it is a one-time payment. However, if they want support for the solution, it can be paid annually or for three years.

What other advice do I have?

I rate VMware vSAN 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
Buyer's Guide
VMware vSAN
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about VMware vSAN. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Ryan Dave Brigino - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer at Es'hailSat
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Easy to install, scalable, and stable
Pros and Cons
  • "We have found the solution to be very scalable."
  • "The price for the hard drive, for vSAN, is very expensive."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for data storage for the virtual machines.

What is most valuable?

The solution is quite stable.

We have found the solution to be very scalable. 

For VMware, it's almost perfect.

The installation is straightforward.

What needs improvement?

The cost of the product is very high. The price for the hard drive, for vSAN, is very expensive.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've just recently deployed the solution. It's been about two or three months or so. It hasn't been that long.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability and performance of the solution are good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's been very good so far, although we haven't used it for very long. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution can scale. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so. 

At this time, the administration team for the vSAN infrastructure is just three people.

How are customer service and technical support?

We do not get support via VMware. We get it through our local integrator.

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

We did not previously use any other solution.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is easy. It's not overly complex or difficult. 

You need to do it as one complete infrastructure. It maybe takes one hour.

What about the implementation team?

We had an integrator assist us with the implementation process. 

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

The price of the product is very high. We want to rescale it, however, it's expensive to do so.

What other advice do I have?

I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. We have been pleased with its capabilities so far. 

I would recommend VMware. The vSAN is just part of VMware.

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 at SSMS
Real User
Top 10
Stable and easy to manage with a straightforward setup
Pros and Cons
  • "We've found the solution to be scalable."
  • "On the DevOps side, if there could be more automation it would be more helpful."

What is our primary use case?

Basically, we wanted to do more automation. That was the primary reason for us to move to it. Specifically, with respect to the finance part, we wanted to ensure that more automation can happen there in order to give more control to the end-user. It's also used for managing some of the application stack as well as storage management.

What is most valuable?

The solution makes management very easy.

We've found the solution to be scalable.

The stability of the solution is very good.

The installation process is very simple and straightforward.

What needs improvement?

The solution could use more integration with respect to the DR solution. If there was more integration with respect to the backup solutions, that will definitely help us.

On the DevOps side, if there could be more automation it would be more helpful. Specifically, we would like to know how to integrate and extend it towards the cloud. Either it is JCP or GCP or AWS.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for one and a half years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have found the solution to be stable and reliable. We haven't really had to deal with bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze either.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is very scalable. If a company wants to expand the solution it can. It's not a problem.

We have about 500 users on the solution currently. We do plan to continue to use it.

How are customer service and technical support?

We've only really had two incidents that required support, and therefore my experience with technical support is rather limited. Dell EMC tends to handle the support, and we've never had issues getting any help. Overall, it's been fine, and in general, we are satisfied with the level of technical support we can get when we need it.

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

I didn't really use a different version of the solution. Most of the time I had been using ESX environment, and that was one of the reasons for going ahead with vSAN.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not difficult or complex. It's very simple, very straightforward. A company should find it very easy to set up.

What about the implementation team?

We handled the implementation ourselves, in-house. We did not need the help of a consultant or implementor.

What other advice do I have?

We are a customer and an end-user.

We are not on the latest version. We are using the latest version minus one. 

I'd recommend this solution to others.

I'd rate the product at 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
Head of network and web at a maritime company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Good performance and pricing but needs load balancing features
Pros and Cons
  • "Technical support is very helpful and very good at resolving issues."
  • "Hardware load balancing is available on the enterprise version of the solution, however, it's extremely expensive and therefore out of our budget."

What is our primary use case?

We are mainly using the solution for our Windows environment. 

What is most valuable?

We're largely happy with the solution overall. 

The performance has been good in general.

The initial setup is simple.

Technical support is very helpful and very good at resolving issues.

The pricing is decent.

What needs improvement?

We are looking for more load balancing at an application level.

For the hardware level, we're looking at some other solutions. For example, we're checking out Nutanix and Sangfor. 

We've had issues with load balancing. Suppose, for example, if the physical ESXi host is down, the virtual machine you have handle manually. We need to have load balancing and RAM and processor balancing also.

Hardware load balancing is available on the enterprise version of the solution, however, it's extremely expensive and therefore out of our budget.

In general, we're looking for more features. This solution doesn't really offer us that much.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using the solution for three to four years at this point.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We had some issues about a year ago with stability. We took the problem to support and they were able to resolve whatever the issue was. It's been stable since then, and we haven't had issues with bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

My colleague and I are the IT people, and we are managing vSAN for the most part. We haven't necessarily attempted to scale the solution at all. Therefore, it would be hard to say how easy or difficult the process is or how scalable in general the product is.

How are customer service and technical support?

We've used technical support in the past to resolve issues, and they have been very helpful and responsive They were able to fix any problems we've had. We're quite satisfied with them. They've been very good, very helpful.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not complex. It's very simple and very straightforward. 

While we handle the maintenance ourselves in-house, we have the option of calling our integration partner if we run into any issues.

What about the implementation team?

We had an integration partner that came in and assisted us with the initial implementation. We did not handle it completely in-house. They were very helpful.

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

The pricing is mid-range. It's pretty good compared to other options. Everything is included. There are no additional or hidden costs.

The enterprise version, however, is very, very high. Currently, we are using the standard version. To move to the enterprise level, there is a big price jump.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We're currently evaluating Nutanix and Sangfor as options to replace VMware in our organization. We want more load balancing and therefore are looking for a solution that could potentially offer us that.

What other advice do I have?

We are just a customer and an end-user.

I'd recommend the solution to other organizations.

I would rate it at a seven out of ten. We've been happy with it for the most part, however, we are looking at other options that offer more features. The standard version just isn't giving us enough of what we need. That said, it;'s a good product.

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
reviewer1502748 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager IT Services at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
A stable solution with integrated storage and a single pane of glass for management and operational control
Pros and Cons
  • "It has a single pane of glass for management and operational control, which is the most valuable feature. The integrated storage is also valuable."
  • "Its integration with a hybrid cloud can be improved. Its scalability can also be improved so that it can be integrated with more than 32 nodes. The maximum number of nodes is okay, but our use cases could probably do with more nodes, probably up to 64. In terms of new features, it should probably have the basic support for high-speed networking spaces."

What is most valuable?

It has a single pane of glass for management and operational control, which is the most valuable feature. The integrated storage is also valuable.

What needs improvement?

Its integration with a hybrid cloud can be improved. Its scalability can also be improved so that it can be integrated with more than 32 nodes. The maximum number of nodes is okay, but our use cases could probably do with more nodes, probably up to 64.

In terms of new features, it should probably have the basic support for high-speed networking spaces.

For how long have I used the solution?

My experience with it has been for about 12 months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It has good stability. It is better than the non-hyper-converged one that we had previously.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Its scalability can be improved so that it can be integrated with more than 32 nodes.

How are customer service and technical support?

Their support is good. If you are a big enough user, you get enough support. 

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

This is the first one that we used.

How was the initial setup?

For us, it was fairly straightforward. You need to have knowledge of vCenter. The deployment took about two to three days in total.

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

It is expensive, but you get what you pay for.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution, but you have to be careful about the license cost. It can get quite expensive.

I would rate VMware vSAN a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Engineer at a consumer goods company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Simplifies storage, we no longer need to deal with Fibre Channel or external arrays
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is the simplification of storage. We no longer need to deal with Fibre Channel and the external storage arrays."

    What is our primary use case?

    The primary use case is all of our VMware workloads. In terms of performance, it does alright with the general workloads. I've had some issues with the dupe clusters, but that's just the right-sizing overwriting the cache.

    How has it helped my organization?

    It has helped break down the silos, and we have not needed a separate storage team since the introduction of vSAN.

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable feature is the simplification of storage. We no longer need to deal with Fibre Channel and the external storage arrays.

    What needs improvement?

    There are features that we could use that are coming out: File Services, data backup, and a better way to do Maintenance Mode with vSAN, which takes a while.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    Three to five years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    So far, except for a couple glitches in past revisions, the stability has been alright. We had some issues with dedupe and compression in 6.2, where we had to delete all the storage off of it and recreate the storage groups. But besides that, it's been working well.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It scales really well. However, we're going to be in need of some, not external storage, but ways to expand storage without adding additional nodes to the cluster.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We're an MCS customer with VMware so we get great support.

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

    For HCI, we didn't have anything else in place. For servers, this was our introduction to HCI. We have other products for VDI, but not for server workloads.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was very straightforward.

    What other advice do I have?

    If you're going to run vSAN, make sure that you stick to the HCL and that your firmware and your drivers match what's on the HCL before you implement it or go live with it.

    When selecting a vendor, for us, support is number one, the support that we can get from them. The other factor would be the forward-looking direction of the company.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Engineering Specialist at a logistics company with 10,001+ employees
    Real User
    We can put our infrastructure in remote locations and get onsite-SAN performance
    Pros and Cons
    • "It allows us to put our infrastructure in remote locations and still get the same performance we get from our onsite SAN solutions."

      What is our primary use case?

      We use it for storage and redundancy.

      How has it helped my organization?

      It has changed the way we design our infrastructure. We're looking at a new infrastructure.

      Also, it allows us to put our infrastructure in remote locations and still get the same performance we get from our onsite SAN solutions.

      What is most valuable?

      I like the availability aspects of it.

      For how long have I used the solution?

      Less than one year.

      What do I think about the stability of the solution?

      The stability has been very good. I don't think we've had any real issues from what we have been setting up so far.

      What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

      It's very scalable. That is a really good feature of the product.

      How was the initial setup?

      The initial setup was pretty straightforward.

      What other advice do I have?

      I rate it at 10 out of 10 because it is just a really good product. I've used other products like it and it seems to be the most stable and easiest to configure.

      Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
      PeerSpot user
      Buyer's Guide
      Download our free VMware vSAN Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
      Updated: October 2024
      Product Categories
      HCI
      Buyer's Guide
      Download our free VMware vSAN Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.