- The HA functions
- vSphere Distributed Switch
Senior Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
It gives us the ability to manage thousands of servers from a centralized point because it supports migration between hardware and consolidated workloads.
What is most valuable?
How has it helped my organization?
It gives us a good consolidated overview of hundreds or thousands of servers at a time.
It gives us the ability to easily manage those from a centralized point, and a lot more reliability because we can easily migrate between hardware and consolidate workloads.
What needs improvement?
The web client, the GUI, could use some improvement. It’s pretty clunky and slow. Some things are only available in the web client, some are only available in the fat client so it would be nice to have them in both in one interface.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used it for about two years.
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October 2024
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What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
No, we’ve been using vSphere for a long time so we’re quite familiar with it, and we have a good relationship with VMWare. Deployment was easy.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We don’t see many crashes, if any, on the vSphere side.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Again, it’s simple as popping extra hosts in. Quite easily scalable.
How are customer service and support?
Customer Service:
They’re very good. We’ve got a good relationship with VMware, and they’re always available - they give us previews on upcoming tech or quickly connect us with someone we need to speak to.
Technical Support:It’s good. It’s usually quite easy and quick to log calls and get support services. The vSphere client has a built-in means of pulling logs which logs which we can send directly to VMWare technical support. We can get tier two or three support quite readily.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Not since I’ve worked here, so at least 10 years. We started with vSphere.
How was the initial setup?
It kind of depends; we work with a number of different customers. It’s relatively straightforward, but for complex implementations there can be some complications. They publish all of the necessary installation information so it’s quite easy to find support for deployment.
What about the implementation team?
We do it in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It’s not something I really deal with as an engineer. Because of the types of service we offer, we don’t sell customers vSphere licensing.
What other advice do I have?
I’d grab the software from their site - you can deploy it and use it for 60 days free of charge, so whether you’re doing a large or small deployment try it out and see if it works. You can also engage with technical support services. The software is free, so grab it and play with it.
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor. The reviewer's company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: I work for a VMware partner.
Information Technology Security Specialist at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
Easy to set up with good reliability and a great user interface
Pros and Cons
- "There are no issues with the level of scalability you can achieve."
- "There should be a bit more flexibility in terms of the hardware we can use with the product."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution for the analytics we can get.
What is most valuable?
It works well with other VMware solutions.
The user interface is great.
There are no issues with the level of scalability you can achieve.
The stability is good.
The initial setup is straightforward.
What needs improvement?
There should be a bit more flexibility in terms of the hardware we can use with the product. There needs to be better compatibility.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've used the solution for a long time. We've used the solution for more than a decade.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution offers good reliability and performance. The stability is good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
You can easily scale the solution as needed. It's great in the sense. There are no issues around scaling.
We have about 35 users at this time.
The solution doesn't use up a lot of space, however, I can't say if we plan to increase usage or not just yet.
How are customer service and support?
We've never contacted technical support in the past. I can't speak to how they are in terms of the level of service they provide.
How was the initial setup?
The solution is easy to set up. It's not a complex or difficult process at all.
The deployment doesn't take too long. It took us about ten days or so.
We have four engineers that can handle deployment and maintenance tasks.
What about the implementation team?
We handled the implementation ourselves. We did not use an integrator or consultant for the deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We have an on-premises setup. There aren't any extra costs involved.
What other advice do I have?
I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. We've been satisfied with its general capabilities so far.
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.
Buyer's Guide
VMware vSphere
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about VMware vSphere. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
System Advisor IT at CRIF India
Reliable, user-friendly interface, easy to install, configure, and manage
Pros and Cons
- "There is the simplicity of management, accessibility, and availability."
- "The only concern that I have with VMware is the support. It is very limited and can be better."
What is our primary use case?
In the organization where I have worked for the past nine years, there are multiple virtualization platforms. Virtualization software includes Microsoft Hypervisor, Red Hat KVM, Oracle virtual machine, and Oracle virtual cloud.
vSphere is optimized for a specific type of virtualization.
What is most valuable?
There is the simplicity of management, accessibility, and availability.
The interface is really user-friendly.
What needs improvement?
The only concern that I have with VMware is the support. It is very limited and can be better.
When you get support from the VMware global team or support locations, customer complaints are not entertained or taken seriously by the VMware global team or support centers. Other OEMs, such as Microsoft and Oracle, would make you a priority.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware vSphere for three years.
We recently upgraded to the latest version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a very stable solution. In fact, when it comes to virtualization, you can tell anyone to use the system.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In our organization, we have 600 users.
My previous organization had a population of approximately 35,000 people.
How are customer service and support?
The support is the only negative feedback, they need improvements.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I'm familiar with all of the virtualization platforms that are now available on the market.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup and installation are straightforward. It is something that can be done by anyone.
In one hour, we can complete the installation and configuration.
Admins are only required to look after the VM portion of the new VM creation as well as the configuration or modification. Aside from that, we have a team of two or three admins to deploy and maintain this solution during their shift time, such as in the morning and afternoon shifts.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The organization pays the licensing fees.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We looked at a few alternatives and compared them to vSphere.
What other advice do I have?
The freelance experience for the platform is excellent.
I would recommend this solution to other users.
I would rate VMware vSphere a ten 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.
Senior Software and Systems Engineer at SAMU.IT
Reliable, scalable, with good support and high availability
Pros and Cons
- "This solution's most valuable feature is its High Availability."
- "The support is good, but it's slow."
What is our primary use case?
We are an IT company and VMware partners.
VMware vSphere is used for virtualization in all situations and for all businesses.
What is most valuable?
This solution's most valuable feature is its High Availability.
What needs improvement?
The only concern I have with VMware vSphere is that the level of support is inadequate. It's not very fast. The support is good, but it's slow.
When we need help, we require someone to answer the phone quickly.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been selling VMware vSphere since it was launched.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have no issues with the stability of VMware vSphere. It is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
VMware vSphere is a scalable product.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is good but not very fast.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have customers who use Sangfor, as well as customers with VMware.
vSphere is used by all VMware customers.
How was the initial setup?
A small infrastructure installation can take up to eight hours.
The teams are always the same. We have five technicians, three of whom specialize in networking and virtualization, and one who is a management engineer.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Our customers have the option of paying the licensing fee when they purchase the solution or renting it from us.
If a customer chooses to rent the solution, the customer pays us and we purchase the solution.
What other advice do I have?
The vSphere serves as the system's control center for managing virtual machines (VMs). VMware vSphere is present in all installations.
Our solutions are all deployed on-premises.
As a company, we advise, supply, and install products for our clients. We provide two solutions, one of which is Sangfor and the other is VMware.
As a reseller of vSphere, I would recommend this solution to anyone who is interested in using it.
I would rate VMware vSphere an eight 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: Partner
IT Manager at a legal firm with 51-200 employees
Scalable with a straightforward setup and good stability
Pros and Cons
- "Technical support is quite good and very responsive."
- "The cost could always be lower."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the product as a server. Most of the work we do for our clients.
What is most valuable?
The product works very well for us. Over the last decade, it's been extremely dependable.
The initial setup is very straightforward.
The stability has been very good.
Technical support is quite good and very responsive.
The solution can scale well.
What needs improvement?
The product meets our needs pretty well. I can't recall noticing any missing features. It's pretty complete.
Our hopes are that it continuously keeps improving.
The cost could always be lower.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for about ten years or so. It's been about a decade. We've had it a while.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is excellent. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's extremely reliable and the performance has been good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product is very, very scalable. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so without any issues.
Our clients have users that vary anywhere from hundreds to thousands. Quite a few people are on it.
How are customer service and technical support?
We've dealt with technical support in the past and I would rate them very highly. They are helpful and responsive. They get us answers. We're quite satisfied with the level of support we receive.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We didn't previously use a different solution. We've basically used this product since day one.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
You can save quite a bit using this solution.
What other advice do I have?
We're just customers and end-users. We don't have any business relationship with VMware.
We use the latest version of the solution. I can't speak to the exact version number.
We're very happy with the solution overall. I'd rate it at a nine out of ten.
Using this product is a no-brainer. It's a really easy product to use. If you're looking at simply a VM or anything similar or anything cloud-based, it's pretty much exactly what you need.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Head of enterprise systems at Fidelity Bank Plc
Good dynamic resource scheduling and fault tolerance capabilities
Pros and Cons
- "Its dynamic resource scheduling and its fault tolerance capabilities are two features that I've found to be valuable. I also like that VMware vSphere is stable, scalable, and easy to install."
- "I would like to see improvements in simplifying automation, cloud native deployment, administration, and fault resolution."
What is our primary use case?
It's used as a private cloud, and currently, we operate the original enterprise infrastructure. For VMware, a majority of the workload is posted on VMware, and it's posted on the HCI solution.
What is most valuable?
Its dynamic resource scheduling and its fault tolerance capabilities are two features that I've found to be valuable. I also like that VMware vSphere is stable, scalable, and easy to install.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see improvements in simplifying automation, cloud native deployment, administration, and fault resolution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using VMware vSphere since 2008.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
My impression is that it's a very stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I believe that VMware vSphere is scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
The customer service and technical support were fine.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used Hyper-V, which is a Microsoft product.
How was the initial setup?
It was easy to install. We performed a complete deployment because it was a full MCI, so it required some architecture. I believe it took about a month.
What about the implementation team?
I used consultants for the implementation process because it was a refresh project.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I currently use the yearly licensing option, and I think that the pricing is fine for this solution.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution at 9, on a scale from one to 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.
Associate Manager at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Stable and scalable, good support and training, and useful for 100% hardware utilization
Pros and Cons
- "Server Virtualization is the most important feature because that helps me to utilize 100% capacity of my physical server or box. Its redundancy, uptime, or high-availability is also valuable. Storage-sharing is also valuable. In vSAN, I can utilize the maximum storage. In the physical boxes, if you don't require storage, it lies idle, but with VMware or any kind of virtualization, you can utilize the full storage."
- "Its price could be better. It is expensive, and its price is a big concern."
What is most valuable?
Server Virtualization is the most important feature because that helps me to utilize 100% capacity of my physical server or box. Its redundancy, uptime, or high-availability is also valuable.
Storage-sharing is also valuable. In vSAN, I can utilize the maximum storage. In the physical boxes, if you don't require storage, it lies idle, but with VMware or any kind of virtualization, you can utilize the full storage.
What needs improvement?
Its price could be better. It is expensive, and its price is a big concern.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with vSphere for the last ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable. I started my virtualization career with VMware 3.0 or 3.5. At that time, it was volatile, but now it is quite sturdy. At that time, it was working with Exchange 2003. When I installed it on VMware, I found that Exchange was giving problems and servers were hanging, but nowadays, servers are quite stable. Virtualization is quite good nowadays, and that is the future. All cloud solutions are good nowadays.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable. I have around 200-plus servers with me.
How are customer service and technical support?
Their technical support is good. I am happy with that. When I call my VMware team members for any issue, they usually guide me. I am getting good technical support. When I open a high-priority ticket, and I want the support within 10 minutes or 15 minutes, I call my local team member or my Account Manager, and they arrange it for me. I find them very good. I don't find any issue with VMware.
Their training is also good. People, who are not a part of an organization and want to get some training, can connect to their virtual labs. They are doing pretty well.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I didn't work on something similar before vSphere. After vSphere, I tried to work on Microsoft Virtualization, which is also quite good, but I did not get much exposure to that. My organization prefers to work on VMware. In our sister concern, we're working on Microsoft, but we are planning to move them to VMware vSphere because I want to establish my DR on the other side. We had VMware DRS hosted at one of the service providers, and then we moved to Microsoft Azure, but now we're planning to move back to on-premise.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Its price is quite high. VMware licensing is quite costly. You have to pay for the CPU and Threads, but if you want good service, you have to pay the price. Its cost is not more than 1 million for us.
What other advice do I have?
If you want 100% utilization of your hardware, you should definitely use it. There is also network virtualization and storage virtualization, but it would be quite cheaper if you go for physical storage.
If you are a medium to large organization, the hybrid environment is also there. If you are a small organization, you should go for the cloud because if your utilization is not much, it is always recommended to go for the cloud. Otherwise, go for VMware virtualization. It is 100% useful for an organization.
VMware is bringing a lot of features. They are quite ahead in terms of features. They have containerization, monitoring, operational manager, and all required features. vSAN and storage utilization are also there. They are bundling everything. Their Research and Development is very good.
I would rate VMware vSphere a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Information System Engineer at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
It provides a centralized management interface for ESXi hosts.
What is most valuable?
A lot of the features of this product are valuable to us such as vMotion, HA, online modify VM specs, etc.
How has it helped my organization?
vCenter provides a centralized management interface for ESXi hosts. It's not only a management tool but also a performance monitor. It's easy for us to update hundreds of ESXi hosts in a few weeks. It helps us manage thousands of VMs.
What needs improvement?
vCenter is much more important than ever. The vCenter HA solution is the area in which VMware should improve. (I know vCenter version 6.5 has a similar feature, but it's not released yet.)
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used this solution for more than 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have not encountered any stability issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
VMware's strategy is a step away from Windows. In the future, they will focus on virtual appliances. The only pain is it's risky to migrate from vCenter Windows to a virtual appliance.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I'm also using Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 along with SCVMM 2012 R2. It's really painful for VMware users since Microsoft's hypervisor solution has a lot of bugs/problems and is hard to fix.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is a wizard. You just need to follow default settings to finish the setup, then it is ready to work with. If you are using a virtual appliance, then the only thing you need to do is import to the ESXi host.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
vCenter is expensive. It's worse to buy if you have a high volume of ESXi hosts.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated another solution namely the SCVMM 2012 R2 solution.
What other advice do I have?
For new users, virtual appliance is the best choose as it is saving costs and is much easier to set it up as well.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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