The most valuable features for us are HA, DRS, and SDRS.
Project Leader at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
The most valuable features for us are HA, DRS, and SDRS.
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features for us are HA, DRS, and SDRS."
- "The Web Client is too slow."
What is most valuable?
How has it helped my organization?
We have reduced our number of physical servers from 180 to 20, saving us cost and resources in our data center.
What needs improvement?
I'd suggest improvements in a couple of areas. First, the Web Client is too slow. Also, they need to improve vRealize Operations Manager.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used it for almost 2 years.
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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.
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What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
We were unsuccessful in a few setups, for example, installing on SD cards in some UCS blades. I think, though, that the problem was related to hardware and not to the setup process.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It’s very rare that the hypervisor has stability problems.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Only with big VMs -- over 64 GB of RAM or with disks over 2 TB -- are there scalability issues.
How are customer service and support?
Customer Service:
I've not got enough experience to comment on the level of customer service.
Technical Support:I’ve always received good service form technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I’ve used different hypervisors and also previous versions of vSphere. I think that vSphere is the most complete and stable solution for enterprise customers.
How was the initial setup?
Personally, I find the initial setup too simple, but I’ve worked several years on different versions.
What about the implementation team?
I’ve implemented vSphere in my company and for several customers.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I think that in the past there have been some mistakes in the licensing policy. I hope that in the future it will be simpler.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We have migrated from the previous version without evaluating other products. For our development environment, we are evaluating whether or not to migrate to a product without license costs.
What other advice do I have?
For a customer who needs to have a stable infrastructure that's scalable, for very critical applications, I recommend vSphere without a doubt. I would also recommend that you request a VMware Partner to design and implement the solution.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: My Company is a VMware Partner.
Principal Analyst at a pharma/biotech company with 1,001-5,000 employees
It separates the software from the hardware so that a hardware failure is not catastrophic.
What is most valuable?
It’s changed my life – I’ve been in IT since 1989 and very few technologies have been life changing and VMware is one of them. It has given me my nights and weekends back. It separates the software from the hardware, and having a hardware failure is not catastrophic, so I don’t have to get up and leave church, whenever I have time. Very few applications can fully utilize the computer hardware but VMware can.
What needs improvement?
I think room for improvement would be in the site recovery manager. I believe that VMware’s moving more towards using VMware appliances, as opposed to having to load components on Windows servers. I have had some issues with this – I need more tools to allow me to access database features on their appliances. They are sealed at this point.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Very scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support, when I’ve used them, have been very good. Typically, the first person who answers the phone is not very knowledgeable, but afterwards, and once they escalate the case, they are very helpful.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
No – I have been using VMware since v3. I choose what I like and I stick with it.
How was the initial setup?
It is somewhat complex – for building an enterprise system, however, you can get the free version, and it's actually the same version you run on your enterprise, it’s the same software.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
A quality product is number one, and a strong company is number two, good support. If a company is not going to be around, then I won’t choose to spend millions of dollars on my equipment.
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.
816,562 professionals have used our research since 2012.
System Administrator at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
We've used it to move 80% of our servers to a virtual environment, but it lacks a good built-in backup feature.
What is most valuable?
- Storage VMotion
- High Availability
- Distributed Resource Scheduler
How has it helped my organization?
We started moving to a virtual environment using VMWare very early on, and now more than 80% of our servers are virtual. We had a big server farm before, and our data center was filled with servers, now all our servers fit in one rack. Also, on physical machines increasing resources is a very difficult task, requiring downtime, but with VMs, we can do it on the fly.
What needs improvement?
They should have a good built-in backup feature. Although there is a built-in feature already, it is called VMWare Data Protection, but it is not at all user friendly.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used it for more than six years.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
No issues encountered.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No issues encountered.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No issues encountered.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
It's very good.
Technical Support:It's very good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
No previous solution was used.
How was the initial setup?
It was straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
I did it myself.
What was our ROI?
It is very high.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Pricing is high as VMWare’s cost is always high.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
No other options were evaluated.
What other advice do I have?
It is a very good solution and it is stable.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Engineering Manager, R&D at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
Simple installation and good scalability
Pros and Cons
- "The scalability is good."
- "The performance of the solution could be better and there could be an extra level of security."
What is our primary use case?
We use VMware vSphere in order to get access to the data center worldwide.
What needs improvement?
The performance of the solution could be better and there could be an extra level of security.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware vSphere for approximately three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability could be improved because there can be some connectivity issues. There are times the networks disconnect and then reconnect, this could improve.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is good.
Mostly everyone in our company is using this solution including the technical team and managers, approximately 400 people.
How are customer service and support?
We have an internal team that is providing us with technical support.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The installation is not difficult it is self-explanatory.
What about the implementation team?
We did the implementation ourselves.
There are some maintenance tasks needed, such as updating and upgrading.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is an annual subscription to use this solution.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others. It is one of the best tools.
I rate VMware vSphere a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
General manager at a comms service provider with 501-1,000 employees
Scalable and easy to set up with good stability
Pros and Cons
- "The installation process is very straightforward."
- "The solution should offer more integration capabilities."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the product for server virtualization. We have multiple VMs for different environments for our business needs.
What is most valuable?
The solution is scalable.
We haven't had any issues with stability.
The installation process is very straightforward.
What needs improvement?
The solution should offer more integration capabilities.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for four or five years at this point.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution seems to be stable. We haven't had any issues. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
You can scale the solution very well if you need to. It's not a problem at all.
How are customer service and technical support?
As I am not directly involved with the product, I've never had to reach out to technical support to troubleshoot any issues. Therefore, I cannot speak to how helpful or responsive they are.
How was the initial setup?
We have found the solution to be straightforward. It's pretty simple and not overly complex.
A different team handled the setup and deployment. I can't say exactly how long it took to get everything up and running.
We have some engineers that can handle the deployment and maintenance aspects of the product.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
While I'm sure we are paying some sort of licensing fee, I cannot speak to any exact details. That's handled by management and is not something that I have to deal with directly.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I am not familiar with the company looking at or evaluating other solutions.
What other advice do I have?
We're end-users and customers.
I'm not sure which version of the solution we're currently on. I don't manage that aspect of it.
Overall, I would rate the solution at an eight out of ten. We've mostly been very happy with its capabilities.
I would recommend the solution to others.
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.
Project Specialist at integra software
Fairly priced, stable, easy to use, and easy to install
Pros and Cons
- "It's easy to use, and it is flexible."
- "Security and patch-related items need improvement."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution for hosting servers and some applications.
What is most valuable?
It's easy to use, and it is flexible.
What needs improvement?
Security and patch-related items need improvement.
In the next release, we would like the security system improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for a couple of years.
We are working with the latest version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's a scalable product. We have 300 to 500 users in our organization.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have not contacted technical support. We have not faced any challenges.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have used other applications previously.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. It's easy to install.
What about the implementation team?
I completed the implementation myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Our licensing fees on paid on a yearly basis and the pricing is fine.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We have evaluated NSX VMware and VMware vSAN, but we have certain requirements and found vShpere to be more suitable.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to anyone who is interested in using it.
I would rate VMware vSphere a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Owner at Computech Associates
Feature-rich, stable, scalable, and useful for running multiple virtual machines from a single server
Pros and Cons
- "This product is useful for running multiple virtual machines from a single server so that people can utilize the hardware resources in their organization. Its ability for backups is also valuable. In case of a disaster, you can recover the entire server from the images. It is easy to use. In terms of features, whatever they are providing is more than sufficient for us. We are not exploiting this product up to a hundred percent."
- "Its price should be better. Their support should also be more customer-friendly, and they should train people like us so that we know more about the latest technologies and features. If there is some program and drive from their side to teach us, it is definitely going to help us. Pricing and support are the most important features for mid-level companies. We are not implementing this solution for big tech companies."
What is our primary use case?
We are a service provider, and we give services to our customers. Whenever we provide the solution, we give the latest version available at that time.
What is most valuable?
This product is useful for running multiple virtual machines from a single server so that people can utilize the hardware resources in their organization. Its ability for backups is also valuable. In case of a disaster, you can recover the entire server from the images. It is easy to use.
In terms of features, whatever they are providing is more than sufficient for us. We are not exploiting this product up to a hundred percent.
What needs improvement?
Its price should be better. Their support should also be more customer-friendly, and they should train people like us so that we know more about the latest technologies and features. If there is some program and drive from their side to teach us, it is definitely going to help us.
Pricing and support are the most important features for mid-level companies. We are not implementing this solution for big tech companies.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been dealing with this solution for seven to eight years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable product. Very few people are using this product because of less awareness in our area. We are based in a small town in India where we don't have IT and IT companies. IT is a part of the production process. There are very few people who are using this service.
How are customer service and technical support?
They should be more customer-friendly.
How was the initial setup?
Its installation is almost straightforward. The basic installation is easy, but it also depends upon the customer requirements.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Its price is slightly higher for India. It is a little bit expensive on a monthly basis when considering the value of the Indian rupee.
What other advice do I have?
There is no other perfect solution as compared to this solution. If you want to go for virtualization, there is no other stable and sustainable option.
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
CIO at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
A perfect solution that is easy to use, easy to implement, stable, and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "vRealize Operations Manager is the most valuable feature, but it is not embedded in vSphere; it is a part of vSphere. It is used for forecasting and checking the consumption of CPU, memory, and other resources. It has the capability to do the forecast based on the history and give advice on consumption. VMware vSphere is easy to use and easy to implement. Its learning curve is not sharp. Any engineer with little or medium knowledge of hypervisors and virtualizations can implement vSphere with a few clicks."
- "Its performance is an issue in version 6.5, but with the inclusion of HTML files in vSphere version 6.7, the experience is seamless. In version 6.7, VMware has included the HTML file protocol for the web browser or web console, which has changed the console's response and improved the performance. We are using the trial version of vRealize Operations. It would be nice if some of those capabilities could be included in future versions of vSphere, not as a part of vRealize Operations, but in vSphere itself. It can provide some kind of forecast about your resource consumption based on the actual workload and modeling or testing scenarios. It can give you some advice or tips for the future growth of your infrastructure."
What is our primary use case?
Basically, our operation cluster is hiding under vSphere.
What is most valuable?
vRealize Operations Manager is the most valuable feature, but it is not embedded in vSphere; it is a part of vSphere. It is used for forecasting and checking the consumption of CPU, memory, and other resources. It has the capability to do the forecast based on the history and give advice on consumption.
VMware vSphere is easy to use and easy to implement. Its learning curve is not sharp. Any engineer with little or medium knowledge of hypervisors and virtualizations can implement vSphere with a few clicks.
What needs improvement?
Its performance is an issue in version 6.5, but with the inclusion of HTML files in vSphere version 6.7, the experience is seamless. In version 6.7, VMware has included the HTML file protocol for the web browser or web console, which has changed the console's response and improved the performance.
We are using the trial version of vRealize Operations. It would be nice if some of those capabilities could be included in future versions of vSphere, not as a part of vRealize Operations, but in vSphere itself. It can provide some kind of forecast about your resource consumption based on the actual workload and modeling or testing scenarios. It can give you some advice or tips for the future growth of your infrastructure.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable enough. We are satisfied with its stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Its scalability seems to be straightforward. Obviously, you have to check if you have the correct license. Otherwise, you will have to change the license. Licensing can sometimes stop you from growing.
We currently don't have any plans to increase its usage.
How are customer service and technical support?
We haven't raised any case with VMware so far. We didn't require any support from vSphere tech support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We moved from legacy servers to VMware Hyperconverged Infrastructure. We were using the ESXi version from vSphere, and then we moved to the cluster version. We have multiple servers in one cluster.
One of the main reasons for choosing vSphere was that it is one of the most known hypervisors in the market. It is easy to use, easy to implement, and straightforward. It was very good for our proof of concept, and we went for it. Eventually, we moved to a cluster infrastructure. Obviously, we use vSphere as the hypervisor.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward. The deployment took one to three days.
What about the implementation team?
We bought the local service from vSphere. The experience was overall good.
We have three people for its maintenance. They are system integrators and infrastructure administrators.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We also tested Microsoft Hyper-V, but at that time, it was unstable. It was not stable enough to be implemented in our environment. That's why we didn't use it.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution. 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.
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I didn't claim it is a good solution or that I used it, I just wrote that there is one.
> you must not have much experience with backup solutions
Interesting conclusion.
Actually, I write the backup solutions I need myself or I implement it using open source software and combining it with own code. This always works, but obviously requires much time.
When it comes down to backing up VMWare and KVM VMs, I used rdiff backup in the past. If the guest is running Linux, I use rsync in combination with some scripts and logic.