vMotion, because you can move off failed hardware, and if you have a maintenance window, you can put everything onto a physical server, and then put everything back
Systems Administrator at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Our end users have less downtime because vMotion allows us to move off failed hardware and onto another machine, but the web client is clunky.
What is most valuable?
How has it helped my organization?
Less downtime for all end users, so if it fails you can get it up on the other machine quickly.
What needs improvement?
I don’t like the web client, as it's real clunky, and not so instantaneous.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's very stable.
Buyer's Guide
VMware vSphere
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about VMware vSphere. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
You can go as big as you want
How was the initial setup?
It's very easy.
What other advice do I have?
If you don’t have it, you need it because everything should be virtualized.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Network Analyst at a construction company with 1,001-5,000 employees
We run 200 virtual servers on a few physical machines, saving on environmental costs like power and heat. However, internal notifications and performance monitoring could be improved.
Valuable Features
You get virtualized servers, which means you can run a bunch of servers on a couple of machines, so you save money and you save the environmental costs like power and heat. You also get the redundancy when you are using features like vMotion.
Improvements to My Organization
We have around 200 virtualized servers, so while if we had to buy 200 physical servers, it would cost a lot more compared to what we spend.
Room for Improvement
I would say that the internal notifications could be much clearer and the performance monitoring could be a lot better. They have an add-on but that costs money.
Stability Issues
It's very stable – the only thing I have found is that it’s a learning curve. You need to understand all aspects of your environment. Some people are just network or storage or server related, but you need to be aware of all areas. In general, if you need to troubleshoot a server, and VMware is not around, and we have a situation, it’s going to be harder for someone to understand the solution.
Scalability Issues
It’s fairly scalable, as we have over 2000 people, 120 branches across different provinces, and it can support our environment.
Customer Service and Technical Support
Technical support has been fine when they figure out if its hardware or software – we have HP hardware, and so the challenge is dealing with whose job it is, HP or VMWare. Once we understand what the problem is, the support is very good.
Previous Solutions
Initial Setup
I would say not complex but it’s not click click click, it goes through a wizard but once you need to architect the network environment it’s a bit complex.
Other Advice
I would tell say that if you have the money you should buy the solution and go with blades. Also, make sure you do a lot of number crunching to show that the solution is valuable.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
VMware vSphere
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about VMware vSphere. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Sr. Server Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
We can manage it from a single pane of glass, although the web client is disappointing.
Valuable Features
It enables vMotion, DRS, and HA.
Improvements to My Organization
The ability to consolidate and portability, flexibility, and DR. The management thereof is a single pane of glass.
Room for Improvement
The web client is botched.
Stability Issues
There's not many problems with it.
Scalability Issues
It's very scalable and increasingly so because of what they’re doing with applicances. There's no trade-off between maximums of Windows and appliances.
Customer Service and Technical Support
Since they outsourced it, response times are not what they used to be.
Initial Setup
It’s now very easy. It was harder, but now there are more deployment options, scripts, auto-deploy, and you can have full automation or manual, with a smaller footprint.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
System Administartor at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
We were able to use ESXi to centralize the server farm. I recommend documenting everything.
What is most valuable?
- High Availability
- Fault Tolerance
- Live migration
- Reduced the overall cost of the infrastructure
- Centralizing the management.
How has it helped my organization?
We were able to centralize the server farm, thus able to focus administrators on their immediate tasks, reduce response time to incidents, concentrate the informational flows, facilitate the task of data protection.
For how long have I used the solution?
2 years.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
The deployment was really easy, migration to the virtualization infrastructure was transparent to the main business.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
None encountered for now.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No. If you would plan an infrastructure from the beginning, you would not encounter any issues.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
We have never asked for any kind of customer service.
Technical Support:We have never needed any kind of technical support from the vendor.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
No, but, in future, we plan to use a Microsoft Hyper-V.
How was the initial setup?
Initial setup was quite straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
The implementation was made by our own team.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before choosing we didn't evaluate any other options. It was planned to use the VMware as the first queue and the MS Hyper-V as the second one. The reason is in the migration plan of the servers - in the second phase it would be the MS SQL server's, so the MS Hyper-V is more suitable.
What other advice do I have?
Always have a plan for the work document everything.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
I am curious about this too?
What makes yo say Hyper-V is more suitable for SQL servers? In my experience it is the exact opposite,
Do you have any research that points to this?
Manager at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Feature-rich, stable, scalable, easy to install, and has good technical support
Pros and Cons
- "The roadmap for the product itself covers all of the features that we are looking for."
- "It would be great if VMware could have a consolidated way of delivering this as software rather than pieces and several add-ons so that you could enjoy the product in its entirety."
What is most valuable?
It is user-friendly, easy to deploy, and easy to maintain.
The roadmap for the product itself covers all of the features that we are looking for.
It has what we need.
What needs improvement?
There are many add-on modules for it.
It would be great if VMware could have a consolidated way of delivering this as software rather than pieces and several add-ons so that you could enjoy the product in its entirety.
There are many add-ons that you have to plugin to enjoy the feature or experience the full power of it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware vSphere for more than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
VMware vSphere is a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is very scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
They were very helpful in resolving the issue that we had.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others. It is considered to be a leader within the industry.
I would rate VMware vShpere an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Information Technology Manager & Chief Information Officer at a financial services firm with 1-10 employees
Allows us to create or clone a virtual environment in a short period of time and has good stability and support
Pros and Cons
- "The ability to create or clone a virtual environment in a short period of time for testing is most valuable."
- "An improvement could be in terms of keeping up with the upgrades. The upgrades could be set in an automated way so that the newer features don't require you to manually update, or you get an option to update automatically. This would be a useful enhancement."
What is our primary use case?
We use it to create virtual machines and things like that.
What is most valuable?
The ability to create or clone a virtual environment in a short period of time for testing is most valuable.
What needs improvement?
The enhancements that come out from time to time usually surpass what we need. We tend to upgrade because we do not want to be behind, but our needs don't continually grow. We are not very fast in terms of appetite for new things. However, we do appreciate that there is a continuous improvement, and for us, it is just a matter of being able to spin up a new environment quickly.
An improvement could be in terms of keeping up with the upgrades. The upgrades could be set in an automated way so that the newer features don't require you to manually update, or you get an option to update automatically. This would be a useful enhancement.
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 very stable.
How are customer service and technical support?
Their technical support is great.
How was the initial setup?
It has medium complexity. It isn't necessarily easy to set up. After you have set it up, it is easy to enhance.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate VMware vSphere a nine 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.
Head Of Network & Technical Support at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Excellent virtualization, high performance, and simple installation
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is easy to use, has high performance, and good virtualization."
- "The solution is stable. However, it could improve by being more secure."
What is our primary use case?
We are using this solution for a lot of proposes, such as in production environments.
What is most valuable?
The solution is easy to use, has high performance, and good virtualization.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for approximately two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable. However, it could improve by being more secure.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have found the solution scalable.
We have approximately 500 people using the solution in my organization.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have been satisfied with the technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have used another solution previously.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is straightforward and is easy to manage. It took approximately two hours to install.
What about the implementation team?
We did the implementation of the VMware vSphere and we have a team of 15 that does the implementation and maintenance of the solution. The team consists of managers and heads of departments.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a standard license required for this solution.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate VMware vSphere a nine out of ten.
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.
Implementation and Support Engineer at PRACSO S.R.L.
Has availability and is stable, scalable, and easily implemented
Pros and Cons
- "It is very stable and scalable, and implementation is straightforward as well."
- "I think the pricing could be lower, and the technical support could be improved."
What is our primary use case?
It's a VDI and also for virtualized machines. We use it for digitized databases.
How has it helped my organization?
It made provisioning servers and application a lot easier and faster
What is most valuable?
vVols, vMotion, and vSphere have availability. It is very stable and scalable, and implementation is straightforward as well.
What needs improvement?
I think the pricing could be lower, and the technical support could be improved.
I would like to see more active replication in the next release.
For how long have I used the solution?
3 years
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's very stable. There are some bumps or unintended behavior from time to time, but it has not really been an issue.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is not that great, and it's not that accessible.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Oracle Virtualizacion. Was not so user friendly and lacking a lot of features
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was extremely straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
in-house
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is a little bit on the expensive side, and the licensing is on a yearly basis.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated a lot of options like Microsoft Hyper-V and Proxmox, and Red Hat Virtualization
What other advice do I have?
I would totally recommend VMware vSphere even though I have some complaints about it. It's one of the great technologies available right now. I would rate it at eight 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.
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Updated: November 2024
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Regarding performance monitoring, there are so many tools and even some of them are freeware as LPAR2RDD.