Cost, for one thing, it greatly reduces from physical servers.
Network Engineer at a legal firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
It's saved us costs, greatly reducing the number of physical servers, although it could be improved with more storage capabilities and hot-adding of devices.
What is most valuable?
How has it helped my organization?
Time, it saves me time. It’s also much easier to manage.
What needs improvement?
More storage capabilities would be great. Also, more hot-adding of devices would be helpful.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Fairly stable – we have issues, but overall it’s a very stable product that doesn’t require much legwork to run.
Buyer's Guide
VMware vSphere
December 2024
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831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Not much experience, so I wouldn’t know.
How are customer service and support?
They’ve been extremely helpful. Basically, we create a ticket and they assign a technician that usually calls us back within an hour. They usually do a great job of diagnosing and fixing the problem.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We were using hardware before, we started that in that development phase and realized the benefits of virtual environments and started migrating over.
How was the initial setup?
It’s fairly straightforward.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I always look at the technical support, product availability, and product stability when selecting a new product. We just looked into vSphere though as there’s nothing else like it.
What other advice do I have?
Nobody’s perfect, but it’s great for our needs, and I would absolutely recommend the product.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
ITC Systems Administrator at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Primarily, we've been able to save on energy costs. It also gives us easier migrations when upgrading infrastructure.
What is most valuable?
The two features we've found most valuable are vSphere's reliability and stability.
How has it helped my organization?
Primarily, we've been able to save on energy costs. It also gives us easier migrations when upgrading infrastructure.
What needs improvement?
We had some stability issues, though they were due to bad hardware and not software.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used it for four years.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
We've encountered no issues with deployment.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The problems with stability were due to hardware problems, never software.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We haven't had any issues with scalability.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
8/10
Technical Support:9/10
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We started with VMware, so we never used a different virtualization solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was nothing but easy. The system was running in just a few minutes.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented it in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We advise in general that the Essentials Plus pack is the best option for the majority of our customers.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
No other options were looked at.
What other advice do I have?
Nothing to be afraid of. Everything about vSphere is advantageous.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
VMware vSphere
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about VMware vSphere. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Senior Buyer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Easy to install and scalable, but should have better stability
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is scalable."
- "The solution could be more stable."
What is our primary use case?
We are using the latest version.
We use it for virtual machines. It is a platform which can be used to provide infrastructure for virtualization.
What needs improvement?
The solution could be more stable.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using VMware vSphere for more than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
While the solution is stable, it would be nice if it were more so.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
We have plans to increase our usage.
How are customer service and support?
I have not had occasion to contact technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used a virtual machine prior to the solution.
How was the initial setup?
As the the solution is cloud-based, it is easy to install.
The installation took, perhaps, four days.
What about the implementation team?
Installation can be done on one's own.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution comes with a yearly subscription license.
What other advice do I have?
The solution is cloud-based.
There are around four people using the solution in our organization.
I rate VMware vSphere as a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Presales Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Fast deployment of services, ease of movement, and great scalability
Pros and Cons
- "The ease of movement of these machines is the most valuable. It is very easy to move these machines between physical hosts. The fast deployment of services is another valuable feature."
- "Its price can be better. It is very expensive."
What is our primary use case?
We use it in the data centers of our customers for server consolidation and new deployments.
What is most valuable?
The ease of movement of these machines is the most valuable. It is very easy to move these machines between physical hosts. The fast deployment of services is another valuable feature.
What needs improvement?
Its price can be better. It is very expensive.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for ten years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is very scalable. It is great in terms of scalability. We have 50 to 60 users in our organization.
How are customer service and technical support?
Their technical support is great. I would rate them a ten out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
In general terms, it is easy to deploy, but it depends on the size of the project. The deployment duration varies. A basic deployment doesn't take more than one hour.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I would advise others to go ahead with this solution. It is a very functional product. Only its price needs improvement.
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
Consultant at a tech company with 51-200 employees
We work less on weekends because of the possibility to patch during normal working hours. The pricing, however, could be improved.
What is most valuable?
- High Availability
- vMotion
- Storage vMotion
How has it helped my organization?
One particular example is the ability to work less on weekends because of the possibility to patch during normal working hours.
What needs improvement?
The pricing.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used it since 2006.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
We have not had any issue with deployment over the years.
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:
8/10
Technical Support:9/10
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We didn't use a previous solution to prior to vSphere.
How was the initial setup?
It was very straightforward, no problem occurred at the set up stage,
What about the implementation team?
It was all done in-house.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
No other products were considered.
What other advice do I have?
It's a simple to use solution, and along with fast implementation, you can install it and run it, so have fun.
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.
Head of Data Center at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Easy to install and configure, but lacks central management
Valuable Features:
- Free
- Easy to install and configure
- Very low overhead
- Great management features
- Enterprise Ready
Room for Improvement:
- Free version limits server memory to 32GB
- No central management of other ESXi servers, each one needs to be logged-in individually if you have multiple servers.My experience with VMware EXSi is that it's the fastest Virtualization platform out there. This is basically because of the very good architectural design of the underlying hypervisor, which consumes a very small amount of resource overhead and provides a rich set of features that are enterprise grade. The free version really has a great feature set plus a management software that you can use to manage individual server instances.
Other Advice:
The downside to the free version is that you can only use it on a server with a maximum of 32GB memory. Also, you cannot manage multiple ESXi instances with the management client. You have to log-in individually to each server running the free version of EXSi. These limitations are surely a setback considering other competing products do not have these limitations and even offer features which are only available in paid versions of VMware.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Lead System Architect at a tech company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Usability is the most valuable feature
What is most valuable?
Usability is the most valuable feature.
What needs improvement?
There is need to resume the C# client.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used this solution for six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There are no stability issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There are no scalability issues.
How are customer service and technical support?
I would rate the technical support at a seven out of 10. In practice, the IT has faced vCenter related problems very rarely.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We still continue using our other solution. We did not switch.
How was the initial setup?
The setup was very straightforward and simple.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The costs are inflated for small and medium-size businesses (SMBs).
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
vCenter is the only way to manage vSphere. If we speak about enterprise virtualization infrastructure, there are no special preferences.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: We are partners.
Virtualization Counsultant at a tech company with 51-200 employees
The only way to use vmware features like HA, FT, and DRS.
It is best way to manage your virtualization in your company and its the only way to use vmware features like HA, FT, DRS and so many other features that vmware provides.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Speed is quite something and a plus for this product.