VMware Workstation allows me to have virtualized environments. I can run the virtual environment in my home lab.
CEO at Virtual Consultants Sverige AB
High availability, complete functionality, beneficial VLAN setup
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of VMware Workstation are the DirectX support, you can run Microsoft Hyper-V in virtual environments which is good for me to test different installations. Additionally, you can set up different VLANs, and overall it is a complete solution."
- "VMware Workstation has some network limitations which could improve, it is not as flexible as VMware NSX. Additionally, it could support operating systems better. I only run some Linux versions and Windows at the moment but it would be nice to be able to take whatever operating system you want and run it."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of VMware Workstation are the DirectX support, you can run Microsoft Hyper-V in virtual environments which is good for me to test different installations. Additionally, you can set up different VLANs, and overall it is a complete solution.
What needs improvement?
VMware Workstation has some network limitations which could improve, it is not as flexible as VMware NSX. Additionally, it could support operating systems better. I only run some Linux versions and Windows at the moment but it would be nice to be able to take whatever operating system you want and run it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware Workstation for approximately 15 years.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
VMware Workstation is highly stable. I have been running a VM for a year and a half and nothing has happened with it. It is running very well.
I rate the stability of VMware Workstation a ten out of ten,
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
VMware Workstation cannot scale. It's one installation on one system, you can't scale it. It uses the resources of my computer only.
How are customer service and support?
I have used the support from VMware Workstation. The quality of the support can depend on who you speak to but they have always solved my problem. Sometimes it takes a few extra days for the solution because they have to find the right individual inside that can handle the support question.
I rate the support from VMware Workstation a five out of five.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have previously used a Microsoft Virtual Desktop but VMware Workstation is much better with more features. You have a wider range of devices you can use, such as a smart card reader.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of the VMware Workstation is simple. You only need to click install and hit the next button over and over on the mouse.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
With a VDI solution, there is always extra cost running a VDI solution but it's not for cost purposes anymore. In the beginning, it was to save money on hardware but at the moment it's other aspects that are more important why you should use a VDI solution.
If you run Microsoft on top of your laptop it's going to be cheaper than running a whole environment of VDIs. However, you get so much more from the VDI solution. You have security aspects and you have one place you store your data. It's closer to the data center so everything should run faster. For example, if you have an AutoCAD installation and you want to pick up a drawing that is approximately one gigabyte, it's going to take about 10 minutes over the landline but when you do it inside a VDI you can receive it in up to 45 seconds or so. These aspects are more important than pricing.
What other advice do I have?
VMware Workstation keeps working and it makes my day every time I have to use it because it starts, it runs, and it makes my life easier. I recommend it for developers.
I rate VMware Workstation a nine 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
Director at Shreenathji Solutions
It performs well and it's easy to scale, but it's hard to set up.
Pros and Cons
- "It will not harm any of the computer settings to run a specific program. For example, if a program needs a specific security policy, we don't have to use the shared configuration. We have an individual copy of Windows installed on the virtual machine, so anybody can access that. It helps us a lot."
- "Installing VMware Workstation isn't so easy. It's highly complex compared to Windows. I rate it four out of 10 for ease of installation. Setting up a remote desktop only takes a minute or so, but the Workstation itself takes some time."
What is our primary use case?
We use VMware Workstation to deploy multiple machines, and every machine has its own configuration and software installed according to our configurations. The company has between 25 to 50 employees on virtual machines, and the usage is high.
What is most valuable?
It will not harm any of the computer settings to run a specific program. For example, if a program needs a specific security policy, we don't have to use the shared configuration. We have an individual copy of Windows installed on the virtual machine, so anybody can access that. It helps us a lot.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware for the last 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
VMware Workstation's performance is excellent.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
VMware's scalability is high. It's usually not an issue.
How are customer service and support?
We've contact support for other VMware solutions besides Workstation. We needed support due to the complexity of the database. I rate VMware support eight out of 10.
How was the initial setup?
Installing VMware Workstation isn't so easy. It's highly complex compared to Windows. I rate it four out of 10 for ease of installation. Setting up a remote desktop only takes a minute or so, but the Workstation itself takes some time.
You need to install a tool on the host machine, and then all the features can be managed via VMware Workstation. Once it's deployed, I can maintain issues on the machines remotely. We don't often go to the sites.
What other advice do I have?
I rate VMware Workstation six out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: integrator/consultant
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VMware Workstation
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about VMware Workstation. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
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QA Lead at Paytm
Easy to learn and enables users to create different configurations on a single VM
Pros and Cons
- "We can undo some changes using the snapshot feature."
- "The product is outdated."
What is our primary use case?
We have prepared VMs for testing purposes. We have set up different configurations on different VMs to meet the configuration testing target.
What is most valuable?
We can undo some changes using the snapshot feature. We can also use the feature to create different configurations on a single VM. We can create separate snapshots of different configurations. We use the snapshot functionality to enhance our workflow. We can take a snapshot if we install an application and do patch testing. Once we complete the patch test, we need a fresh configuration again. The tool allows us to revert to the base snapshot. The product is easy to learn.
What needs improvement?
Currently, everybody is moving towards the cloud. I don’t think anyone will use VMware anymore. The product is outdated. If the tool moves to the cloud, I will use it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for around three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The tool’s stability is good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Around 15 people are using the product in our organization.
How was the initial setup?
The solution is deployed on the cloud. The installation was easy.
What other advice do I have?
Our choice of products depends on our clients’ requirements. VMware is a good option if we need a set of configurations on a single machine. The tool performs well. Overall, I rate the product an eight 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.
Last updated: Feb 24, 2024
Flag as inappropriateScales well, has good technical support, quick and easy to install
Pros and Cons
- "Technical support is very good."
- "I would want to see features included that make deployment easier."
What is our primary use case?
VMware Workstation is currently being used as a test model, it is not in production.
It is used for testing, and we have a mixed solution for reduction. We are also considering moving part of our servers to virtualization.
How has it helped my organization?
It made various enhancements to the system once the deployment was completed.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see the stability improve. We have experienced some crashes on our devices.
The configuration could be simplified.
I would want to see features included that make deployment easier.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware Workstation for five or six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There are some concerns regarding the stability of this solution. We have a device that seems to be under some pressure and two others that are working very well.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have no issues with the scalability of the VMware Workstation.
At this time our organization has 15 to 20 users.
This solution is being used daily, and we have plans to increase our usage.
Our plan is to move part of the server to this solution.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is very good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have been using several virtualization tools over the last five or six years.
Approximately six or seven years ago I used a Remote Desktop Solution but it was not a good experience.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. it took thirty minutes to complete the deployment.
We only require two days a month for one person to maintain this solution.
What about the implementation team?
Using a lot of documentation, I was able to complete the installation myself.
What was our ROI?
With VMware Workstation, we have seen a return on investment, but the actual ROI will be shown in two or three years.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Licensing costs are paid on a yearly basis.
What other advice do I have?
The documentation should be thoroughly read.
I would rate VMware Workstation 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.
Engineering Applications Analyst at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Excellent for testing and provides insight without having to purchase licenses
Pros and Cons
- "Because the setup is so easy, this is a solution that can be used at a moment's notice."
- "Lacks the ability to clone onto another system rather than starting from scratch."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case of VMware Workstation is to test environments, different Windows operating systems and the like, and basically to figure out how the solution would work before we put it into production. I'm an engineering applications analyst.
How has it helped my organization?
The solution benefits us because it allows us to identify whether we need to spend money on a solution that would involve having to buy a bunch of licenses for software, and running an application or a system for whatever our requirements might be. It allows us to test out that scenario to see if it would be more beneficial for our environment as opposed to buying everything, setting it up and determining whether it is going to work or not. It gives us insight into some of the issues we might run into, and how to better facilitate fixing them.
What is most valuable?
Because the setup is so easy, this is a solution that can be used at a moment's notice. It's simple to set up for a test environment and that's a huge benefit.
What needs improvement?
For our needs, the issue is that there is no way to take an existing system out of the testing environment, clone it with everything that it's currently set up on, and put it into production without having to create a whole new one. It lacks the ability to clone the environment so you have your test environment set up in the way it's going to be used in production. Rather than create a whole other environment, the idea would be to clone that capability onto another system and not have to start over from scratch. You have everything working the way you want it to and you just want to move it over to the production side of things.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for about a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution handles pretty well. It did seem to function a little bit better than I had expected.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There are no issues with scalability. When we need to make any tweaks by adding more resources, it's pretty straightforward. I'm the only user. In terms of the back end, Microsoft patching needs to be done on a monthly basis based on our processes. The software itself will look to see how often it needs updates. It's pretty straightforward.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I've also used Azure. We made the switch because we had a license for Workstation and I needed to test a particular system. I could plug and play using the VMware Player to take an existing VTK, whatever the file extension is, and plug it in there to look at this VM. Workstation allowed us to test scenarios. We have a lot of older applications that run on older operating systems. Sometimes we have to test the old systems and see how they'll run in a virtual environment as well.
How was the initial setup?
As long as you have all the information you need in terms of how many processors are require and how much memory, it's not complicated. Implementation was an in-house job. Rather than loading a specific software package on our network, we can use a testing environment to see what to expect from it. We test out of the box in a virtual environment and see where we get with it. The deployment took about a day.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We use VMware for virtual cluster of servers, but I believe we bought Workstation outright once. It's pretty low in cost, so if we need multiple copies, we usually buy a handful. I've actually insisted that we go that route for some of the software groups that we have so they can test various environments without having to use another system.
What other advice do I have?
This product is pretty straightforward and easy to use. I would definitely recommend it for testing different scenarios, Windows, Linux, that sort of thing. It works well in all environments, in my opinion, and the ease of setup is great and allows you to have a lot of test cases strictly run from your system rather than having to set up another whole desktop or another computer as a testing environment. Obviously, it's based on the number of hardware resources available in your system but to get a quick testbed or environment set up, it's pretty easy and straightforward. You can set it up and go about your daily routine and then come back to it, test some more scenarios, get it to where it's accessible through the networks, and determine whether we need it or not. It's better to have that rather than having to set up a whole other computer for testing.
I rate this solution 10 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.
System Administrator at MMCY Tech
A tool useful for testing purposes in the production environment that needs to reduce its usage of resources like CPU
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is an easy-to-use product."
- "VMware Workstation uses more resources like CPU and disk space, especially the CPU, which is a shortcoming that needs improvement."
What is our primary use case?
I have worked in education and production in one of my previous companies with VMware Workstation. In my current company, I use VMware Workstation for personal use. I have used the solution since my company has a personal server, which is not an extra production server.
How has it helped my organization?
VMware Workstation is something that I have used on my laptop, while at times I have used the solution for testing process purposes, with Linux, Windows, and servers. I have used VMware Workstation for testing purposes in the production environment.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is an easy-to-use product. VMware Workstation is useful for safety purposes. With VMware Workstation, you can easily select CPU hardware or hard disk and install them to the solution. In general, the product allows easy installation with any hardware specifications. If you select a 3 GB or 15 GB hard disk, you can select it.
What needs improvement?
VMware Workstation uses more resources like CPU and disk space, especially the CPU, which is a shortcoming that needs improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware Workstation for six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of the solution depends on the solution's license. If you opt for a license purchased from VMware Workstation, then it remains very stable. The unlicensed version of the solution is not very suitable or stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Based on what I have seen, I rate the solution's scalability a seven out of ten.
I didn't use the licensed software version of VMware Workstation, because of which I can't comment on its efficiency.
Though I am unsure, I feel that six to seven users use the solution for their personal use in my company.
Currently, I don't plan to use the version offered by VMware Workstation.
How are customer service and support?
I did not directly contact VMware Workstation's support person since I could get all the answers to my questions through VMware's blogs.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have moved from VMware Workstation to Oracle VM VirtualBox since I got to use it for free, while VMware Workstation wasn't a free option.
How was the initial setup?
I rate the initial setup a six and a half out of ten. The initial setup of the solution is not complicated, but it may not be stable or as good as it should be if you use the tool without VMware Workstation's license or licensed software.
The solution is deployed by enabling virtualization on my laptop.
The time taken for the deployment depends on the size of your operations. The installation of VMware Workstation only takes around 20 to 30 minutes.
For deployment steps, download the free version of VMware Workstation for all the licenses, and then by clicking the next options available after clicking the EXE file, we can install the solution. You get around 60 days to use the free version of the solution, after which you need to pay for VMware Workstation.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I use the free version of VMware Workstation.
What other advice do I have?
I have stopped the use of ESXi in VMware Workstation.
It is important to note that VMware Workstation may not be a good solution for my company since it is not a perfect solution.
I don't personally recommend VMware Workstation to those planning to use it since it is a type 2 hypervisor. It is always better to use a type 1 hypervisor, but if someone prefers to use a type 2 hypervisor, then it is always best to choose the paid or licensed version of the solution.
I rate the overall solution a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Information Security Consultant at Excellenta
Simple to install, with a helpful and supportive community
Pros and Cons
- "The technical support is good."
- "They could add more integration between them, and compatibility with the standard virtualization format."
What is our primary use case?
We use VMware Workstation for testing and development.
What is most valuable?
It is very basic. There are not many features, but it meets our use cases. It is adequate for the use case.
What needs improvement?
We don't need a lot of features because it's development; I don't think we need anything else for development testing. There isn't a huge technical requirement. It does the basics and that is fine.
There are only a few issues with compatibility between various virtualization tools. Moving virtual machines, for example, between VMware and Parallel is a challenge. As a result of the compatibility issues, it's difficult. Aside from that, both tools are fine. They are very basic, but they do the job.
They could add more integration between them, and compatibility with the standard virtualization format.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware Workstation for two years.
I am not sure what version we're using, but it's the most recent.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There are three of us who are currently using this solution.
We have no plans to increase our usage at this time, but we may add two more users next year. It is not a significant increase.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is good. The community is also helpful.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I am no longer using the Proxmox VE solution for a variety of reasons, not because it's bad, but because I have a different requirement.
I am also currently working with Parallels Workstation. Their technical support is also good.
How was the initial setup?
We don't use the on-premise version often; instead, we use a cloud-based solution for the service and the production environment.
The initial setup is straightforward.
The deployment is ongoing, and we use it on a regular basis.
It is not a production environment that has been migrated to the cloud. It is ongoing and does not have a beginning and an end.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Licensing fees are paid on an annual basis.
There are no additional fees; it is standard licensing.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate VMware Workstation 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.
Cloud Engineer, Content Writer at Planet Flora
A virtualization solution with faster deployment and reasonable pricing
Pros and Cons
- "The initial setup is simple and takes only five minutes to complete."
- "It takes too much time to load all the plug-ins and software."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for virtualization.
How has it helped my organization?
We are using Workstation to run multiple operating systems.
What is most valuable?
We are using Workstation to install another OS or VM for our application. Also, it provides more features than a VMware Virtual Box.
What needs improvement?
The solution’s performance is low. Also, support should be enhanced after Huiwei's acquisition. They are migrating all their clients to the new company.
It takes too much time to load all the plug-ins and software.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware Workstation for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the solution’s stability an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
One user is using this solution.
I rate the solution’s scalability an eight out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is simple and takes only five minutes to complete.
I rate the initial setup a seven out of ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy.
What other advice do I have?
We have shipped out all the back end and containerized the application. We are currently using DKU and AKS.
I recommend the solution because of its reasonable pricing.
Overall, I rate the solution 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.
Last updated: Mar 20, 2024
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