VMware ESXi Reviews

We are using VMware ESXi for running various kinds of applications in our environment that use virtual machines.

VMware ESXi provides a reliable and stable environment, which makes us confident in our IT operations. We rely on it particularly in production environments where reliability is crucial.

VMware ESXi is very reliable, especially for our production environment. The ability to collapse its vulnerabilities swiftly adds to its reliability. Hyper-threading is a feature we use extensively.

For horizontal scalability, VMware ESXi is not the right product, and we have been evaluating alternative options. There are also some complaints about the web interface and licensing issues after Broadcom's acquisition.

I have been working with VMware ESXi for more than ten years.

VMware ESXi provides a very stable environment, making it a reliable choice for our operations.

Vertical scalability with VMware ESXi is very achievable, allowing easy upgrades to physical components like CPU and RAM. However, its horizontal scalability is not as flexible.

We have received good service from VMware technical support, though the need for assistance has been infrequent.

Positive

I have not had a chance to explore many other solutions in comparison to VMware ESXi.

The initial setup process is not complex and can typically be done in a little more than one hour with the help of one resource.

We are considering moving to another product for better cost-effectiveness, which might improve our ROI.

From a cost perspective, we are not entirely satisfied with VMware ESXi.

We are considering Kubernetes or OpenShift as potential alternatives.

Technically, VMware ESXi is a mature product, and I would recommend it for reliable, stable environments.

ESXi with Hyper Converged Infrastructure and Horizon for hosting virtual machines. There is also AHT for VDI environments.

It's a bare-metal hypervisor, mainly used for hosting virtual machines. The applications vary based on customer requirements. It can be used for running applications, database connectivity, infrastructure applications like software-based networks or firewalls, and managing on-premises applications.

The most beneficial features for me are DRS and HA (High Availability). In case of an interruption at the OS level, they ensure the virtual machine automatically comes back up. 

Another benefit is load balancing with the DRS feature.

Apart from that, it's the main source for us as consultants or architects to manage the infrastructure.

We follow the best practices as per Broadcom and VMware, and we do timely patching on ESXi to ensure security.

The license model has recently changed, which is a bit worrying for customers.

The only other issue is that since changing the portal, downloading patches or images for maintenance or deployment has become slightly more difficult because engineers are facing issues. 

I have been using it for more than ten years now. 

It's very stable because we do regular maintenance. It is not difficult to maintain at all. 

It is a scalable product. That's the reason it's number one, even after a decade.

I get a good response, but in a few cases, I have experienced delayed responses. I'm not sure, but maybe it's because of the transfer to Broadcom.

So, there is a slight delay in getting the support. 

Neutral

VMware is a leader with the new features they introduce on every major release. But regarding licensing, when I talk to Nutanix, they give it for free. With the Hyper Converged solution, we have to pay additional charges based on the core count. But feature-wise, I don't see any additional features that other hypervisors have.

The complexity of the initial setup is fine. We've been doing it for a long time. Compared to other hypervisors, it's very good. On average, it should be around 30 minutes to an hour.

Currently, we use version 7.0. We may upgrade to 8.0, but that will take a few months.

Deployment process: It's all internal discussions based on the load. We select the hardware vendor and do the installation via the ISO image. We do the configuration part ourselves. I take care of the ESXi infrastructure once the parts are delivered to the site.

I would recommend using it b, but it depends on their interest and budget.

Overall, I would rate it a nine out of ten. 

The product is very reliable. People prefer VMware because it does not work on networks. It works on FC. It checks the availability of all the hosts using the logical unit number. That is why we recommend the solution to the customers. If the network or module restarts or the cable is disconnected from the host, it does not impact VMware.

VMware is very costly.

I have been using the solution for more than 15 years.

The tool is very stable.

We are a bank. We have approximately 2000 branches in Pakistan and all over the world. Our bank’s production area is working on VMware in Pakistan.

We contact support. We have a corporate portal. The support is very good.

The initial setup is very easy.

The tool is costlier than any hypervisor.

Hyper-V is a free product. Once we install a data center version, Hyper-V is free. I have used many hypervisors like VMware, Hyper-V, Nutanix, and Oracle VM. All are good products.

Most people do not know why VMware is more stable than Hyper-V. Our clients use Webex after version 6.5. Before, we installed VMware Client and connected to the vCenter server. The vCenter server was connected to the vCenter host. There were a lot of version and service issues with vCenter. Things have been better after we installed Webex.

The cost is very important. We have to buy the latest hardware and licenses. The license is very costly. The vendor might discontinue the perpetual license. The tool will become more costly. Customers will leave VMware and choose Hyper-V. The vendor must rethink the price. We can learn to use the solution through YouTube videos. Beginners can use the tool, but we must learn and better know the product. It is a very good product.

Overall, I rate the tool an eight out of ten.

I use the solution in my company for hosting machines and storage.

In our data center operations, the tool is used just as a server for computing, storage, and networking.

The most valuable features of the solution are that it is efficient, fast, and affordable.

I think the tool can do better in terms of pricing.

The tool offers an open-source version, which is not really well supported.

I have been using VMware ESXi for five years.

It is a very stable solution.

The solution's scalability part is a bit tough, but I think it is due to our own implementation. It is a bit difficult currently. In terms of scalability, there are other ways of scaling it, like setting multiple nodes, and all that, but we are not that advanced. In our company, we don't set it up. I think in terms of scalability, it is limitless.

There are 100 users with two appliances in my company.

I have not contacted technical support for the solution.

I have tried a few other tools.

The product's initial setup phase is quite simple, and I think anybody can do it.

You just purchase the server, and then you do the installation. To purchase the server, you have to look through the hardware compatibility list and make sure the equipment is all supported. There are enough available drivers for it. Once it is approved, you can download the installation package and then put it in. After that, you do the patching. Whatever patches that need to be updated and just put it in.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

The solution can be deployed in around four hours.

Two people were needed for deployment.

The tool was deployed with the help of an in-house team.

The tool is cost-effective.

Broadcom recently purchased VMware, and the pricing scheme has changed. If I need any more features in the tool, I can actually purchase them. If the product includes it in the current base package, it will be good. If not, then I will have to purchase it.

Compared to other tools, VMware ESXi is more stable than the other offerings. I think the support from the parent company is good, and it releases patches quite often, so it is better supported.

The feature or the functionality of the tool is good for virtualizing everything.

The tool is able to offer protection requirements and helps the organization's compliance and data as there are frequent patches being released, which are well supported.

My company does not use any AI initiatives for the product at the moment.

The tool's maintenance is easy.

I recommend the tool to others. Everyone should follow the tool's documentation.

I rate the tool a nine out of ten.

The solution is the hypervisor in our clients' IT infrastructures, serving as the foundational platform for their virtual environments.

This solution has significantly enhanced efficiency by enabling the consolidation of multiple servers onto a single host, optimizing resource usage and overall performance.

The platform's most valuable features include its role within the vSphere suite, requiring a vCenter Server for management. ESXi alone is just a hypervisor; effective management and optimization are achieved through clusters and vCenter Server.

The main challenge for the product concerns hardware choices, such as customers opting for cheaper CPUs and memory.

There is always potential for further refinement, such as improving the web interface or fine-tuning advanced settings.

I have worked with VMware ESX since its initial release, around 2001 to 2003.

I rate the solution's stability a ten. 

The solution's scalability is ten out of ten.

The technical support was excellent when VMware was part of Dell. Since the transition to Broadcom, I have yet to have the opportunity to assess the current support quality.

The initial setup is straightforward and typically takes about 10 to 20 minutes. However, additional customizations can be extended at this time.

The full deployment of the solution generally takes a few hours, depending on the customer's specific requirements.

The product pricing was reasonable before, but recent changes, including bundling, have complicated the cost structure. While prices were reduced, additional features have led to higher overall costs.

I rate VMware ESXi a ten out of ten. 

I have used the solution at home and in my company's departments.

When my company decided to go virtual, we chose VMware for the main reason, which was to comply with the other tools on our campus, like ZenSource and Citrix. My department was the lone runner of ZenSource and Citrix, so it was not the right thing to continue with them. The technology was great, but we didn't want to be the only department using such solutions, and so we moved to VMware. VMware and Nutanix have complex setup phases, especially in the beginning.

VMware ESXi has a complex setup phase, making it an area where improvements are required.

I have been using VMware ESXi for ten years.

It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

My company had worked with the limited capabilities of the tool's scalability features. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

A few hundred people use the tool in my department, but around 5,000 people use it throughout the organization.

The tool is used regularly as part of our virtual infrastructure.

I have had no issues with the technical support for the solution. I rate the technical support an eight out of ten.

Positive

I have used ZenSource and Citrix.

VMware ESXi has a complex setup phase.

The installation of VMware and Nutanix was done together, and it took a couple of days. After the setup phase, you can fine-tune it, and it takes time for everything to run as you expected or as you want it, but it took a few days to get it up and running and back in production.

My company did not set up the tool by ourselves. After the initial setup, we ran it and managed it, but the initial setup was done by the company that we bought it from. It was a sort of a two-key solution until we got everything running. A third party was involved in the setup phase.

I am not sure about cost savings, but efficiency-wise, it has improved our company.

If one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the tool's price as an eight.

I have not faced any challenges while integrating VMware ESXi with existing infrastructure.

My company doesn't handle any AI-driven projects with the tool.

I rate the tool an eight out of ten.

We use it for virtualization. We have about 500 virtual machines that run on eight hosts running ESXi. It's pretty good and robust. It does what we want it to do. That's why we never change. We just stay with VMware and ESXi because it always works. I normally never have a problem with it. It's very stable.

I like VMotion. We can update hosts without affecting the VMs. VMotion would be number one.

It's a good product. For what we use it for, probably just the pricing. To make it cheaper. Pricing is always the first thing to look at for improvement.

Probably just integration of firmware updates could make life easier. But I think that comes with VxRail, not if you buy separate servers. It would be good to do the VMware and ESXi updates at the same time.

I have been working with this product for 15 years. A long time. Since the first version, maybe even more than 20 years.

I would rate the stability a nine out of ten.

It's quite high. I would rate the scalability a nine out of ten. We use it at an enterprise level.

The customer service and support are pretty good. If you've got a major problem, they come and fix it pretty quickly.

Positive

I also use VMware vSphere 7. It runs on the servers, and we have Fibre switches and Unity for storage.

We do ESXi, Cisco firmware, and Dell firmware.  

The initial setup is very easy. 

It's maybe 30 minutes to set up, and then it's working. It's really quick.

It is a hybrid model. 

It is suitable for medium to enterprise levels. 

Overall, I would rate it a nine out of ten. The recommendation is very high. It's probably the best hypervisor we've used.

I use the solution in my company for virtualization.

The most valuable features of the solution are its high availability and resource scheduling areas.

Recently, the tool's licensing model has become complicated, making it an area where improvements are required.

The tool's downtime is an area of concern where improvements are required.

The solution's technical support team's response time has to be a bit faster.

I have been using VMware ESXi for five years.

There is some downtime with the tool. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

Though I don't have any experience with the scalability part of the product, I can rate it as an eight out of ten.

The product is suitable for small, medium, and large companies.

I rate the technical support a seven out of ten.

Neutral

The product's initial setup phase is somewhere in between being an easy and difficult process. The product's initial setup phase is difficult, but one can manage to set it up.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

The solution can be deployed in a couple of days.

For the deployment phase, my company received support from Dell, who used to own the solution.

The product helps our company save time.

I rate the product price as one on a scale of one to ten, where one is high price and ten is low price.

The product has improved the overall performance of my company.

I can recommend the product to others who plan to use it.

I rate the tool an eight out of ten.