We use the solution for the software-defined network.
IT Operations Support at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees
A stable solution with reasonable pricing but needs to improve the complexity of setup
Pros and Cons
- "I am impressed with the tool's protection."
- "The tool's setup is complex and we need support to implement it."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
I am impressed with the tool's protection.
What needs improvement?
The tool's setup is complex and we need support to implement it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I am working with the product for two months.
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VMware NSX
May 2025

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
My company has three users for the tool. We plan to increase the usage of the solution in future.
How was the initial setup?
The solution is difficult to deploy due to network complexity. The deployment took three months to complete. We had around five to seven resources involved in the product's deployment. They were mainly from the roles of network security and infrastructure. We created a plan and deployed the solution following it.
What about the implementation team?
Our partner helped us with the solution's implementation.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The tool's pricing is reasonable.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We compared the solutions from Cisco and Nutanix. We chose VMware NSX due to its price.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

Network Engineer at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees
A powerful tool that helps our organization with box integration
Pros and Cons
- "The alert features are the most valuable."
- "The integration with other brands is not the best."
What is our primary use case?
We use VMware NSX for box integration. If box integration is still a code, we use this technology to understand it.
How has it helped my organization?
When we have problems in the Kubernetes cluster inside the XDN or problems in the Container Network Interface (a container integrated with the NSX), we can join the Kubernetes cluster data source. If there is a problem in CNI, we can see the connection with the NSX manager and create alerts.
What is most valuable?
The alert features are the most valuable.
What needs improvement?
The integration with other brands is not the best and could be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using this solution for almost two years. We are using version 3.1.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable, and we have 20 users using this solution.
How are customer service and support?
I rate the technical support a ten out of ten. Their support is excellent.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward.
What was our ROI?
We have had a very good return on investment.
What other advice do I have?
I rate this solution a ten out of ten. I recommend VMware NSX because it's a powerful tool. We can see the flows inside the SDN, which has a lot of power.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
VMware NSX
May 2025

Learn what your peers think about VMware NSX. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2025.
857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Security Services Specialist Individual Contributor at a tech company with 11-50 employees
Reliable and has a good console that requires less effort when using, but is resource-intensive and not as easy to scale
Pros and Cons
- "Though I haven't been working a lot on VMware NSX, it's good to have. What I like the most about it is that its console is good, and it doesn't take a lot of effort in terms of doing my daily tasks on it or what it's meant for. VMware NSX is still a preferred product in the market."
- "An area for improvement in VMware NSX is that it uses up more resources and is heavy on the network. What I'd like to see in the next release of the solution is more automation."
How has it helped my organization?
We aren't a service-based company, so in terms of improvement, VMware NSX hasn't improved our company, but we need it for business purposes because we do have clients who give us all these products, and they tell us to evaluate these products in our environment and then give them reports on those products. VMware NSX is a good product, but for us, the solution doesn't add that much value to our organization.
What is most valuable?
Though I haven't been working a lot on VMware NSX, it's good to have. What I like the most about it is that its console is good, and it doesn't take a lot of effort in terms of doing my daily tasks on it or what it's meant for. VMware NSX is still a preferred product in the market.
What needs improvement?
An area for improvement in VMware NSX is that it uses up more resources and is heavy on the network.
What I'd like to see in the next release of the solution is more automation.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using VMware NSX for more than two years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
VMware NSX is a stable solution. It's very reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
VMware NSX, In terms of scalability, particularly at the enterprise level, is hectic. It's a complex process if you want to scale it compared to its competitors. It still depends, for example, if you've been in VM all your life or if you have been a VM administrator for a long time, you'll take comfort in something new, so people tend to go for it. If it's a new customer, an upgrade, or if the entire organization is going through a revamp, the process is quite complex. On a scale of one to five, I'll rate the scalability of VMware NSX a four.
How are customer service and support?
VMware NSX has great support, and I have no complaints about it. The support for this solution is reasonable.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup for VMware NSX was pretty straightforward. In terms of our implementation plan, mostly we have standard SOPs that we have laid down for our implementation teams and we stick to those. It would still depend on the environment where we're going to execute it, for example, it could be on-premises or on the cloud, and we'd also take into consideration which type of cloud they have and what other technologies they have in their environment, so based on all of those, the implementation plan and how we're going to approach the implementation changes.
How long the deployment of VMware NSX takes would depend on the client, the environment, and the requirements, but for the basic setup or initial setup where we would just get the box and the do configuration, the IP, etc., that doesn't take more than four to five days.
Our deployment model for VMware NSX used to be on-premises, but now the deployment is mostly on the public cloud.
What about the implementation team?
We used consultants for the implementation of VMware NSX.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I'm unable to give information on the pricing or licensing cost of VMware NSX because I've never been someone who looks into the economic part of any security or virtualization solutions. That's handled by an entirely different team, and I don't even have the slightest idea about the costs associated with the solution, though I've heard pricing for VMware NSX is on the higher side.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We haven't evaluated other virtualization solutions apart from VMware NSX.
What other advice do I have?
VMware NSX is a solution I use at the company very often. My company is a partner of VMware and I analyze products such as the VMware NSX, and I give a detailed report on how the features are, what are the differences between the solution and its competitors, etc.
Deploying VMware NSX requires a team of four, but it would still depend on the skillset. For example, two people can do the work where one is in charge of the networking and one would act as a backup. Currently, my team of five users works on VMware NSX.
My advice to others looking into implementing the solution is to first go through the POC and the documentation before purchasing VMware NSX. Get to know the features best and find out what works for your organization and what doesn't, then take a calculated decision on whether you need the solution because some VMware solutions would be quite heavy on your environment if you are a mid-level enterprise. Other than that, VMware is a trusted name, and it has been in the market for quite some time now, and it's reliable. Though you should also evaluate other solutions, especially in terms of pricing because what I've heard is that VMware NSX is on the higher end, so it depends on what type of fees you want to check off your list. After evaluating all these factors, only then should you make that decision whether you want to go for VMware NSX or not.
My rating for VMware NSX on a scale of one to ten is seven, particularly for virtualization. Technology-wise and implementation-wise, I'm giving the solution a seven.
I would rate the solution a ten out of ten if it was less complex and had more automation. Currently, it's on the heavier side, for example, even the basic agent or basic software takes up a lot of space at the end-user level. VMware NSX should utilize fewer resources when it sits in your environment, so all the other users or other solutions in the environment would have ample resources to use. The solution shouldn't be heavy on the network.
My company is a partner but not a reseller of VMware NSX.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
Solution Architect at HCLSoftware
Excellent support, reliable, and beneficial micro-segmentation
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is very good at micro-segmentation."
- "VMware NSX provides a lot of automation capabilities, but there is still room for improvement."
What is our primary use case?
VMware NSX can be used for micro-segmentation in the network space.
What is most valuable?
The solution is very good at micro-segmentation.
What needs improvement?
VMware NSX provides a lot of automation capabilities, but there is still room for improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware NSX for approximately 14 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of VMware NSX is good.
VMware has been the market leader for stability. If you look at the competitors, I would rate that it's one of the top five solutions which I have worked on in this space.
How are customer service and support?
VMware NSX provides excellent support.
What other advice do I have?
If you are a new user and are looking for overall automation skills, then VMware vRealize Automation fits the purpose.
If the new user is looking for micro-segmentation in the network space, then VMware NSX is the best solution. It has a very good capability in terms of micro-segmentation. Although, there are certain capabilities of the Layer 7 functionality, which other solutions have available, specifically from the Cisco stack. However, VMware NSX is an overall good solution when it comes to virtualization and Automation.
I rate VMware NSX a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Senior Vice President at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees
Scalable, reliable, and easy to use
Pros and Cons
- "I have found VMware NSX to be easy to use."
- "VMware NSX could improve by having more compatibility with other none Window-based operating systems."
What is our primary use case?
We are using VMware NSX for all our network needs.
What is most valuable?
I have found VMware NSX to be easy to use.
What needs improvement?
VMware NSX could improve by having more compatibility with other none Window-based operating systems.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using VMware NSX for approximately six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
VMware NSX is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
We have approximately 200 employees using the solution.
How are customer service and support?
We rarely face issues and we are quite knowledgeable about the solution.
What about the implementation team?
We have two engineers for the support of the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We are using a perpetual license to use the solution and we have support.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution but it depends on the nature of the business and how much variety of applications it is using. If you are using one, or two applications then you don't need to use virtualization at all.
I rate VMware NSX an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
System Advisor IT at CRIF India
Support need improvement, but it is stable, and easy to install
Pros and Cons
- "It's a beneficial tool."
- "The support needs improvement."
What is our primary use case?
Load balancing is achieved using VMware NSX. The load balancing feature provided with VMware vSphere is called NSX.
While using the virtual server with your on-premises trusted internal network, you can set up rules to prevent them from doing specific activities.
What is most valuable?
VMware NSX is a very good product.
It's a beneficial tool.
What needs improvement?
VMware NSX needs improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using VMware NSX for a couple of years.
We are using the most recent version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have no issues with the stability of VMware NSX.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
VMware NSX is a scalable solution.
NSX is not a user, product. NSX is for securing your virtualization platform.
How are customer service and support?
The support needs improvement.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward.
What other advice do I have?
I have not yet fully explored all that this solution provides. I am still analyzing it. From the knowledge and experience that I have today, I would recommend this solution.
I would rate VMware NSX a five out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
A flexible option for managing security, but setup is complex and documentation is lacking
Pros and Cons
- "NSX's stand-out function is the distributed firewall. The firewall system is just top-notch, and I haven't seen another solution like it."
- "NSX could better integrate with open-source products. Of course, it integrates with some, but I know many people are uncomfortable deploying NSX with certain open-source solutions, such as Radar."
What is our primary use case?
Our main use case is the distributed firewall. NSX can segment every application and server based on the ports they need to communicate externally. Ports that aren't required are inactive, so we activate them for some specific applications. We can get the ports from the application guys, activate the ones we need, and then disable the rest of the ports. We've done other things with NSX, but it's just mostly about the distributed firewall.
How has it helped my organization?
We typically run a lot of vulnerability assessments — sometimes spam testing — and get a lot of bad results because some ports are open. I think NSX has significantly cut down on that. Right now, we have been able to fix almost all of our problems with unnecessary ports being opened and related issues. We are secure in this specific aspect, so we can log other options.
What is most valuable?
NSX's stand-out function is the distributed firewall. The firewall system is just top-notch, and I haven't seen another solution like it. Aside from that, there are numerous other cases where NSX comes in handy. For example, we've done intrusion prevention and implemented some next-generation firewalls for service training. We deployed some next-generation firewalls inside certain servers. Then we could bring all the traffic down that was meant to lead each server to a specific firewall. The security guys put policies on the firewall for checking signatures and hash values to contain particular security breaches within the server and prevent them from affecting the network. So we could use the particular firewall that we usually use and use it within the server close-up at the data center instead of the VH.
What needs improvement?
NSX could better integrate with open-source products. Of course, it integrates with some, but I know many people are uncomfortable deploying NSX with certain open-source solutions, such as Radar. They don't integrate so well, and the integration is usually so complex that many people would rather not use them.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using VMware NSX personally for one year now, but I'm a consultant on this product, so I've deployed it for multiple customers.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We've experienced some bugs with NSX's user interface. For example, sometimes we click something, and it's not clicking. But they put out a lot of updates and patches. Also, they've added some particular boards on the applications. So with every update, they make the user interface more stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
You can scale NSX if you have the resources, but it's usually expensive and complex to scale up.
How are customer service and support?
VMware support is great. I would rate their support eight out of 10.
How was the initial setup?
The NSX setup is complex. That's one area where they could improve. Generally, it's too complicated to deploy. You can spend two or three days on it. And if you've never done it before, it might take a week. So it takes a relatively long time and lacks comprehensive end-to-end documentation. We had inadequate documentation when we implemented it, but I think it's better now. Total deployment for us took more than two weeks, but there were some breaks in that time where we stopped working on it. We weren't under any deadline. If we were pressed, we could have finished in four or five.
After the initial setup, NSX doesn't require a whole lot of maintenance. It's mostly troubleshooting, checking error codes, etc. There is no dedicated maintenance personnel specifically for NSX. Some guys in the IT department support this solution along with several other solutions. We have about four to five people handling that side of things, but there are six of us in the whole department responsible for infrastructure.
What was our ROI?
It's hard to judge with new deployments because you need some time to start seeing a return. But after someone has had one or two years to achieve a mature deployment on the product, they'll generally be happy that they spent the money. After a year, I'm beginning to see the return on investment, but everyone would argue that it's still expensive for the first two or three months.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
VMware NSX is expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I rate VMware NSX seven out of 10. If you are considering NSX, I suggest that you practice the deployment and know your use case. Know what you want to do with it and understand why you want to use the product. Identify the security features you want to use and consider what it's doing for your infrastructure. We're still exploring the features. I'm not sure we're using all the features that come with the application. There are so many that we have not used. For now, we're looking at more use cases and expanding on that knowledge.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
Consultant at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Stable, great for controlling virtual switches and makes it easy to establish VLANs
Pros and Cons
- "Overall, for me, it's a good solution and has been working well."
- "Occasionally the licensing is not very clear. They should make it easier to understand."
How has it helped my organization?
The full integration has been great. Its infrastructure and its ability to be part of the whole application are very useful for organizations.
What is most valuable?
The solution is great for controlling virtual switches and it is easy to establish VLANs and micro-segmentations. All those things are very useful.
The stability is pretty good.
Overall, for me, it's a good solution and has been working well.
What needs improvement?
I cannot recall coming across any missing features. At this time, there is nothing I would need in a future release.
Occasionally the licensing is not very clear. They should make it easier to understand.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have experience using the solution for around 25 years, on IT, however, for the last 10 years I've been working deeply on this and over the decade I have been more focused on software. In the last 4 or 5 years, I have had more and more focus.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is good. Our customers don't seem to have any issues with bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I haven't really dealt with scaling the solution. I can't speak to how it is.
How are customer service and support?
I've never been in contact with technical support in the past. I can't speak to how helpful or responsive they are.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I also have experience using Red Hat. However, sometimes I have had some problems with it. It can be a bit more difficult in terms of integration with other vendors.
How was the initial setup?
I didn't actually handle the implementation. I'm working more on the design side, not on setup or configuration. Therefore, I can't speak to how easy or difficult the implementation process is for users.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing is complex. Sometimes I have trouble understanding it.
What other advice do I have?
We are VMware integrators and partners.
I'd advise new or potential users to be aware that you will have to integrate it with other solutions. You'll need to look at how it fits in with all of your infrastructure, including IT infrastructure, for example.
I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. It's been very good overall.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

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