IT Solution Architect at a educational organization with 51-200 employees
Real User
Top 10
Built to provide redundancy and flexibility and can be scaled without any impact on production availability
Pros and Cons
  • "It is a very stable solution. It performs well for our requirements. It has been running for a long time, so we are very knowledgeable about this solution. It is a very well-supported solution, and it is very flexible. The expansion of its functionality is dynamic."
  • "Its cost needs to be improved. It is very expensive as compared to other solutions."

What is our primary use case?

Currently, our whole infrastructure stack is residing on the VMware hypervisor. Everything we use is running on VMware. We have multi-site vCenter data centers. We have four sites, but they are two separate pairs of sites that provide redundancy. We will shortly also use VMware Site Recovery Manager for the two to four hours disaster recovery strategy. 

We are on version 6.5 or 6.7, and we are moving to version 7.0 shortly.

What is most valuable?

It is a very stable solution. It performs well for our requirements. It has been running for a long time, so we are very knowledgeable about this solution.

It is a very well-supported solution, and it is very flexible. The expansion of its functionality is dynamic.

What needs improvement?

Its cost needs to be improved. It is very expensive as compared to other solutions.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been around VMware and vSphere for the last ten years.

Buyer's Guide
VMware vSphere
March 2023
Learn what your peers think about VMware vSphere. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2023.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

In terms of stability, it is very well-established and very stable. For any problems or issues that we've encountered in the past, their support was quite dynamic. We've had very good success in resolving any issues or problems. None of these issues or problems had a direct impact to live services. They have built it in a way so that it provides redundancy and flexibility. It ensures that your production environments remain available at all times, even in the case of problems or issues that could be encountered. I would give it an A for stability. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is easily scalable, and it can be scaled without any impact on the availability of the production environment.

How are customer service and support?

Their support is very good. I would give them good grades. For any problems or issues that we've encountered in the past, their support was quite dynamic. We've had very good success in resolving any issues or problems. Because there are many different products in the stack, you need to ensure that you reach the right person for the product you're looking at, but it is always fairly simple and easy to reach the right person.

How was the initial setup?

The learning curve to actually get used to the product and know the product properly is fairly steep. I have been working with this solution for the last ten years, so it is not a new solution for me. I couldn't speak to today's onboarding process because I haven't onboarded in the last year. It has been many years.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is very expensive as compared to other competitive hypervisor solutions in the market today. Its competitors are actually more aggressive. Even though most of them are less established solutions, they have started to catch up in functionality and capacity, and their pricing is extremely aggressive.

What other advice do I have?

If someone is starting new with VMware, it is important that you either onboard someone who has experience with it or you ramp up the knowledge of your IT operations staff. It is far-reaching and complex and requires a good understanding to manage it properly. If you don't have a good understanding at the beginning, you could find yourself in situations where you're not getting the actual return on the solution because you're not managing it properly. The knowledge gap at the beginning has to be covered quite thoroughly.

I would rate VMware vSphere an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Chris Childerhose - PeerSpot reviewer
Lead Infrastructure Architect at ThinkON
Real User
ExpertTop 5
Has kept our business running with very little downtime and our clusters balanced with DRS/HA
Pros and Cons
  • "We are able to patch our hosts during production hours with the ability to keep services running."
  • "Get the HTML5 client to 100% parity to replace the Flash client."

What is our primary use case?

vSphere 6.5 is the primary virtualization technology in use at our firm and supports the entire organization infrastructure.

How has it helped my organization?

Has kept our business running with very little downtime and our clusters balanced with DRS/HA.  We are able to patch our hosts during production hours with the ability to keep services running.  It has also given us the HA capabilities for our vCenter servers using the new built-in HA option for the appliance and never having to worry about downtime.

What is most valuable?

vCenter Appliance, DRS, HA, Update Manager and SRM help us keep our business running smoothly.  Having the vCenter Appliance has allowed us to save costs on Windows licenses and have a more stable platform for managing hosts.  Also having Update Manager now as well it makes the move to VCSA that much better.  SRM has allowed us to failover our Tier1 services in under 30 minutes for each whereas it would take over an hour the old fashioned way.  DRS and HA have kept our cluster stable and VMs running optimally.  With the built in Update Manager now in the vCenter Appliance it is easy to scan and remediate our Hosts even during Production hours as we can use HA/DRS with Maintenance Mode.

What needs improvement?

Get the HTML5 client to 100% parity to replace the Flash client.  When the next release comes out ensure all bugs/fixes are implemented as there was some pretty nasty ones on initial 6.5 release.

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There were some initial bugs with PSOD and certain hardware vendors but patching and updates have resolved most.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

There are no scalability issues other than purchasing additional licensing when adding hosts or scaling up/out.

How are customer service and support?

Technical Support has been good but better communication at times could help improve it even more.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

No other solution has been used.

How was the initial setup?

It was simple and straightforward as we have upgraded as versions have come out.  6.5 will be our last upgrade as it will be a hardware refresh next.

What about the implementation team?

In-house implementation as we have VMware certified users.

What was our ROI?

Has allowed us to run our HPE DL580 G7 servers still without issues so spend on hardware has been next to nothing.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

VMware is costly versus other competitors but is still one of the market leaders and expanding now with partners like AWS.  Ensure you get the right licensing for the feature sets you want within the product and research what those are.  Setup can be easy if you have someone that has worked with VMware before or costly when hiring external help, but research in to implementers prior to hiring them is always the best method to get good ones.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

No other options were evaluated as VMware has been the primary hypervisor since I have been with my company.

What other advice do I have?

vSphere 6.5 has been a great release with the vCenter Appliance and will only get better in the next release with the HTML5 client becoming 100% in parity to the flash client.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Chris Childerhose - PeerSpot reviewer
Chris ChilderhoseLead Infrastructure Architect at ThinkON
ExpertTop 5Real User

Great review on vSphere.

Buyer's Guide
VMware vSphere
March 2023
Learn what your peers think about VMware vSphere. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2023.
687,947 professionals have used our research since 2012.
IT Manager at ducart
Real User
Top 5
Easy to navigate, with good technical support and satisfactory stability
Pros and Cons
  • "Technical support was helpful and knowledgeable."
  • "The initial setup is a bit complex."

What is our primary use case?

The product is primarily used for my main server for the main business. All the servers are on it.

What is most valuable?

The interface that the product offers is very easy to navigate. I learned it quite easily. I check the hypervisor interface on it. It's much easier for one who is familiar with the technology. 

The details that I get from the solution are great. It gives a lot of detail.

The product has been pretty easy to use overall.

The stability is okay.

Technical support was helpful and knowledgeable. 

What needs improvement?

I would prefer it if there was a better connection between the storage and the server. For that reason, I'm going to HCI or dHCI. I want to integrate it all into one interface and I can't do that here. That's why I'm going to HCI or dHCI.

The initial setup is a bit complex. You likely will need some help with the implementation. It's not something just anyone can do.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for 15 years at this point. it's been a long time. I have a lot of experience with the product as I've worked with it for over a decade now. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution's stability is okay. For us, it's enough. There aren't issues with bugs or glitches and it doesn't seem to crash or freeze. It's reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability depends on the hardware. If your hardware allows you to expand, it shouldn't be an issue.

Every year we increase storage, and therefore we regularly increase usage. However, I am planning to replace our current storage.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have dealt with technical support in the past. It was less with VMware, and more with the vSphere storage. Once or twice I needed help. It was pretty good. I found them to be knowledgeable and responsive. I would say we are satisfied with the level of support on offer.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not really straightforward or simple to execute. 

I didn't do it myself. That would have been a bit much for me. I needed an integrator to do it. It's a bit complex to do.

In terms of the deployment time, when we last did it four years ago, it took about one week to get everything up and running.

We have one technical person on our team that assists with deployment and maintenance. They are an admin.

What about the implementation team?

I enlisted the help of an integrator that mostly did the installation for us.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We do pay for the solution. It's on a yearly basis.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We did not evaluate other options before choosing this product. When I started to use it about 15 years ago, it was the only tool option to work with.

What other advice do I have?

I'd recommend the solution to other users and companies. 

Overall, I would rate the solution at an eight out of ten. I would say that we are quite happy with its capabilities overall. 

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.
PeerSpot user
VMware PSO Consultant at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Consultant
Has valuable features for daily use and a straightforward installation
Pros and Cons
  • "We have the possibility to move workloads to different locations."
  • "There are some limitations with the solution regarding migrating."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case for the solution right now is for a project regarding Telecom Italia. We are working with the telecom. It is mostly regarding the private cloud. The main reason for having all of these products and solutions altogether is to reach the cloud director and to have the private cloud for Telecom Italia.

How has it helped my organization?

Our organization has seen plenty of benefits from this solution. We have the possibility to move workloads to different locations. For the end-users and customers, it's beneficial because they can run whatever they want in a matter of minutes or hours instead of providing a data center for themselves and running whatever they need. Thanks to all the solutions altogether, it is possible to move the workload and it has high availability in different time zones and different regions. 

What is most valuable?

There are plenty of features we have found valuable. It has multiple features that we are using every day during our jobs. 

What needs improvement?

vSphere itself can handle lots of things, but I can say when it comes to other products, we have lots of other availability, lots of other visibilities with the data center that we have. The areas that could be improved are dependent on the project that we are working on and the use cases.

There are some limitations with the solution regarding migrating. For example, some features like EVC we have in vSphere, but still, it is not possible to migrate VM from Intel to AMD, or we still have some limitations even if we have EVC for VMs.

These are the features that maybe would be really useful for lots of customers that don't want to have downtime, and at the same time they want to be modernized, go through the new technologies now, cloud and everything.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using VMware for seven years or so.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. With respect to the very traditional workload that we had, one server for one application, one physical server, I can say there are lots of improvements when we are using VMware itself. In the traditional way of doing the work, it was not possible to utilize the CPU, utilize the memory that you are using. But here, we have lots of options like over-commitment of CPU and memory. We can manage our workloads anytime.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is easily possible to scale the solution and upgrade depending on which products we are using on-premise. We can have a path to scale, to upgrade, to do everything.

How are customer service and support?

Usually when I had to utilize customer support for the solution, it was satisfying based on the priority of raising the ticket.

How was the initial setup?

The initial deployment was straightforward, but again it depends on the use cases. For example, in one project we were working on the deployment and using automation from the customer themselves. They wrote their automation, and it was a little complex to match what they need based on their automation and how we could deploy the products for them.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate the solution 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
PeerSpot user
Senior Product Specialist at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Simple, easy to use and has a lot of features for the virtualized environment.
Pros and Cons
  • "VMware vSphere helps us in not wasting resources like we did when we were using physical servers. It changed our whole environment."
  • "In terms of what could be improved, we do face some bugs when cloning the virtual machine - it fails sometimes."

What is our primary use case?

VMware vSphere is the basic application for making the virtualization on our environment.

How has it helped my organization?

VMware vSphere helps us in not wasting resources like we did when we were using physical servers. It changed our whole environment.

What is most valuable?

The features that I have found most valuable are its vMotion and the other features that are basic in any product. Snapshot, Virtual switch, and VDS are very useful. Its features are so good and fit our needs.

What needs improvement?

In terms of what could be improved, we do face some bugs when cloning the virtual machine - it fails sometimes. Also, using the customization certification also fail sometimes. Sometimes powering-on the virtual machine fails. But we opened the ticket with VMware as we have the warranty.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using VMware vSphere for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

VMware vSphere is very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Of course VMware vSphere is scalable.

In our 15 member team, all of us work on vSphere. We are all system operation engineers.

Overall, we just require two people for deployment and maintenance.

Of course we'll increase our license in the future. Our business needs to improve every time. So we'll use it extensively.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is so good. My friend works at the support team for VMware.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. It is so easy.

The ISO file is available for everyone to download and there is a trial period so if you don't purchase this product, you can try it for free.

We increase our servers every year. So for one server, deployment takes about one hour or less to deploy a product.

There are many strategies to install the product using vCenter. We can make clones from the profile of the server itself so it could take less time. 

What about the implementation team?

We deploy it ourselves.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I did an overview on the Hyper-V, which is another solution. VMware vSphere was simpler and easier to use and had a lot of features. The Hyper-V must be installed on a Windows server which has a lot of vulnerabilities and it's not stable as VMware vSphere.

So after I did an overview I thought this solution is the best in the meantime.

What other advice do I have?

I don't need to give any advice - this product sells itself.

My recommendation to anyone considering VMware vSphere is that if you need to virtualize your environment, you will buy this solution for sure. But you have to have the servers before buying the license. You can first install it for free on a demo, or you can get the virtual environment to try the solution. But it doesn't need any advice, it is quite simple.

After working on this solution, I have joined the official course for vSphere and I took the certificate, so it allowed me to know all the features in this product.

On a scale of one to ten, not to be extreme, but I would give VMware vSphere a nine.

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.
PeerSpot user
IT Manager at a logistics company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Easy to deploy and manage with pretty good reliability
Pros and Cons
  • "The scalability has been good."
  • "The solution should be more secure."

What is our primary use case?

There are two versions of function more popular in our industry. One is the VMware solution, and one is Hyper-V. We choose VMware. We manage the VMware solutions with the vSphere. If you have a VMware solution, we have to use vSphere. However, if we choose Microsoft we have to use Microsoft management tools.

What is most valuable?

It is easy to deploy and manage backups for me. That said, I've used it a long time and therefore am quite comfortable with it. Upgrades and restores are simple.

The product is stable as well.

The scalability has been good.

What needs improvement?

Technical support could be a bit better at assisting. 

The solution should be more secure. Of course, it can depend on the deployment of your system on your side. Sometimes if the system is closed, you don't necessarily need more security. However, since we use different applications and tools, we must use different tools. We don't combine our security tools. However, we need to ensure that products like these are secure, and it would be ideal if more security was baked in.  

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for about 14 years or so. It's been well over a decade. I've used it for a while now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is very simple. You can improve or expand it as needed. It's not a problem at all if you want to expand it out. 

vSphere is for managing an organization's solutions management software. The size is not based on the number of users. Only IT, those responsible for managing the system center, or the hardware, or software of the solutions really have access to the product.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support isn't ideal. They are slow to respond. We've had issues previously.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We also have used Microsoft's Hyper-V solution.

How was the initial setup?

I find the solution, based on my long history with the product, very easy to set up. It's a pretty straightforward step-by-step process.

Typically, you just need one person to set it up. It only takes maybe an hour or so. Of course, the first time a person does an implementation, they might go slower.

We have two people on the system side and five people on the software side that are capable of working directly with the product.

What about the implementation team?

I handled the implementation myself. I didn't need the help of any integrators or consultants. I'm capable of reinstalling it or doing a whole new setup as needed. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We pay a yearly licensing fee. 

What other advice do I have?

We're using version seven or thereabouts. 

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten.

I would recommend it to other users and companies. 

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.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Founder Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Top 5
A solid platform that's constantly innovating and has very helpful technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "The latest innovation always comes from VMware."
  • "The installation is complex and you need to have a good understanding in regards to what you are doing when you are setting it up."

What is our primary use case?

We provide basic VMware virtualization platforms basically for private clouds and hybrid clouds.

These are being used in the case of server consolidation for reducing the hardware sprawl and also, for a lot of the monitoring solutions now, so that companies can have their own virtual machines. For that, many of the clients need a virtualization platform. That's where we recommend vSphere.

What is most valuable?

It's the de facto leader in the virtualization market as of now and it's been the pioneer and it's got the maximum breadth of the features available across the virtualization sphere. 

It has got almost all the features that one can expect to find in a solid platform. It has good features performance-wise and offers a very small footprint. They're top-class security-wise. 

The latest innovation always comes from VMware.

The stability is very good.

The scalability is excellent.

What needs improvement?

While they have got enough integration as of now, they definitely need to get more cybersecurity integration as that is always beneficial.

The installation is complex and you need to have a good understanding in regards to what you are doing when you are setting it up.

The solution is relatively expensive. It's a big downside. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for six to seven years. It's been a while. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is excellent in terms of stability. There aren't issues around bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. the performance is reliable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is top-notch. There is nothing to complain about. It scales quite well.

We have about 50 to 60 customers that use the solution. 

How are customer service and technical support?

The tech support is world-class and we are very happy with their level of service.

How was the initial setup?

Virtualization is always a challenge. It's never a straightforward task as there are so many variables and parameters to consider. There's nothing straightforward about virtualization. Having said that, vSphere is so widespread and available, that you get access to the knowledge and the resources you need to implement it very easily. In that sense, you don't really have to struggle too much regarding the installation. You get a lot of help, however, you need to know what you're getting into and what you're doing.

We have about three to four engineers who support VMware and then a couple of guys managing customers.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The biggest pain when it comes to VMware is that licensing costs are pretty high.

The product itself has been around for so many years, I'm sure they can offer much better terms.

The licensing is paid on a yearly basis. 

What other advice do I have?

I'd rate the solution at a ten out of ten.

I'd recommend the solution. Most people cannnot ignore VMware unless they are looking for something very, very, very, very minimal. It's best in class. 

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
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Senior System Engineer at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Top 5
User-friendly and easy to deploy
Pros and Cons
  • "One of the most valuable features of this solution is the ease of deployment. It's also user-friendly and has been on the market for more than a decade, so it's a leading technology in hypervisor solutions."
  • "VMware vSphere could be improved with cheaper costs."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case of VMware vSphere is virtualization. It doesn't depend on the hardware anymore, so it's easy to migrate and scale. 

This solution is deployed on-premise. 

What is most valuable?

One of the most valuable features of this solution is the ease of deployment. It's also user-friendly and has been on the market for more than a decade, so it's a leading technology in hypervisor solutions. 

What needs improvement?

VMware vSphere could be improved with cheaper costs. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for 10 years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This solution is very stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of this solution is 10 out of 10. 

For this solution, we don't have an end user environment, but for our servers and our whole VM infrastructure, there are around 500 to 1,000 users. I'm not sure if we are going to increase our usage because, nowadays, most organizations are moving to cloud, but we have on-prem solutions in most cases. 

How are customer service and support?

We rarely contact technical support because I have a back-to-back engineer and we both have a good understanding of the VMware infrastructure. We are able to solve about 90% of problems ourselves. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We have a mixture of VMware and Hyper-V. For the small branches, we use Hyper-V because of the licensing and because Windows has four VMs embedded into the core Hyper-V. For VMware, we need to buy a separate license, but we use it for bigger offices and centers. 

How was the initial setup?

The setup process of this solution is very straightforward and easy. For VMware, almost all the data center administrators can be easy to manage and deploy. The installation took less than three or four hours. I did it myself. 

What about the implementation team?

I implemented this solution myself. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

VMware is expensive, from the baseline, initial investment. It depends, though, because if someone goes for ESXi—the latest version, ESXi Essential, or even the opensource—then it is not available in Microsoft. ESXi opensource is totally free, and the only features that aren't available are some API features. But if someone has a small office with less than 50 users, and they just need to run the hypervisor, then VMware is a free solution for that. If someone is considering the price and comparing Business ESXi with Hyper-V, if they already have an existing Windows license, then I would suggest going for Hyper-V because it's much cheaper. Aside from that, I would recommend going for VMware. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate VMware a nine out of ten. VMware is fine. If someone has an office and they only need two or three servers, then I would recommend Hyper-V because they have a free instance for up to four servers. My recommendation would depend on someone's environment and budget, and totally depends on the size of their organization and server. 

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.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free VMware vSphere Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2023
Buyer's Guide
Download our free VMware vSphere Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.