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Kyle Clifton - PeerSpot reviewer
VMware Administrator at DSR
Real User
Top 10
A highly stable solution that has the ability to snapshot with or without memory
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of VMware Player is the ability to snapshot with or without memory."
  • "When you go to work on a server, it opens up the whole window, and that causes an error inside VMware Player."

What is our primary use case?

We use VMware Player mostly to connect the server hosting the client. I use the solution more like a manager.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of VMware Player is the ability to snapshot with or without memory.

What needs improvement?

When you go to work on a server, it opens up the whole window, and that causes an error inside VMware Player. You'll see it on your web front, and you'll be unable to change the resolution. You can't manage any of them without clicking on them.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have worked with VMware Player for about three years.

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

VMware Player is a pretty stable solution. I haven't had any problems connecting the solution to a much older client appliance. It didn't have any issues with what it was supposed to do.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

VMware Player's scalability works fine. You could potentially add as many users as you want on it, and I haven't had any issues adding multiple clients.

How are customer service and support?

VMware Player's technical support is good. Overall, the technical support team gets back to you pretty quickly.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

VMware Player's initial setup is straightforward. Once you install the solution, you can build your own local cluster or connect an external one.

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

VMware products are usually pricey. With all its support and ease of use, VMware Player's pricing is fair.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I rate VMware Player a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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Phanindar Ada - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Architect at YASH Technologies
Real User
Top 5
Offers ease of deployment and use along with a comfortable configuration process to be handled
Pros and Cons
  • "The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up."
  • "The product's integration capabilities are an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."

What is our primary use case?

I use the solution in my company since I want to use Linux-based machines and for it I built a VMware Workstation. I created the virtual machine and Linux-based machine on VMware Workstation.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that in terms of the interface or if you want to create a virtual machine, the options provided by the product are very good.

What needs improvement?

The product's integration capabilities are an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using VMware Workstation for a month and a half.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The tool's scalability is good.

My company deals with different customers who use the tool.

How are customer service and support?

The solution's technical support is good.

How was the initial setup?

The product is easy to deploy.

The product's deployment phase consists of areas like updating the packages, which takes time.

In our company, we have a team of ten members to take care of the deployment and maintenance of the product. My company specifically does not have a development team, but we do have a support team that offers different levels or different kinds of support.

The solution can be deployed in around 30 minutes.

What other advice do I have?

The tool's performance is really good, so I can rate it a ten out of ten.

The product did meet my expectations by allowing me to run multiple operating systems simultaneously.

I recommend the product to those who plan to use it.

The product is stable, very easy to deploy, easy to use, easy to configure, and easy to set up.

I took care of the integration part of VMware Workstation with vSphere.

I describe the product's documentation as a good area. My company gets complaints about technical notes from VMware.

My company does face limitations with the product, and it is based on the licenses that we have purchased from VMware.

I rate the overall product a ten out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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CEO at iSolute Ltd
MSP
Top 5
A stable tool that is very easy to use, has a user-friendly GUI, and is easy to deploy
Pros and Cons
  • "The tool’s GUI is very user-friendly."
  • "The solution freezes sometimes."

What is our primary use case?

We provide the solution to our customers. It is used mainly for testing purposes and installing different products on different operating systems.

What is most valuable?

The product is very easy to use. The tool’s GUI is very user-friendly.

What needs improvement?

The solution freezes sometimes. The performance must be improved. The tool should provide more dashboards.

For how long have I used the solution?

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

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the tool’s stability a nine out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have a few customers. We need only one administrator to deploy and maintain the tool.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very easy. If we’re experienced, most products are easy to install. We just have to download and install the product. The time taken for deployment depends on the resources. Generally, the deployment takes three or four minutes.

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

The tool is not the cheapest. It costs $200. We have to pay for support additionally. I rate the pricing a three out of ten. There are other solutions that are free. The solution’s price is good because it provides support, updates, and upgrades. Most of the free products are very slow with updating and fixing issues.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend the solution to others. My advice depends on people’s use cases. The product is suitable for testing applications with different operating systems and for learning different operating systems. Overall, I rate the product 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
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SalimAhmed - PeerSpot reviewer
System Administrator at MMCY Tech
Real User
Top 5
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: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Terry Cutler - PeerSpot reviewer
Founder and CEO at Cyology Labs
Real User
Top 10
Has an easy deployment process and a valuable snapshot feature
Pros and Cons
  • "The platform’s most valuable feature is snapshot."
  • "They could include official support for macOS virtualization within VMware Workstation."

What is our primary use case?

We use VMware Workstation for cybersecurity features while testing virtual machines in our environment.

What is most valuable?

The platform’s most valuable feature is snapshot.

What needs improvement?

They could include official support for macOS virtualization within VMware Workstation.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I rate the platform’s scalability a ten out of ten.

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

I have worked with multiple virtual machine technologies. In terms of performance, VMware Workstation can be resource-intensive, particularly when compared to alternatives like Hyper-V or VirtualBox.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is easy. However, it could be a learning curve for new users and require training. I rate the process a ten out of ten.

What other advice do I have?

The platform saves much time as it snapshots the testing process for reuse across different environments. It proves crucial in a development workflow by allowing the creation of a base image. It takes snapshots at different development stages or scenarios, and teams can effortlessly switch back to specific points for testing. The snapshot functionality can isolate and manipulate guests independently, impacting only the host system.

It has sped up the project management process. We don’t have to go back and reinstall it from the beginning.

The cloning feature in VMware Workstation benefits operations such as penetration testing and ethical hacking. We can clone a box and ship it to the customer for easy deployment.

I rate it a nine 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.
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PraveenKumar27 - PeerSpot reviewer
QA Lead at Paytm
Real User
Top 5
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: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Nick Quirante - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Engineer at Netplay Inc
Real User
Top 5
Provides compatibility with a wide range of applications and ensures seamless testing and deployment
Pros and Cons
  • "I appreciate the ease of backup and snapshot creation. The ability to revert to previous versions without losing data is very useful for our team."
  • "I would like to see more detailed reporting capabilities, particularly around snapshot activity. It would be helpful to have a summary of changes made prior to deploying an application, allowing us to provide comprehensive reports to our management on a regular basis."

What is our primary use case?

We use VMware Workstation for testing and deploying applications in our production environment.

We use Hyper-V and VMware Workstation for our testing environment. We use it to deploy and test developer applications within our company. 

We run our internal applications on virtual machines to ensure compatibility with the Windows platform.

We deploy the tested applications to our production environment.

How has it helped my organization?

We use VMware products to support our IT infrastructure and application deployment processes.

What is most valuable?

I appreciate the ease of backup and snapshot creation. The ability to revert to previous versions without losing data is very useful for our team.

What needs improvement?

Since we've been using VMware Workstation for a while, I haven't had the opportunity to test other virtualization platforms. However, we have received some proposals for alternative solutions, such as SCI.

So, maybe VMware can consider introducing this in future releases. 

Moreover, I would like to see more detailed reporting capabilities, particularly around snapshot activity. It would be helpful to have a summary of changes made prior to deploying an application, allowing us to provide comprehensive reports to our management on a regular basis.

For how long have I used the solution?

 We have been using this solution for three years now. We started using it in 2020. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We haven't encountered any technical difficulties with VMware Workstation so far.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

VMware Workstation is primarily used by the IT department. We haven't yet rolled it out to all employees.

We have around five end users using this solution in our company. 

How are customer service and support?

We haven't had the need to contact VMware's support team directly.

I've always found the online community to be a valuable resource for addressing any concerns or questions.

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

We were using VirtualBox, an open-source virtualization software. The decision to use VMware Workstation was made by our technical team. They evaluated various virtualization solutions and determined that VMware Workstation was the best fit for our company's needs.

How was the initial setup?

From a user perspective, the installation and deployment process was easy to understand and easy to deploy. Even for someone like me, who is not a fully technical person, it was manageable.

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

Our IT department handles all procurement and cost negotiations. They are responsible for evaluating proposals from vendors and selecting the most cost-effective solution.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?


What other advice do I have?

I would recommend VMware Workstation for critical situations, such as deploying crucial applications within the company. It provides compatibility with a wide range of applications and ensures seamless testing and deployment.

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. I'm satisfied with its features and performance, and I haven't encountered any major issues.

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.
PeerSpot user
Tomasz Pietas - PeerSpot reviewer
ICT Manager at LPEC
Real User
Easy to implement with good virtualization and access to a free version
Pros and Cons
  • "It's stable."
  • "The solution can be expensive."

What is our primary use case?

I'm a teacher and I show it to students. I use the solution for virtualization for testing some systems and features in IT, for example, containers. 

What is most valuable?

The most valuable aspect is virtualization. It is very strong on workstations and PCs.

It is easy to implement the product.

There is a free version.

It's stable.

What needs improvement?

The solution is missing a snapshot feature.

The solution can be expensive.

It's not as easy to use as, for example, Oracle's Virtual Box.

For how long have I used the solution?

I started using the solution 11 or 12 years ago. I've used it for a while at this point. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I haven't had any stability issues. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I have not noted any scalability at all with this product.

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

I also use Oracle Virtual Box. I use it more regularly. I now use Workstation very little. It's also less comfortable to use than Oracle. Both are easy to set up.

How was the initial setup?

The implementation process of the solution is very straightforward and simple. It's not overly complex. 

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

I have it for personal use or just to teach and therefore I don't find it expensive. I use the free version. It's a bit expensive, the paid version. 

What other advice do I have?

I'm an end-user.

Beyond the high cost, it is a very good product. I'd rate it 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.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free VMware Workstation Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: December 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free VMware Workstation Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.