Item: VMware ESXi
Rating: 8
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Our VMware ESXi environment runs almost all our virtual servers. What used to be two 48U racks of servers is now consolidated down to less than half a rack. Server management is simplified and requires less downtime.

Pros and Cons

Ease of use.
Fast.
Well documented.

Price. There are many free and open source alternatives.
HTML5 management client still isn't 100% complete.
Some components such as Site Recovery Manager still require a Windows Server.

Return on Investment

It has helped us simplify our server infrastructure.
It saves time and resources.

Alternatives Considered

Hyper-V

Microsoft licensing is a mess and management tools for Hyper-V aren't as good as VMware ESXi.

Other Software Used

Veeam Availability Suite, Windows Server, CentOS

Likelihood to Recommend

Depending on your size and what type of servers you plan to run, it could be more beneficial to use something else. Again, there are lots of alternatives. They might not be as easy to use or as feature-rich as VMware ESXi, but that might not matter in your case.

Small Government Use of VMware ESXi

Overall Satisfaction with VMware ESXi