Item: VMware ESXi
Rating: 10
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We utilize ESXi to help get more bang for our buck for our compute workloads. We run primarily Windows and Linux workloads. We use ESXi across our whole organization. ESXi allows us to perform maintenance without downtime. We can also automate provisioning and maintenance with tools to allow for more efficient use of our time.

Pros and Cons

Stable software.
Supports many guest OS'es.
Allows for automation.
Allows for more uptime.

Quality support can be hard to receive.
Licensing for features can be expensive.
The learning curve for new users can be steep.

Return on Investment

We have seen greater uptime while running ESXi.
We have saved money running 450 virtual machines on 9 physical servers.
We have been able to provision virtual machines faster.

Alternatives Considered

Hyper-V

We tried Hyper-V for a short time. Hyper-V does not compare at all. Everything in Hyper-V takes twice as much clicking. Hyper-V is much more complex to manage and the menus are often hidden. Online help for Hyper-V seems to be very spotty and not reliable, while VMware helps online are great!

Support Rating

VMware support is very spotty. It seems if you have a higher priority case you get better support. If you have a smaller problem, it can take a long time to get a resolution. I have seen medium priority tickets get passed around for days at a time. On the other hand, I have had severity one cases get taken care of immediately for very complex problems.

Key Insights

Do you think VMware ESXi delivers good value for the price?

Not sure

Are you happy with VMware ESXi's feature set?

Yes

Did VMware ESXi live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of VMware ESXi go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy VMware ESXi again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Pure Storage FlashArray, NetApp FAS series

Likelihood to Recommend

ESXi is great when you want your hardware to have more than one purpose. It allows for easy management and helps alleviate repetitive mundane tasks. Sometimes licensing can be a problem depending on the type of licensing model. We have had great luck with VMware and the way it works.

ESXi, hypervisor extraordinaire!

Overall Satisfaction with VMware ESXi