Item: VMware ESXi
Rating: 10
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

ESXi has enabled us to reduce our infrastructure footprint at our datacenters thus reducing our cost of doing business. ESXi, vCenter clustering, has also added a layer of redundancy when it comes to the threat of physical hardware failure. Running ESXi also saves time by making it quicker and easier to spin up and deploy new servers.

Pros and Cons

Has the best memory management in the virtualization business.
ESXi itself uses very little resources.

Upgrades can be clunky if host is in a cluster.
Management can be difficult if vCenter is not used.

Return on Investment

Reduced footprint in datacenter.
Reduced costs for hardware.

Alternatives Considered

Citrix Hypervisor (formerly XenServer) and Hyper-V

ESXi outperforms both Citrix and MS in just about every aspect of virtualization. Plus, coupled with vCenter, the management of the hypervisor cluster is second to none.

Support Rating

VMware's support is always helpful and responsive. I have rarely run into issues, but when I have, they have always been very helpful in resolving them.

Key Insights

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

Yes

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

Likelihood to Recommend

ESXi is recommended in most scenarios. VMware has the most robust and scalable virtualization platform *if you are willing to spend the initial cost*. If you are looking for a low-cost hypervisor, Microsoft's Hyper-V may be the way to go. But, ESXi (paid license) outperforms Hyper-V and Citrix Xenserver in just about every arena.

VMware ESXi is pound-for-pound the best hypervisor in the business

Overall Satisfaction with VMware ESXi