Item: VMware ESXi
Rating: 10
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use VMware ESXi at many sites to virtualize the servers they need and reduce the number of servers needed. This also helps when multiple software packages used would contend with each other if on the same server. We have a few different deployment styles and all of them help provide more flexibility for users and better uptime and maintenance for IT staff. This has really helped the workflow for our sites and increased productivity as we roll up new applications in addition to the ever-demanding need to update applications without taking down another application as we reboot VM servers.

Pros and Cons

VMware ESXi is a very stable and reliable OS. We have had longer uptime on the server by using this OS.
Using VMware ESXi allows for Windows servers to reboot faster as they don't need to go through BIOS. The VMware ESXi OS itself boots quickly too when we do need to reboot the host.
By using VMware ESXi, our organization has gained flexibility we have not had with smaller sites that only had a few servers. This allows us to split applications to their own servers and keep them running while maintaining different applications and not taking down everything at once.

Easier patching of single hosts has become a problem. We are finding it more difficult to schedule maintenance as there are more and more patches needing to be applied, and vCenter cannot update itself. For larger multi-host deployments this is not an issue.
Some newer updates include more features in the GUI, but at the same time make things feel buried. It is not as intuitive as it was, but with time it is not terrible to adjust.
Adding more CPUs without adding sockets is not as easy as it used to be. Too many servers have been created by techs that are not correct and lead to slow servers.

Return on Investment

Lowered number of servers needed
Increased downtime of site if only 1 application is acting up

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

VMware ESXi is a very stable product that gives a lot of flexibility. The uptime provided by VMware ESXi is much higher, but when you do have a patch a single standalone host is difficult. As with anything now there are more and more patches to be done, so maintaining and staying up to date takes longer. Overall, using VMware ESXi there are so many advantages and features we can't look back to not having it in our organization. It has allowed for more applications to be deployed faster and easier than ever before.

VMware ESXi is a Great, Solid Choice for Virtualization!

Overall Satisfaction with VMware ESXi