Item: VMware ESXi
Rating: 10
Author: Chris Hein

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use VMware ESXi to host all of our VMs. It houses 95% of our on-prem infrastructure. We have a cluster of hosts that do this work with a SAN on the backend.

Pros and Cons

Reliability
Ease of use
Management
Support & updates

They are deprecating old hardware soon
Networking is difficult

Return on Investment

It has provided great reliability.

Alternatives Considered

I think it is better than Hyper-V. The gap has possibly narrowed, but it is a more robust product. Time will tell if that stays the same after being acquired.

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

Other Software Used

Avanan

Likelihood to Recommend

It is great if you host a lot of virtual machines.

Users and Roles

1 - Systems Administration

Support Headcount Required

1 - System Admin

Business Processes Supported

Hosting our on-prem infrastructure

Innovative Uses

To host our PBX. Wild!

Future Planned Uses

To host on-prem servers

Likelihood to Renew

10

Products Replaced

Yes - Hyper-V

Key Differentiators

Ease of Use

Evaluation Lessons Learned

I wouldn't change.

Implementation Rating

10

Implementation Details / Implementation Partner

Implemented in-house

Implementation Phases

Yes

Change Management Lessons

Change management was minimal

Implementation Issues

Getting the cluster setup.

Training Types Used

No Training

In-Person Training

Online Training

Ease of VMware ESXi Training

I learned it through reading and opening support tickets.

Product Configurability

10

It seems completely customizable, particularly if you buy the higher end licenses.

Configuration Lessons

VMWare has good best practices published.

UI Customization

No - we have not done any customization to the interface

Extensibility and Customization

No - we have not done any custom code

Additional Customization Considerations

I have not done any additional customization.

Support Rating

10

They are usually very good.

VMware ESXi Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response	None