Item: VMware vCenter
Rating: 8
Author: Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with VMware vCenter

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use VMware vCenter to manage a VMware cluster hosting virtual machines in a development lab. We were able to downsize the rack space and lower the count of physical machines by virtualizing. Which lowered costs.

Pros and Cons

Pros

hosts virtual machines
load balances across multiple servers

Cons

I wasn't impressed with VMware's kubernetes (Tanzu grid)
I wish DRS was included in the lower pricing tier

Return on Investment

Shrank footprint from previous infrastructure

Usability

In my experience, the UI/UX can be difficult to navigate. Especially when trying to find lesser used features or settings. Errors will often refer to a particular feature or section but not tell you how to find that section. Since it is a web UI I would think it would just link to the section. For as mature of a product as VMware vCenter is I expected a better experience

Alternatives Considered

Red Hat Virtualization and Proxmox VE

In my experience, Red Hat Virtualization was cumbersome. I think VMware vCenter is definitely a better product. Red Hat discontinued their Virtualization product but still offers other virtualization platforms that I haven't tested.

In my opinion, Proxmox isn't as polished but is a surprisingly decent product. Professionally I might have decided to go with proxmox if it were not a foreign product. Depending on your needs it might be worth checking out

Key Insights

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

Not sure

Are you happy with VMware vCenter's feature set?

Yes

Did VMware vCenter live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of VMware vCenter go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy VMware vCenter again?

Yes

Other Software Used

macOS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

Likelihood to Recommend

VMware vCenter does a fine job and may be worth the money if you have the budget. There are cheaper and even free virtualization platforms available. And it may even be easier to use and more reliable. But it comes at a significant cost.

Comments

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VMware vCenter meets our needs but doesnt wow me