VMware vCenter Server – The Best in Server Virtualization
January 14, 2019

VMware vCenter Server – The Best in Server Virtualization

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with VMware vCenter Server

We have been using VMware vCenter Server since 2010 and now have three of our large sites utilizing this virtualization product. We have 8 physical servers running ESXi at one site attached to a SAN, 5 physical servers running ESXi at another site attached to a SAN, and at our 3rd site we are utilizing this on a Dell VRTX with 4 blades and internal storage. We have HA (High Availability) and DRS (Distributed Resource Scheduler) set up as well. For a larger environment with many needs and a small IT staff, VMware is a great product. Our three sites with VMware are 90+% virtualized.
  • We use vCenter to manage our virtual infrastructure. It gives us centralized management of the virtual environment. It is a very stable, mature product.
  • Ability to create new VM’s easily from base templates reduces time significantly and keeps servers consistent.
  • Ability to copy VM’s to use as test environments prior to major upgrades or changes.
  • Ability to do snapshots prior to doing work/changes/update, which allows a rollback to the previous system state to put a production server back online for use in the event that something goes wrong.
  • Ability to migrate a VM from one host to another or from one datastore to another while the VM is active. Users are usually completely unaware of any change during this process.
  • Ability to utilize the entire physical server CPU and memory to run independent VM’s where there are no concerns of applications not working well together.
  • Ability to add additional resources (CPU's, cores, memory, storage, etc.) to existing VM’s.
  • Ability to backup VM’s as a snapshot. This will allow us to restore the VM, explore it to restore specific host files, or move the backup to another site and restore it there for DR (Disaster Recovery).
  • Has a converter available to do a P to V (Physical to Virtual ) and V to V (Virtual to Virtual ) migrations.
  • Not a big fan of the browser-based client. I started using the vSphere Client (Thick)and prefer this over the browser-based client, although you cannot do all functions from the Thick client and sometimes have to use the browser-based client. As of 6.5, you are forced to use the browser-based client. I wish VMware had continued the thick client instead.
  • Upgrading or updating VMware is not an easy task for lesser experienced administrators. There are many best practice considerations to explore before attempting these tasks and there is always a risk.
  • The cost to purchase and cost to renew support. The ongoing support costs are high, but required, because you become dependent on the entire infrastructure. Lapse of support cost you reinstatement fees. Upgrades depend on having SnS.
  • The licensing model is a bit daunting to understand, and VMware changes the model, which only adds to the difficulty to understand.
  • I think that the overall ROI is definitely worth the investment in larger sites/environments.
  • The reduction of physical server sprawl, hardware maintenance costs, power and cooling requirements, and all the pros listed previously, makes VMware a worthwhile investment.
Larger environments/sites benefit greatly using VMware vCenter Server. You can consolidate many physical servers into the ESXi host environment and reduce your ongoing maintenance cost by reducing power consumption and cooling needs. If there are limited IT staff, VMware vCenter Server allows for easier management and monitoring of your servers. It speeds up the process of adding servers or resources to existing servers. Allows the best utilization of all the CPU, memory and storage resources. It is less appropriate to use in smaller environments, as cost usually exceeds the benefit.