Item: VMware Workstation Pro
Rating: 10
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We have Controls Engineers that use VM's where the software only supports older Windows versions. So that we can keep the users laptop up to date. I use Workstation Pro for testing Policy changes and testing software. Also, duals as a sandbox area where I can test server changes from clones made from our production environment.

Pros and Cons

Testing Environment
Supports pretty much every OS
Networking options for VM's

Sometimes the networking setup can be a little confusing. Kind of wish there was a network map with the current setup with vSwitches and vNics which would make it easier to visually be able to see all network connections and what adapters they are running through.
There might be a reason, but I wish snapshots would run a little faster. I know when I snapshot a VM in vSphere it is almost instant. Again, there might be a reason behind why it takes so long compared to vSphere, just can get annoying waiting for it to complete before testing.

Return on Investment

It has drastically reduced the time in testing, saving the company money in my labor.
Our Controls Engineers use the VM's to save time on carrying multiple laptops with different OS's and being forced to install numerous programs. Saves a lot of time.

Alternatives Considered

Oracle VM VirtualBox

VMware Workstation does have a price unlike VirtualBox, that is free. But, Workstation Pro makes up for it by how many features comes with it. We are also able to take VM's in our vSphere Production environment and spin it up on and isolated laptop for sandbox testing within Workstation Pro. I'm not sure that VirtualBox is able to do that.

Key Insights

Do you think VMware Workstation Pro delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with VMware Workstation Pro's feature set?

Yes

Did VMware Workstation Pro live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of VMware Workstation Pro go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy VMware Workstation Pro again?

Yes

Other Software Used

vSphere, VMware vCenter Server, Cyberduck, Microsoft Visual Studio Code, OneNote, Rambox, VIVALDI

Likelihood to Recommend

I would not recommend using a VM as a complete replacement for your everyday driver, but I would recommend
it for testing. One way that I use Workstation Pro is with testing GPO's. I can
make a change to a user or computer GPO, take a snapshot, reboot the computer
to pull the GPO, see if it worked. If it didn't, I revert to the last snapshot before the GPO was pulled, make some changes to the GPO again, and test on the test VM. The same style
of testing can be used with creating and changing scripts for computer changes.
We have a whole computer setup script that installs software and changes a ton
of settings. On a VM you can test over and over to make sure the script runs
how you want it to and revert if you didn't like the script outcome. Especially
handy with software installs, so you don't have to wait for a program to
uninstall and then edit the script and run the script again. Using snapshots save me so much time in testing!

VMware Workstation Pro is an IT Guy testing must have!

Overall Satisfaction with VMware Workstation Pro