Item: VMware vSphere
Rating: 10
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use vSphere to manage all our internal VMS. All our departments utilize at least one server for their work, and VMware is our chosen application. It helps consolidate our physical hardware, which used to be around 20-30 servers into only five as our hosts. It also holds VMS on our DMZ.

Pros and Cons

Network segregation.
Fast deployment of VMS.

Better support for ageing hardware
Interface can be a little slow.

Return on Investment

Corrupted VMS can be redeployed fast (providing you backed them up!)
You can scale quickly if your business needs require it, saving you having to buy new hardware and waiting for that to be setup. So you can handle the extra load of data without having to turn customers away.

Alternatives Considered

Oracle VM VirtualBox

We have tried a few other virtualization platforms, and even though you do pay for the support, it's worth it for the extra you get. Datastore migration, host migration affinity rules are all tools we use that others don't seem to have. And if they do, they don't work as well.

Support Rating

Never called vSphere with a problem that they haven't been able to sort. Depending on your issue, you could have a minor quirk that they will email you back with suggestions or links to kb articles, or if it's major, then they will call in pretty fast and remote on to have a look.

Key Insights

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

Yes

Are you happy with VMware vSphere's feature set?

Yes

Did VMware vSphere live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of VMware vSphere go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy VMware vSphere again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Veeam Backup & Replication, Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365, VMware ESXi

Likelihood to Recommend

If you're looking for a convenient way of test and delete, then this is for you! You can quickly build an isolated network like a DMZ and test away without harming your production kit. Backing up VMs is ideal, too, as you can redeploy the entire system in a few minutes. The only thing I could think of as to why you wouldn't want this would be cost, or if you're looking to place your infrastructure in the cloud.

The best on-premises virtualization platform

Overall Satisfaction with vSphere