VMware ESXi Reviews

We are using VMware ESXi for virtualizing our full enterprise data center, hosting applications, databases, and other services on it, and utilizing virtualization to make the best use of our resources.

In our whole SBI Card infrastructure, we run multiple applications on VMware ESXi, including authorization systems, AD authentication, AD servers, and DNS servers, alongside network components such as virtual appliances and switches, which allows us to efficiently utilize physical resources by hosting multiple VMs and applications, while making maintenance tasks such as upgrades and support very easy through vCenter as a centralized dashboard.

Additionally, we utilize vSAN storage for managing storage needs, ensuring security compliance, and scheduling management updates, while keeping AD authentication user roles segregated with RBAC roles, allowing us to collect logs easily for issue resolution with VMware ESXi OEM support, which simplifies handling downtime during upgrades or restarts, as VMware ESXi often allows these operations to be completed within minutes compared to physical host restarts that take one to two hours.

I mainly use VMware ESXi for vCenter, ESXi, and virtualization.

The most valuable feature VMware ESXi offers me is the user interface and the ease of handling operations without downtime, which is the biggest advantage, particularly with capabilities for live patching, and VCF 9 in patching areas; the bundled licensing provided simplifies management as I can utilize resources based on my needs without worrying too much about individual licenses.

The zero-downtime patching is the feature that makes the biggest difference in my day-to-day operations, as well as managing hosts with an n+1 configuration, using a buffer host to streamline maintenance within a cluster of hosts.

The vMotion feature is another important aspect, as we opt for auto vMotion to optimize resources within the cluster, enabling the underlying VMs to be moved seamlessly from one host to another based on utilization without impacting applications.

VMware ESXi has positively impacted our organization significantly in terms of operations and cost optimization, as we optimized our environment under a per-core license agreement, achieving around 30 to 40% cost-effectiveness and maintaining almost 99.99% uptime across our environment, where VMware ESXi is run on about 85% of our setup.

Improvements in operations were made possible through visibility provided by VMware ESXi into hardware enhancements, such as virtual storage platforms with vSAN, which we incorporated into our environment supported by VMware ESXi 9 to enable effective live patching without impacting operations, and we regularly utilize RV tool reports to track actual utilization and optimize resources, reducing our footprint from 100 VMs on 100 hosts to 47 hosts, yielding substantial financial benefits thanks to the support from our VMware ESXi TAM.

While there is nothing particularly frustrating, a quicker response from VMware ESXi for planning existing hardware implementations of VCF 9 would be beneficial, especially for P1 issues where resolution should ideally be within four hours, avoiding delays in rerouting tickets to specialized technical teams for immediate attention, and a reduction in the overall pricing structure would also be appreciated.

I have been using VMware ESXi for the past eight years.

VMware ESXi is indeed stable for us.

VMware ESXi has scaled well as our environment has grown over time, seamlessly accommodating hardware updates and resource allocation for VMs.

Customer support from VMware ESXi is moderate; while they do respond, it often takes a while during emergency situations, which needs improvement.

We did not switch from another solution but reduced our reliance on KVM because, despite being open-source and free, it has limitations that VMware ESXi does not, particularly in terms of support, as VMware ESXi provides much better OEM support compared to KVM from Oracle, which is why VMware ESXi remains our choice for virtualization technology.

I definitely see a return on investment with VMware ESXi, as the time savings and cost reductions are notable, especially with VMware ESXi 9 contributing to a substantial overall cost reduction of around 30 to 40%, and the management burden decreased from a 20-person team to just five or six people providing 24/7 support.

We recently renewed our VMware ESXi subscription for 14,000 cores, and the total cost was approximately 16 crore for three years.

Overall, I found the pricing and licensing process to be very simple, as we only provided the number of cores needed, leading to straightforward suggestions and negotiations, with no complexity involved since it comes as a package.

We did not evaluate any other options before choosing VMware ESXi, as it was already known to us and present in our environment, providing sufficient business justification for our decision.

For large enterprises with over 1,000 to 2,000 servers, my advice is to adopt VMware ESXi, ensuring you use the latest technology-supported hardware such as vSAN for an easier operational experience.

I am looking to review VMware ESXi as a platform, specifically VMware vSphere. I would rate this product a 9 out of 10.

Our focus is on data centers and security. For virtualization, we are using VMware ESXi and Red Hat. For firewalls, we are using Cisco and Palo Alto.

We run a lot of data centers in a split mode. vMotion is a daily used technology in order to have one part of the machines in one site and others in a different site and also have redundancy between the sites.

In our company, we have four data centers.

We are using VMware ESXi for virtualization, with vCenter being the core product.

These are building blocks for having efficiency and stability in daily operations, and we cannot operate without them.

Secure boot is a technology we are using, but not data encryption, as we have data encryption at different levels, such as databases.

We run numerous data centers in split mode. vMotion is a daily used technology that allows us to have machines distributed across different sites while maintaining redundancy between the sites.

Licensing has become a major issue. The new subscription-based licensing model is problematic. They have dropped all the support services for small partners and cut all small partners. The last two years have been challenging - after building stability, we received an email announcing they dropped the current model.

It used to be cost-efficient. Now, when compared with Red Hat OpenStack, it is more expensive, but our knowledge and client awareness is with VMware ESXi. At this moment, we still prefer VMware ESXi.

We have been using the solution for a few years. Stability is most important for us. They have always innovated until Broadcom bought them.

Stability rates a perfect 10. We have encountered bugs, but they have never affected production with major impact.

We have not experienced any scalability issues in our scenarios.

For VMware ESXi, we used to be a partner, but after Broadcom bought the company, we are just a reseller. We are forced to buy from distribution and through a different partner.

Neutral

They are the leaders in our business segment, but Nutanix and Red Hat are major competitors.

The deployment was both easy and complex, depending on the scenarios. The scenarios themselves are complex, so at some points complexity is necessary.

We used to buy through vendors such as Cisco and Dell. Now that Broadcom has dropped them, we are buying through country distributors.

It provides return on investment but is not cost-effective anymore.

Nutanix is an alternative solution.

The new model took six months to clarify internally. That is why we have started using Red Hat.

They are the leaders in our business segment, though Nutanix and Red Hat are major competitors.

I would recommend it because it is a product that we know and it is stable. This is the most important thing when building a data center.

On a scale of one to ten, I rate this solution a seven.

The scalability features of VMware ESXi support our enterprise growth by providing scaling out features of the hypervisor platform.

It would be better if there existed an easier licensing, scaling, and licensing method in the VMware ESXi product. It's not complicated, but it's hard to acquire and purchase VMware ESXi, so we have to choose some features. For example, I don't want to use any Tanzu feature, but if I choose the VMware VCF platform, Cloud Foundation, it's automatically coming in the product. I need storage virtualization such as vSAN, which is included only in VCF. But if I purchase VCF, then Tanzu and other features, which we are not going to use, come with the package.

We are not receiving the response very fast from support, so we have to wait a lot. If the response time were faster, then it would be better for us.

Positive

I can rate the setup of VMware ESXi as very easy, giving it an eight out of ten.

Actually, we have some experience with VMware ESXi supporting AI-driven projects, but it's just in the early stages; it's not an advanced project for the time being.

I recommend making the licensing method easier for those who plan to use VMware ESXi. It's very expensive now, and if there were some flexibility in the selection of the features and the product, even inside ESXi, it would be better. We now only have two options to select: VCF and what I think is VMware vSphere Foundation. There is no other option for the time being, and this is a very strict restriction for customers. It's not flexible to select the features and the products, and that's problematic.

I can recommend that scaling is very important, especially if you plan to use VMware ESXi. You need to do an exact and correct scaling for your infrastructure, including hosting, number of cores, number of CPUs, and the size of both production and non-production environments. Be careful with choosing the hardware platform because, even if they have the same CPU family, they don't respond the same. Certified and well-known hardware platforms are the best for VMware.

On a scale of 1-10, I rate VMware ESXi an 8.

Our primary use case for VMware ESXi is hosting VMs in a live environment for development and other servers. The solution is deployed on-premises.

VMware ESXi is very scalable and helpful for our business. It allows us to implement multiple servers on a single machine and utilize hardware resources efficiently.

The most valuable features are the integration with networking and virtual network switches. Additionally, its capability to move virtual machines to physical machines is very efficient for our live environment. The network failover feature is also reliable and favored.

We often face issues with ESXi that require us to change resources by shutting down the VMs. Improving the efficiency of this feature for better scalability would enhance the product. 

Additionally, providing a mobile application for remote access to ESXi servers would be beneficial.

I have been working with VMware ESXi for three years.

ESXi is stable, and our business operations depend on it year after year. The stability rating is a ten out of ten.

The solution is scalable, allowing us to scale up or down regardless of infrastructure size. However, there are challenges when resources need changing without shutting down VMs. The current scalability rating is a seven out of ten.

In the last three or four years, we did not require any support from VMware engineers, indicating its high reliability.

Positive

The initial setup was very easy, rated ten out of ten, and we did not encounter any challenges.

A single PeerSpot person can handle the maintenance as it is user-friendly.

The pricing is expensive, with the cost for customers ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 yearly. The price rating is nine out of ten.

I recommend new users download and evaluate the free version from VMware's website. Once satisfied, they should purchase the professional version for a smooth and secure IT infrastructure. The professional version is cost-effective, allowing one to create multiple servers on a single server.

I'd rate the solution ten out of ten.

Positive

We are a partner and reseller of Hitachi and VMware. We offer support to existing customers who have already deployed VMware solutions. Our primary focus includes data center virtualization.

ESXi stands out for its simplicity in setup, management, and monitoring. Its deployment is straightforward, and no other solutions compare to VMware hypervisor in terms of these features. 

As a level one or bare metal hypervisor, its unmatched scalability depends on underlying hardware, capable of managing large numbers of physical servers with one management platform.

The licensing model currently presents challenges. It's not cost-effective for small users and creates a gap for alternatives, while favoring larger clients. 

Discontinuing previous products has also impacted mid-range organizations, and I suggest maintaining products that cater to mid-range organizations.

Scalability is unmatched and depends on underlying hardware. vCenter Server can manage up to 1,000 ESXi servers within a single UI interface, allowing extensive deployment and management capabilities.

Patching and upgrading are simple, easy, and can often be done live, requiring no downtime unless dealing with an older version.

There are challenges due to a confusing and uncertain licensing model. Previously, there were different licensing models, however, changes have made it cost-prohibitive for smaller users.

The gap in the current VMware licensing model creates opportunities for other principals offering virtualization solutions, especially for small users.

For customers without current hypervisors, starting with a trial ESXi license is recommended. Existing VMware customers need to adapt to licensing changes. 

Currently, I'd advise potential new customers to wait until pricing becomes stable.

I'd rate the solution ten out of ten.

I have done multiple projects with ESXi. These include projects for organizations like Bank Islami, UPL Funds, AGP, Aligore and Co, IGI Insurance, IJLife, TPL Tracker, TPL Properties, TPL Insurance, and Edith University. My customers primarily operate in the insurance, medical, and banking sectors.

ESXi is a virtualization platform that allows multiple applications to run on the same physical hardware, reducing costs significantly by transforming physical servers into virtual environments. It is known for its stability and reliability, allowing seamless task execution by running directly on the hardware processor. 

Additionally, ESXi's integration with VMware vCenter offers centralized management. Features like high availability ensure VM migration to another host in case of host failure.

The cost of VMware ESXi is very high, especially after the acquisition by Broadcom, which led to price increases. Improving the cost structure would be beneficial.

I have worked with VMware for five to six years.

ESXi is a very stable product. I have not faced significant stability issues with VMware ESXi.

ESXi is very scalable. My customers are highly satisfied with its scalability, and I would rate it nine out of ten in this regard.

Customer service and support are good; they are reachable, and at times remote support suffices. However, sometimes I need to visit on-premises sites for complex issues.

Positive

The initial setup of VMware ESXi is very easy, and I would rate it nine out of ten. Deployment can be completed within minutes.

VMware ESXi operates on a subscription model with core-based licensing; the pricing can change frequently. The product is very cost-effective, though not fixed, as pricing tends to fluctuate over time.

I have used Nutanix and SimpliVity as alternatives, however, VMware is more powerful, secure, and authentic.

For enterprises seeking scalable and robust solutions, VMware ESXi is highly recommended. Although its price is high, it is a stable product with significant benefits. 

I rate VMware ESXi ten out of ten.

Primarily, it's a mature and stable solution compared to other hypervisors. Price-wise, it was okay until Broadcom took over. But customers are looking for stability, and it simply works.

The ease of use would be the first feature I like, then reliability. It's stable. It probably goes down, like, once in a very long time. So, in terms of the user experience, reliability, and stability, those would be my key takeaways.

A lot of AI features have been brought with version eight. Version seven didn't really have the AI integrations, so it's still an area we are assessing and testing, probably for the next year or so.

Right now, with the Broadcom takeover, I think the price point could be improved. A lot of people are complaining in the industry, so they probably need to revise their pricing. But the technical capabilities are sufficient for current day-to-day use. I'm sure they keep on improving other things.  

I've worked with VMware for a couple of years. I also work mainly with vSphere suite, which includes vCenter and ESXi. Also, Cloud Director and vRealize Operations. Those are the key ones I've been working with for the past two years.

I would rate the stability a nine out of ten.

It's a scalable solution. If you want to scale up your infrastructure and add more hosts, it's quite simple, whether it's scaling up, scaling down, or even scaling out.

It is suitable for enterprise businesses. 

With the Broadcom takeover, the quality of the customer service and support has really gone down to a five.

Because of the team reorganization, ticket acknowledgment can now take an hour or two. Resolution can even take up to two days. That has really changed.

So, the wait time for responses has increased since the Broadcom acquisition.

Neutral

I've used Commvault. I've been focusing more on VMware technologies.

The initial setup is not really complex because I've been using it for all these years, and it's become more and more simple for me to use.

We use it in our on-premises environment. These days, integrations are quite simple.

The deployment time varies. Internally, we have our own on-premises setup, just ESXi and vCenter. That takes a bit longer since the automation isn't fully implemented. 

But for VMware Cloud Director (VCD), they have a Lifecycle Manager tool that makes it really easy. Two years ago, Cloud Director used to take about three hours to set up, but now, with Lifecycle Manager, it takes about 40 minutes. That's a real improvement.

I'm a customer, a partner, and an implementer.

Efficiency has definitely gone up, but now at the expense of cost. It's become really expensive. For example, if I paid about $10,000 for three years, now I'm paying the same for one year. So that has really gone up. It really increased in terms of pricing.

I would rate the pricing a ten out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive.

Technically, I would recommend it. Considering the cost aspect, I'd put it at seven out of ten.

We used it to run production and development workloads. It is quite a stable product in comparison to alternatives like Hyper-V.

The best advantage is that it reduces the footprint in your data center. By utilizing virtualization and a highly optimized hypervisor, you can run more workloads and reduce the physical space needed in your data center.

We haven't encountered any limitations because we already have a vSphere license. When running VMs, people don't request excessive configurations. We haven't reached any limits regarding storage or memory, as customers don't demand such high-end services.

In ESXi, they use different technologies like memory compression, TPS, and ballooning for resource optimization. These features allow you to run more workloads on the servers.

So, these features have been effective in optimizing server resource management.

The 6.5 and 6.7 versions already have features like graphics card passthrough and virtual compatibility.

I'm happy with the product. But what I feel is that FT (Fault Tolerance) is not used much. So maybe more focus on that feature is needed.

Sometimes, it takes some time for the level-one support to troubleshoot and respond. So, that could be improved. 

I started working with VMware ESXi in 2009, so it has been around 15 years.

It's my favorite product due to its stability. I haven't seen many problems with it.

In terms of ESXi, scalability is good. Nowadays, we utilize the full capacity of physical servers, and ESXi allows for good scalability. You can create a cluster and run numerous VMs across multiple hosts.

I'm satisfied with the support. Sometimes, when you open a case, and it lands on the first level, it takes much time to get it sorted out. But whenever level two or level three guys are involved, it’s good.

With VMware, I have worked for around 15 years, and sometimes the initial support takes longer to resolve issues. It seems like they have level-one support that takes more time. However, once the case gets escalated to level two, they provide solutions. So, VMware has a very good resource in their support team, but there are occasional delays.

Positive

I worked on Hyper-V when I was part of an SOC around 2015 or 2016. I deployed it with a four-node cluster. We used antivirus software on top of it, and I feel that caused many problems, like cluster downtime. The resource optimization was also not that great. Later, I migrated that workload to VMware.

ESXi and vCenter. My current organization only uses those two products, but my previous organizations used mostly VMware products, like vSAN, vROps and vRealize. They were a cloud provider and mainly used VMware products.

The installation and deployment are very easy for both vCenter and ESXi.

The ESXi installation and upgrade process is very easy. Even backup is easy now. The recent appliances come with configuration backup, which is a good option.

It is easy to maintain, especially when compared to Hyper-V or AWS.

In my previous organization, we used all VMware products, which were all integrated without any complexity. It was integrated with the Zerto replication tool, vROps, vCloud Director, and NSX. All of these VMware products were integrated together seamlessly. 

We also integrated some monitoring tools, and that was easy as well.

Time-saving is there. Suppose your workload is running on physical data, it’s more time-consuming and costly. But in VMware, it's cost-saving. 

In the case of Hyper-V, you would require more effort because most of the time you need to manage the VM manually due to issues. So, that was time-consuming in Hyper-V. But here, it’s easy to manage in less time.  

One of my colleagues from my previous organization mentioned that Broadcom had increased the pricing on all the products after the acquisition. 

In my current company, we have vCenter and ESXi. The company was doing a POC for the lab environment with vSAN.

Overall, it is good. I would rate it a nine out of ten because there have been issues with the support. 

The tool mainly serves the virtual machines for the development team and the production requirements.

The migration and combination of vCenter, where I can manage everything at once, has helped me do my job.

It would be really helpful if there were options to do things in one or two clicks rather than doing everything through more manual interaction.

I have been using VMware ESXi for six to seven years.

I rate the solution’s stability a nine out of ten.

Scalability is one of VMware ESXi's major factors. Compared to real hardware in virtualization, there are multiple options for scalability and other options on the OS level as well. More than 1,000 users are using the solution daily in our organization.

I rate the solution’s scalability an eight out of ten.

The technical support team is good and responsive.

Positive

I also use the Hyper-V tool.

On a scale from one to ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy, I rate the solution's initial setup an eight out of ten.

I and the storage engineer at the data center deployed the solution in-house, which took only a few hours.

The solution has made a lot of major improvements, such as high availability and scalability. There are a lot of functions that make your life easier. The solution's integration with other tools in the infrastructure is very easy.

I would recommend the solution to other users. VMware ESXi is a very user-friendly solution, and it is now being adopted on the cloud platform. Instead of changing their infrastructure, people already on VMware can directly go to the cloud and use exactly what they use in the data center.

Overall, I rate VMware ESXi a nine out of ten.