VMware NSX Reviews

NSX is used with vCloud Director to provide networking as a service or extend the capabilities of the load balancer, VPN, firewall, etc. There are two types of NSX. VMware's latest version is a product called NSX-T. It's a universal solution used across the VMware lineup and products like Hyper-V or the public cloud. You can use it on-prem or public cloud as well. NSX is used by the operations team, architects, and engineers. There are maybe 20 to 30 people using it.

NSX extends Layer-2 scalability on Layer 3, covering the vRO and extending the capability on Layer 3 by decapsulating using a new mechanism. NSX-V was designed to use with VMware products and Success 360, providing more flexibility toward different levels of cloud, containers, and components. NSX-T gives you the ability to stretch your network across different view locations. If you have multiple sites, you can connect them using NSX-T.

In the next release, they should enhance the visual interface. With NSX-T, it's difficult to communicate between the public cloud and the container. 

I have been using NSX for three or four years. 

NSX is stable.

NSX is scalable. You can deploy it on one node or a three-node cluster.

I rate VMware support six out of 10 for NSX-V and seven out of 10 for NSX-T.

Deploying NSX is difficult. VMware NSX has three components: management, controller, and database. You have to understand each of them and where to deploy them. There are lots of logs as well. The deployment varies whether you are deploying on a VM, public cloud, or standalone hardware. Each has its own prerequisites.

First, you have to enable features on your physical equipment, enabling you to install NSX. You have to deploy the dependencies and fix the board. The deployment time depends on the equipment, whether it's from Cisco, Jupiter, or another vendor. They have different approaches to enabling NSX.

The licensing is based on the CPU or the physical unit.

I rate NSX nine out of10. 

We use VMware NSX for our cloud and public cloud environments in different data centers. It supports our network virtualization and data center operations.

VMware NSX has greatly improved our network manageability and security. Since deployment, we've done various upgrades and health checks without facing major issues. It has also contributed to efficiently building enterprise and public cloud environments.

The most valuable features are its security aspects, especially the IPS and IDS for intrusion detection and protection. We've found these features beneficial in enhancing our network security.

The boot times for NSX managers and the time it takes to clear alarms and warnings could be improved. The differences between NSX-V and NSX-T, especially regarding the managers and controllers, can also cause synchronization issues. A faster resolution time would be beneficial.

The product itself is stable. However, the frequency of patches has increased significantly, requiring more maintenance and patching than before. This sometimes affects stability since the bugs we need to fix have become more frequent.

The product is scalable, although we haven't pushed our environment to its limits yet. We appreciate the potential scalability related to its federation capabilities.

VMware's technical support services have deteriorated in quality and responsiveness. We often find that L1 and L2 engineers are not as knowledgeable or responsive as needed, causing delays in issue resolution.

Positive

The initial setup was straightforward for the hardware deployment, but the configuration of the BGP and edge services presented challenges. Once integrated into vCloud Director, the process became simpler.

The deployment was handled by three principal engineers in-house, and we've continued to handle maintenance internally.

Not quantified directly in terms of financials. There are ongoing considerations regarding moving towards a VPS model to streamline costs.

The licensing for NSX is relatively expensive. We are considering moving to a VPS licensing model to optimize costs. Overall, I would rate the cost-effectiveness as a seven out of ten.

Our executive team has mandated the evaluation of other products like Nutanix and OpenShift due to cost considerations with VMware.

Overall, I highly recommend VMware NSX due to its robust features and stability. Despite some necessary patches and updates, it is an excellent product for network virtualization and security.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

We host citizen-centric portals. They are web portals where citizens can enter and fetch data. For example, we have tax-related portals, health-related portals, and education-related portals. These are social welfare portals, and for that, we use AWS services.

NSX helps us by making IT management and operations more efficient. When VMs spin off from the DC to the DR site, all required settings on the network level are handled automatically.

The most valuable feature of NSX is the ease of configuration. It handles automatic configuration of IP addresses and network settings during VM migrations between data centers.

The ticket support response time from VMware could be improved. Often, callbacks are delayed, which can be problematic if the servers are in production.

We have been using NSX for almost one year.

NSX is stable and reliable. I would rate its stability between eight or nine out of ten.

NSX is quite scalable. I would rate its scalability as eight out of ten.

The customer support from VMware could be more responsive, as sometimes callbacks are delayed, causing delays in addressing critical issues.

Positive

We did not switch from another solution to NSX. We have been using VMware products, including vSphere, for many years.

The initial setup of NSX was complex, but with the help of an experienced vendor and support from VMware, we managed to configure it successfully in a short time.

We had an experienced vendor help with the implementation and received good support from VMware during the setup.

VMware has moved to a bundled pricing model, which means we are sometimes forced to pay for features we don’t use. This has increased our overall costs.

We evaluated Azure and other solutions, but we preferred AWS.

I recommend NSX because it simplifies IT operations and management, especially for data center network configurations.

VMware NSX helps create and operate on-demand networks. The solution is dynamic and flexible. Our company's principal use case for the product is to provide a network for private projects. VMware NSX is also used to link virtual networks with legal networks and develop a single environment that permits comprehending virtual and physical tasks. 

Firewall security is one of VMware NSX's vital features. Using the tags and the solution's security policy is incredibly simple. For instance, I can create a sketch on paper and redesign it with the tags present on the network segment using VMware NSX. 

A basic load balancer feature was present in a previous version, but the latest version only has an advanced load balancer. The vendor should integrate a basic load balancer in future versions. The advanced load balancer is mostly suitable for system integrators, but it is not usable for our company dimensions. 

I have been using VMware NSX for three years. 

I would rate the stability a ten out of ten. 

I would rate the scalability a nine out of ten. There are about a few hundred end-users of the solution in our organization. 

Our organization's virtual environments consist of virtual machines and systems within the network segments of VMware NSX, and every lab has professors, researchers, and students. 

Before Broadcom acquired VMware NSX, I would rate the tech support a nine out of ten. But presently, I wouldn't rate it so high because our company has difficulty reaching customer support. Whenever I write an email to the technical manager of the solution, I often don't receive a response. 

Overall, the setup process of VMware NSX was easy, but due to the unfamiliarity, the beginning of the process was a steep climb for our organization's team. In our company, we majorly utilize the on-prem deployment model but temporarily we also used the solution in the cloud because we needed the virtual labs and sometimes we needed to use VMware NSX on Azure. 

As a public administrator in Italy, our company signs a contract with an organization connected to numerous universities. This aforementioned organization creates the tender with VMware. I would rate the pricing of VMware NSX as seven out of ten. 

The micro-segmentation function of VMware NSX is wonderful because this feature allows for the best control of every single entrance point of data packets. I would overall rate VMware NSX a nine out of ten. I would recommend others to use the solution. 

Our primary focus is to create a layer that effectively connects to the remote site. This involves optimizing and accelerating the VXLend component, which is highly popular in our setup. We usually configure VXLend to enhance disaster recovery capabilities, specifically for applications that operate within the same subnet. This approach ensures that in the event of a disaster, such as a WAN failure or when external layers are inaccessible, there's no need to change IP addresses. It allows users to connect seamlessly from any location since the servers maintain the same subnet, and data replication occurs between the data centers. The result is minimal disruption and no requirement to modify configurations during these critical scenarios.

Traditional network management often involves dealing with individual components separately while VMware NSX offers a more streamlined approach. It operates on a logical level, providing a comprehensive and centralized way to manage your network resources. This not only simplifies management but also enhances scalability. It enables us to create and adjust policies dynamically, allowing for real-time updates and enforcement so we can effectively oversee our entire data center from a single point of control.

One aspect that needs improvement is the need for further automation. We are already operating in a software-defined data center environment, and while the product is mature, there's room for enhancing automation.

I have been using it for approximately three years.

It provides robust stability features. I would rate it nine out of ten.

It provides excellent scalability capabilities. When it comes to micro-segmentation, it allows you to scale naturally. You can distribute firewall and load-balancing functionalities efficiently as your network grows. It also offers seamless integration with the physical network infrastructure, making it easy to extend your virtualized network into the physical world.

The customer support from VMware is exceptional. Recently we encountered a critical issue where one of our virtual machines failed to start and was displaying a blue screen. Despite the urgency of the situation, we logged a support case, and within twenty minutes, we received a response. A support representative promptly called us, established a remote connection, conducted a thorough analysis, and successfully resolved the problem.

Positive

I have experience with Cisco, but I find VMware to be a superior solution. The primary reason is the seamless integration that VMware offers, especially within a data center environment. When working within a data center, VMware's virtualization capabilities are all that we need. We no longer require separate hardware, edge products, load-balancing solutions, or firewall products. Everything can be fully integrated into a unified system and it allows us to accomplish everything from one console and one central point of control, making it a highly efficient and streamlined solution.

When it comes to VMware, there are two primary options: NSX-V and NSX-T. NSX-V is known for its user-friendliness and effectiveness. Setting up SD-WAN connectivity with NSX-V is straightforward.

The price is significantly high and it can be a hurdle for many potential users.

I would highly recommend VMware for a wide range of users, spanning from large enterprises to small and medium-sized businesses. It's an ideal choice for those who require disaster recovery solutions or cloud extensions. Its versatility and capabilities make it a valuable choice for anyone looking to scale their infrastructure, whether it's within a data center or by extending into the cloud. I would rate it eight out of ten.

We're moving towards hyper-converged solutions with VMware, including NSX and vSAN. This direction has promising prospects in the market.

One significant advantage of VMware NSX is the ability to provide advanced security at the micro-level, focusing on securing applications and workloads rather than just the network structure or virtualization-based network security.   

I believe we need to attain a certain level of maturity and work closely with multiple customers to make substantial improvements and achieve notable results. The feature it can improve is essentially application-based load balancing with intelligent load distribution for applications that require redundancy and high availability. This feature operates at a micro-level, specifically focusing on the payloads of applications.

To clarify further, I believe that if NSX offers this functionality along with robust security measures for application payloads, it would greatly benefit customers. Instead of investing in additional devices or appliances for load balancing and security, organizations would likely prefer to leverage NSX's integrated capabilities in this regard.

We have been using this solution for the past six months. 

As for stability, the customer I mentioned earlier is extremely satisfied with the product's stability.

VMware doesn't have a physical presence in Pakistan. They recently initiated their operations here. However, we do have interactions with their team based in Singapore, and I must say they are quite supportive. The customer hasn't raised any complaints regarding their support. The time required for deployment can vary based on the size of the infrastructure, but typically, it can be accomplished within a two-week timeframe.

Positive

One of our prominent clients is a major university in Pakistan, and they expressed dissatisfaction with their current solution, Sentra for SCI. They expressed a desire to transition to VMware, specifically NSX, as they are seeking hyper-converged integrations with both cloud and on-premises solutions.

Regarding the initial setup, VMware products, including NSX, are generally straightforward to set up and deploy, so complexity hasn't been an issue.

The implementation of VMware NSX can be cost-intensive, especially if an organization is looking for a comprehensive solution. The costs can vary based on factors like the level of conversation and discounts obtained during negotiations. Some government organizations, for instance, may find the prices relatively high, leading to concerns about budget hikes, especially when deploying the solution across the entire organization.

Regarding maintenance and support, they are typically included in the standard licensing costs for enterprise-level businesses. While these costs can be significant, many companies opt for standard licensing to ensure they have access to necessary support and maintenance services.

The deployment of NSX security can be somewhat challenging, and it requires a thorough understanding of the organization's specific needs and objectives. To effectively implement NSX security measures, it's crucial to have a clear understanding of the applications, payloads, and various components within the network environment.

We use the solution to establish a connection between our two sites using the same IPs. This is our primary use case.

Segmentation, specifically micro-segmentation, and also for its extended service between sites to keep the same IP address on all sites are valuable features of the solution for our company.

The solution could benefit from improvements in its pricing and scalability.

I have been using VMware NSX for two years. Also, I am using VMware NSX-T 1.0

It is a stable solution. Our company is migrating from VMware NSX-T 1.0 to VMware NSX-T 3.0.

In terms of scalability, I would rate the solution a seven out of ten. Currently, VMware NSX is being used extensively in my company by approximately 1,000 end-users.

When our company contacts VMware's technical support, we open a ticket for our support request. In the past, we escalated issues to VMware support and raised tickets to receive resolutions.

The solution's initial setup process was easy.

The implementation process for the solution was executed with the assistance of our organization's in-house team.

Regarding the deployment process, we begin with the manager and the product. Next, we deploy the controller and proceed with the requirements of UA6. Subsequently, we configure the DLR, ULS, or UDL.

I don't look over the pricing and licensing of the solution.

Before our company decided to go with VMware NSX, we evaluated VMware vRA and VMware vRO.

The solution is highly recommended for those with similar use cases as our company, given its features and the exceptional support it offers. The solution's prompt and responsive support team makes it a reliable option. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Our clients are moving from traditional to virtual infrastructure, so we sold them vSphere, vSAM, and NSX to manage all the workloads inside VMware. All the VMs work just like traditional infrastructure inside an appliance.

NSX has excellent security features like virtual firewalls. I also like the micro-segmentation features, which are useful for the virtual machines inside the servers.

I started working with Nutanix NSX last year. 

I rate NSX eight out of 10 for stability. 

NSX is easy to scale. 

We sell Nutanix, Dell EMC, HPE, and IBM. Right now, I'm working with IBM Storage and Power Servers. We have Pure Systems, too, but I'm still new. It's my first week at the company, so I'm still studying other vendors that I'm unfamiliar with.

I'm not implementing. I am selling the solution. You can use it on-prem or in the cloud. If you are using SRM, including NSX in your workloads makes things easier. You can easily move everything, including the network security and several layers inside the appliance, to the cloud or any other site.

VMware has a subscription and perpetual license. In the New Year, they're changing many things about the licensing model. Previously, NSX was licensed according to the number of sockets inside the appliance, so we bought VMware licenses based on that. However, that may have changed this year. We are still contacting the vendors to understand the new licensing strategy.

I rate VMware NSX nine out of 10. I recommend it.

We were using VMware NSX for high availability. 

We recently used it to migrate a way to the public cloud.

The migration methods are the most valuable aspect of this solution. The rest is just overly complicated.

We had some issues with the cloud version.

It needs to be cheaper.

We are stopping its use. We won't need it because we'll be using cloud-native.

The company has been working with VMware NSX for six years.

I have hands-on experience with VMware NSX.

It was on-premise, but we just used it to do cloud migration to VMC, and it will be removed after that.

The on-premises version of VMware NSX was not stable, but it was for VMC migrations. 

The on-premises version of VMware NSX is not scalable.

The cloud version is most likely fine. I couldn't really say, but after the on-premise system was implemented, everyone was afraid of change. It was really flaky.

We don't have a large number of users. It is not used as such by people; it is a piece of infrastructure software.

There would have been less than half a dozen, not very many.

I personally have not had any contact with technical support.

The initial setup is complex.

TCS assisted us with the installation.

If five is a good price and one is a high price, I would rate the price a one out of five.

I would not recommend this solution to others.

As a technical solution, I would rate VMware NSX a five out of ten.

I primarily use the product as network virtualization software.

VMware NSX is a great product for network virtualization. No other vendor can offer this kind of solution up until now, and it's great for enhancing security at the virtual machine level. There is micro-segmentation, and a distributed firewall, and all network and network security components can be virtualized with the help of this NSX-T stack. It is a pioneer software solution for network security in a virtualized environment.

This solution comes with an API that can easily integrate with other solutions. 

NSX features include micro-segmentation, distributed IPS, IDS functionality, URL analysis, gateway firewall, logical routing, and all the staple networking solutions like DNS, DSCP, and routing. All these features are very interesting.

The solution is stable.

We can scale it if we need to.

It should support Hyper-V also. Nowadays, NSX supports the KVM and ESXi hypervisors only. It should also support Hyper-V and Citrix hypervisors.

There have already been lots of improvements. For example, they edited the intelligent plans and added an advanced load balancer. The latest version, 4.0, really has all the features you need.

It's a bit complex to set up the product.

I have a total of around three years of experience using the NSX-T solution. 

The stability is good architecture-wise. We haven't had any issues. 

The solution can scale well. 

It is not a user-based solution. We deploy it to about 20 servers. 

We did not previously use a different solution before this product.

It is a little bit complex to set up. It depends upon deployment. Either it is greenfield or brownfield deployment. If it is greenfield, it is very easy. If it is a brownfield deployment, so you need to take care of multiple scenarios of your network, and you need to understand the network architecture, then the deployment of services. 

While deployment requires a complete team, maintenance only requires on VMware administrator. 

We handled the initial setup with the help of a third-party SI team.

This product provides end-to-end visibility and security to your virtual environment. So it's a very huge return on investment in terms of security enhancement and maintaining cybersecurity posture.

The cost of the solution is moderate. I'd rate it three out of five in terms of affordability.

There is no other option available for this kind of product.

The product should be implemented in any IT infrastructure virtual environment. It is a must-have.

I'd rate it a ten out of ten.