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Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

VMware vSphere offers high availability, enabling businesses to meet service level agreements without downtime.
Its flexibility allows for easy management of workloads and virtual machines, improving organizational efficiency.
VMware vSphere's scalability supports growth and adapts to changing resource requirements effectively.
With VMotion, VMware vSphere facilitates seamless live migration of virtual machines, optimizing hardware usage and maintenance processes.
Its built-in encryption provides robust security, ensuring compliance with data protection standards.

CONS

VMware vSphere needs improvement in integration capabilities with other applications and metering features.
There are issues with the cost of VMware vSphere, which is considered expensive and increases with frequent releases.
There are challenges with technical support response times, particularly outside the US and Europe.
VMware vSphere requires more development in container management and virtualization graphics.
The licensing process for VMware vSphere is complex and could be simplified.
 

VMware vSphere Pros review quotes

it_user1020 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Data Center at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Jun 29, 2012
My experience with VMware EXSi is that it's the fastest Virtualization platform out there.
it_user1065 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager of Data Center at a integrator with 51-200 employees
Jul 2, 2012
One of the cutting edge virtualization technologies offered by VMware works on platforms like Windows, Linux, and Solaris.
it_user1104 - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Center Expert at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Jul 6, 2012
Virtualization has made datacentre operations easier.
Learn what your peers think about VMware vSphere. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: February 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user1122 - PeerSpot reviewer
Infrastructure Expert at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Jul 11, 2012
VMWare server is an excellent virtualization tool for the workstation.
it_user1122 - PeerSpot reviewer
Infrastructure Expert at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Jul 11, 2012
ESXi has one major benefit that outweighs the others; IT'S FREE!
it_user1125 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at a retailer with 51-200 employees
Jul 12, 2012
VMware Server is problem solving and cost saving.
MP
Senior Site Infrastructure Engineer at Kurungsiku
Aug 7, 2012
Unlike VMware Workstation where we have to log in to the desktop to run VMs, with VMware Server we can run VMs in the background and it also has a web-based management interface so you don't have to install software on your desktop to manage VMware Server.
it_user1728 - PeerSpot reviewer
CIO at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Aug 27, 2012
Greatly consolidated my server infrastructure; DR/BCP friendly.
it_user2721 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Administrator at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Nov 15, 2012
VMware Server is a free, easy-to-use Windows and Linux application that provides a superior introductory experience to server virtualization for businesses to optimize utilization of their technology assets.
it_user2814 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Infrastructure at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Nov 21, 2012
Most usable hypervisor in the industry.
 

VMware vSphere Cons review quotes

it_user1020 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Data Center at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Jun 29, 2012
The downside to the free version is that you can only use it on a server with a maximum of 32GB memory.
it_user1065 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager of Data Center at a integrator with 51-200 employees
Jul 2, 2012
Poor memory management.
it_user1104 - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Center Expert at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Jul 6, 2012
The major disadvantage that i can think off is that we have to pay for all the features to be available.
Learn what your peers think about VMware vSphere. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: February 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user1122 - PeerSpot reviewer
Infrastructure Expert at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Jul 11, 2012
Unfortunately, this software has reached its End-Of-Life, and has held that status for almost two years.
it_user1122 - PeerSpot reviewer
Infrastructure Expert at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Jul 11, 2012
The only issue I have with ESXi is that it is console (CLI) based.
it_user1125 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at a retailer with 51-200 employees
Jul 12, 2012
The new Graphic User Interface is not of high quality.
MP
Senior Site Infrastructure Engineer at Kurungsiku
Aug 7, 2012
Not the best choice if you want to start learning virtualization.
it_user1728 - PeerSpot reviewer
CIO at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Aug 27, 2012
Hard to justify annual maintenance vs. HyperV
it_user2721 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Administrator at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Nov 15, 2012
Additional layer affects performance: the machine's own operating system sits between the hardware and virtualization software, meaning a portion of the machine's capability isn't available to your VMware Server because it’s devoted to running the underlying operating system.
it_user2814 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Infrastructure at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Nov 21, 2012
You can not manage it from Linux.