VMware

Overview

VMware VirtualCenter Server brings together multiple VMware ESX hosts and combines their physical resources for the most efficient utilization.   Running as a service on Microsoft® Windows 2000, Microsoft® Windows XP Professional and Microsoft® Windows Server 2003, VMware VirtualCenter Server stores and organizes data about physical hosts and virtual machines. Distributed virtualization services such as VMware VMotion, HA, DRS and VCB then utilize this information to deliver the optimally utilized, efficient and highly available datacenter.

VMware VirtualCenter Server has four key interfaces:

  • VMware VirtualCenter management agent on each physical VMware ESX host
  • VMware Infrastructure API which interfaces with VMware VirtualCenter Clients as well as third party solutions
  • Database interface to store information such as host configurations, virtual machine configurations, resources and virtual machine inventory, performance statistics, events, alarms, user permissions and roles.
  • Active Directory interface to obtain user access control information

How to Buy

VMware VirtualCenter Server is a separately licensed product required for a distributed virtual infrastructure. One instance of the VMware VirtualCenter Server is required for each aggregated datacenter environment to manage.

  • If you have an environment of many physical VMware ESX servers to be managed by a single instance of VMware VirtualCenter Server, you’ll need one license of VCS, plus licenses for VMware Infrastructure Starter/Standard/Enterprise for each physical server
  • If you have two separate datacenters that do not share resources, you’ll need two instances of VMware VirtualCenter Server,  in addition to VI3 Starter, Standard and Enterprise licenses for each physical server.

For every instance of VMware VirtualCenter Server, you will also need a database license for the database it will run on.

Buy VMware VirtualCenter Server

Buy VMware Infrastructure

Learn more about VMware VirtualCenter