VMware

VMware Infrastructure 3 Documentation
VMware ESX 3.5 Update 2 and later
vCenter Server 2.5 Update 2 and later

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VMware Infrastructure 3 version 3.5 offers three server versions — ESX, ESXi Embedded, and ESXi Installable. The documents listed on this page cover ESX and vCenter Server. There are separate Web pages for the ESXi Embedded / vCenter Server and ESXi Installable / vCenter Server combinations.

The documents in this documentation set use the term ESX Server when presenting concepts, behaviors, and tasks that apply to all ESX types. When a behavior, concept, or task applies only to ESX and not to ESXi, the documents use the term ESX Server 3.

Deutsch, 简体中文, and 日本語 sites offer localized documentation for Release Notes and the main documentation set as available.

Product Name Changes in Documentation

VMware recently changed some of its product names. However, the software, documentation titles, and documentation text continue to refer to the affected products by their old names. For your reference, here is a list of new and old product names.

 New Product Name  Old Product Name
ESX ESX Server
vCenter Server VirtualCenter
VMware vCenter Update Manager VMware Update Manager
VMware vCenter Converter VMware Converter Enterprise for VirtualCenter 2.5

Compatibility Guides

•   Learn about hardware compatibility:

         The Hardware Compatibility Lists are now available on the Web-based Compatibility Guide at
         http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility. This new format is a single point of access for all VMware
         compatibility guides. The previous PDF versions will no longer be updated. The Web-based Compatibility
         Guide provides the option to search the guides, and save the search results in PDF format.

         Subscribe to be notified of Compatibility Guide updates via

•   Learn about VMware Infrastructure compatibility:

         VMware Infrastructure Compatibility Matrixes (PDF)

Release Notes

ESX Server 3.5 Update 4 (HTML)
ESX Server 3.5 Update 3 (HTML)
VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 4 (HTML)
VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 3 (HTML)
ESX Server 3.5 Update 2 and VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 2 (HTML)
VMware Consolidated Backup 1.5 (HTML)
VMware Consolidate Backup 1.1 Update 1 (HTML)

VMware Update Manager 1.0 Update 4 (HTML)
VMware Update Manager 1.0 Update 3 (HTML)
VMware Update Manager 1.0 Update 2 (HTML)

VMware Converter Enterprise Update 4 for VirtualCenter 2.5 (HTML)
VMware Converter Enterprise Update 3 for VirtualCenter 2.5 (HTML)
VMware Converter Enterprise Update 2 for VirtualCenter 2.5 (HTML)

Patches & Updates

Visit the VI3 Patches & Updates page for current information and read the ESX Server 3 Patch Management Guide to learn about updating ESX Server.

Documentation

Read the documentation below to learn about installing, configuring, and using VMware Infrastructure 3 products, including the add-on modules available for vCenter Server. All the documents in this section apply to ESX 3.5 Update 2 and later when used with vCenter Server 2.5 Update 2 and later.


Main Documentation Set


Published on 7/25/08 for the following builds:
         ESX 3.5 Update 2 Build 110268 and later

         vCenter Server 2.5 Update 2 Build 104215 and later

•   Learn about our main documentation set:

         Documentation Roadmap (PDF)

•   Search all the books in the set for the information you need:

         VMware Infrastructure 3 Online Library (HTML)

•   Read individual books in the set:

         Introduction to VMware Infrastructure (PDF Updated 3/13/2009)
         VMware Infrastructure 3 Primer (PDF, Updated 3/13/2009)
         Configuration Maximums for VMware Infrastructure 3 (PDF, Updated 3/13/2009)
         Quick Start Guide (PDF, Updated 6/12/2009)
         ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide (PDF, Updated 6/12/2009)
         Upgrade Guide (PDF, Updated 6/12/2009)
         Basic System Administration (PDF, Updated 2/13/2009)
         Virtual Infrastructure Web Access Administrator's Guide (PDF, Updated 6/12/2009)
         ESX Server 3 Configuration Guide (PDF, Updated 3/13/2009)
         Resource Management Guide (PDF, Updated 6/12/2009)
         Fibre Channel SAN Configuration Guide (PDF, Updated 3/13/2009)
         iSCSI SAN Configuration Guide (PDF, Updated 3/13/2009 )
         Virtual Machine Backup Guide (PDF, Updated 3/13/2009)

VMware vCenter Update Manager


         Administration Guide (PDF, Updated 7/01/2009)
         VMware Update Manager Sizing Estimator (XLS)

VMware vCenter Converter


         Administration Guide (PDF, Updated 6/25/2009)

Related Resources


         VirtualCenter Database Sizing Calculator for Microsoft SQL Server (Excel)
         VirtualCenter Database Sizing Calculator for Oracle (Excel)
         Setup for Microsoft Cluster Service (PDF, Updated 3/13/2009)
         Remote Command-Line Interface Installation and Reference Guide (PDF, Updated 3/13/2009)
         VMware Infrastructure Management Assistant Administrator's and Developer's Guide (PDF)
         SAN System Design and Deployment Guide (PDF)
         Guest Operating System Installation Guide (HTML | PDF)

For Developers


         VMware SDK & API Developer Resources page (HTML)