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VMware FREE hypervisor

All we will need is to run 40 Win XP VMs. They will run on a single ESXi host, which has 2 CPUs, and 40GB of memory. We are not sure whether we need to purchase an Essentials license or go with free hypervisor license.

Does the free VMware hypervisor support NFS datastores (NetApp volumes)?

We noticed the Essentials license comes with vSphere API, and Storage APIs.
What do these 2 features do for us in terms of what we are trying to accomplish?

ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

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pzozulka

ASKER

In a single host environment, are there any real advantages to managing a host and VMs with help of vCenter vs. Just connecting with VMware client directly to ESXi host?

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Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

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Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)

When using VCenter Server BUT you will need resources for VCenter Server e.g. a VM

pzozulka

ASKER

Thanks all, it seems like here's an expanded picture for the FREE hypervisor:

Pros:
Free license supports:
* Unlimited CPUs, unlimited memory, NFS & iSCSI datastores, unlimited VMs
* Snapshot management
* Thin provisioning of disks
* To upgrade free hypervisor simply insert new license key

Cons:
* Essentials license costs about $600
* Without Essentials license, we don’t get vSphere API and Storage APIs – third party products that can access and perform management and backups of VMs.
* Without vCenter, we will not be able to:
o Deploy virtual machines from templates
o Clone virtual machines
o Perform storage optimization using VSC plug-in
o Migrate VMs or storage (move VMDK from NetApp volume to local server HD)
o Monitor the health and hardware status of ESXi host
o Receive alerts from the ESXi host about VM performance, or host’s health status