Compare VMware vSphere Editions for Cloud Computing, Server and Data Center Virtualization

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Build a Flexible, Efficient Datacenter with VMware vSphere

Run business critical applications with confidence and respond faster to your business needs with VMware vSphere, the industry-leading virtualization platform for building cloud infrastructures. vSphere accelerates the shift to cloud computing for existing datacenters, while also underpinning compatible public cloud offerings, paving the way for the only hybrid cloud model.

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VMware vSphere, the industry-leading virtualization platform for building cloud infrastructures, enables you to run business critical applications with confidence and respond to the business faster. (4:15 mins.)

Choose Your VMware vSphere Edition

Meet your specific business and IT objectives with the right edition of vSphere 5. One instance of VMware vCenter Server, sold separately, is required for all VMware vSphere deployments.

vSphere Editions offer different combinations of functionality and vRAM entitlements at different price points, providing a simple path for customers to license vSphere to meet their specific requirements for scalability, size of environment, and use cases. VMware vSphere 5 is available in three editions: Standard, Enterprise and Enterprise Plus. SnS is required for every vSphere Edition purchase.

Not an enterprise? VMware has vSphere packages for SMBs, midsize businesses and Remote and Retail branches.

	Standard	Enterprise	Enterprise Plus
Overview	Server consolidation and no planned downtime	Powerful & efficient resource management	Policy-based datacenter automation
Product Components
Processor Entitlement License is required per physical processor.	Per 1 CPU	Per 1 CPU	Per 1 CPU
vRAM Entitlement Amount of vRAM that each license adds to the available pool. vRAM is the amount of virtual memory configured to a virtual machine. See vSphere 5.0 Pricing and Packaging White Paper for more information about vRAM.	32GB	64GB	96GB
vCPU Entitlement The number of virtual CPUs that may be allocated to each VM when using virtual symmetric multiprocessing (vSMP)	8-way	8-way	32-way
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for VMware Qualified purchases of VMware vSphere entitle to free use of enterprise Linux (SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for VMware) as guest OS. This offer includes free subscription to patches & updates of the OS and ability to run unlimited number of virtual machines per vSphere license. For more information about Terms and Conditions use the link at the bottom of this page.
Centralized Management Compatibility
vCenter Server (Sold Separately) vCenter Server – Provides management for vSphere deployments and is available in two editions: vCenter Standard: Provides large scale management of VMware vSphere deployments for rapid provisioning, monitoring, orchestration, and control of virtual machines (up to 1000 vSphere hosts). vCenter Foundation: Provides powerful management tools for smaller environments (up to 3 vSphere hosts) looking to rapidly provision, monitor, and control virtual machines.	vCenter Server Foundation vCenter Server Standard	vCenter Server Foundation vCenter Server Standard	vCenter Server Foundation vCenter Server Standard
Product Features
Thin Provisioning Reduce storage needs by utilizing dynamic storage that expands to meet the requirements of the virtual machine with no performance degradation.
Update Manager Reduce time spent on routine remediation by automating the tracking, patching and updating of your vSphere hosts, as well as the VM's applications and operating systems.
Data Recovery Protect your data through fast agent-less backups to disk, with de-duplication to minimize use of backup disk space.
High Availability Minimize downtime with automated restart of your VMs following physical machine failure.
vMotion Eliminate application downtime from planned server maintenance by migrating running VMs between hosts.
Storage APIs for Data Protection Achieve scalable backup without disrupting applications or users by leveraging supported 3rd party backup software that leverage these APIs.
Virtual Serial Port Concentrator Aggregates traffic from multiple serial ports onto one management console.
Hot Add Increase capacity by adding CPU, memory, or devices to virtual machines when needed without disruption or downtime.
vShield Zones Simplify security management by configuring and maintaining your multiple zones of security within software among shared hosts rather than across separate siloed physical environments.
Fault Tolerance Provide continuous availability for applications with zero data loss in the event of server failures.
Storage APIs for Array Integration Improve performance and scalability by leveraging efficient array-based operations.
Storage APIs for Multipathing Improve performance and reliability of IO from vSphere to storage by leveraging third party storage vendor multi-path software capabilities.
Storage vMotion Avoid application downtime for planned storage maintenance by migrating live VM disk files across storage arrays.
Distributed Resources Scheduler (DRS), Distributed Power Management (DPM) Align resources usage with business priority by automatically load balancing across hosts and optimize power consumption by turning off hosts during lower load periods.
Storage I/O Control Prioritizes storage access by continuously monitoring I/O load of a storage volume and dynamically allocating available I/O resources to virtual machines according to business needs.
Network I/O Control Prioritizes network access by continuously monitoring I/O load over the network and dynamically allocating available I/O resources to specific flows according to business needs.
Distributed Switch Centralize provisioning, administration, and monitoring using cluster-level network aggregation.
Host Profiles Simplify host deployment and compliance by creating VMs from configuration templates.
Auto Deploy Deploy more vSphere hosts in minutes and "on the fly".
Storage DRS Automated load balancing now looks at storage characteristics to determine the best place for a given virtual machine’s data to live when it is created and then used over time.
Profile-Driven Storage Reduce the steps in the selection of storage resources by grouping storage according to a user-defined policy.

Other vSphere Editions

vSphere Kits: vSphere Kits are all-in-one solutions that include multiple vSphere licenses and vCenter Server, enabling an organization to quickly and easily set up their vSphere environment. Kits are available in several editions that vary in terms of scalability and functionality. VMware offers two types of kits:

Essentials Kits: All-in-one solutions for small environments inclusive of virtualization and management software available in two editions—Essentials and Essentials Plus. Both Editions include vSphere processor licenses and vCenter Server for Essentials for an environment of a maximum of 3 hosts (up to 2 CPUs each) and maximum pooled vRAM capacity of 192GB. Scalability limits of Essentials Kits are product-enforced and cannot be extended other than by upgrading the entire kit to a higher-end bundle. Essentials Kits are self-contained solutions and may not be decoupled or combined with any other VMware vSphere editions.
Acceleration Kits: All-in-one convenience bundles that provide a simple way for new customers to purchase all the necessary components to set up a new VMware environment. Each Acceleration Kit consists of a number of licenses for VMware vSphere, along with a license for one instance of a VMware vCenter Server Standard. Acceleration Kits with Management add 25-VM packs of management products to the related Acceleration Kits. All kits decompose into their individual kit components after purchase. This allows customers to upgrade and renew SnS for each individual component on its own schedule. These kits are often offered at promotional discounts.

VMware vCenter Server: vCenter Server is licensed per instance. One instance is required in a vSphere deployment to enable centralized management and deployment of core vSphere features such as VMware vMotion, VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler, and more.

vSphere Desktop provides the platform to deploy desktop virtualization offering scalability, high availability, reliability and optimal performance for all your desktop workloads. vSphere Desktop is also available as part of VMware View. It can be purchased directly with VMware, through resellers or in the online store.

vSphere Kits for Retail and Branch Office: VMware offers two kits of vSphere specifically targeted at retail and remote office installation for mid-size and enterprise businesses. To find out more about these vSphere kits for Retail and Branch Office, visit VMware solutions for Remote and Branch Offices.

VMware vSphere for SMB is also available in kits designed for SMB so you can get cost-effective business continuity and security you need for always-available IT.