VMware Go is a no-cost cloud-based application that provides IT administrators a low risk and effortless platform to begin their IT management experience. Within VMware Go, you receive a guided assessment of your IT infrastructure using the IT Advisor and suggestions on how to implement SMB VMware solutions as well as how to better utilize resources and manage your environment. You will also have an easy on-ramp to virtualization with an intuitive wizard that guides you through the installation and setup of vSphere Hypervisor. You can create virtual machines by leveraging the configuration of an existing physical server using the built in VMware P2V Converter tool and manage VMware vSphere Hypervisor hosts and virtual machines for basic performance and resource utilization.

VMware Go Pro is a paid subscription solution that makes it easy for small and midsize businesses to manage their entire IT infrastructure by providing a single pane of glass for managing virtual and physical assets. VMware Go Pro adds advanced features including software license management, hardware asset management, help desk user portal and the ability to deploy patches.

The following table identifies the IT management features included with VMware Go and VMware Go Pro.

Yes. VMware Go is specifically designed for small and midsize business with limited IT resources and budget. VMware Go provides cloud-based IT services to help your business dramatically reduce hardware, software and other computing costs.

Yes. VMware Go provides a single pane of glass for managing virtual and physical assets. Within minutes, VMware Go will discover known and unknown physical and virtual machines and allow you to make informed decisions about your environment.

You are introduced to the IT Advisor when you login to VMware Go. The IT Advisor is activated when you run an initial scan to assess your physical and virtual IT infrastructure. After the assessment, recommendations, alerts and actions are provided that you can use to reduce costs including server consolidation, improving network security and expanding your IT infrastructure quickly and easily. Operational guidance and notifications are provided to help you solve problems and react to situations quickly and easily. You can return to the IT Advisor at any time and revisit recommendations. Each time a scan is run, the IT Advisor will present new options along with product recommendations and feature usage guidance.

• VMware Go provides you with a comprehensive assessment of your physical and virtual environment. Based on the information provided by the scan, you can get recommendations on how to manage the environment, be notified of critical alerts, and be made aware of actions that need to be taken.
• The IT Advisor will provide you recommendations on virtualization, managing hardware and software devices, patch and security management , and implementing an easy help desk.
• The home page of the IT Advisor will also provide you with information about the IT environment based on the latest scan. This section is called My Environment and includes a Patch Advisor which shows the average number of missing patches per machine and compares this to the average number for Go users and the average number of Pro users. There is also an RSS feed with current information on new products and patch coverage for Microsoft and other software vendors.
• As part of the assessment, you will receive a Pro-Score which is an average of scores based on how you are managing your virtual infrastructure, devices, software, patch (security), and Help Desk. Scores for each are these are provided as well as a trend line of your Pro-Score over the last 3 months.

• Browser: Either Microsoft Internet Explorer (7.x, 8.x or 9.x), Google Chrome or Firefox 4.x minimum
• Operating system: Windows 7, Windows Vista SP2, Windows XP x86 (32-bit), Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2

Yes. There are a small number of Web client “helper” tools that must be downloaded and installed on your machine.

• VMware Go Discovery Application Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0
• VMware OpsCloud Assistant when using a Mozilla Firefox browser
• ClickOnce for Google Chrome

• VMware Remote Console
• VMware Standalone Converter

Yes. The software helper tools are required in order to run VMware Go and installed automatically when you first access the web-based application. Your machine must allow you to install these or you will not be able to use the service.

Discovery is a Click-Once Application. Click-Once enables you to install and run a Windows application by clicking a link in a web page. The core principle of Click-Once is to bring the ease of deployment of web applications to the Windows user. In addition, Click-Once aims to solve three other problems with conventional deployment models: the difficulty in updating a deployed application, the impact of an application to your computer, and the need for administrator permissions to install applications.

The .NET Framework is a key Microsoft offering and is intended to be used by most new applications created for the Windows platform. The Microsoft .NET Framework is a software framework that can be installed on computers running Microsoft Windows operating systems. It includes a large library of coded solutions to common programming problems and a virtual machine that manages the execution of programs written specifically for the framework.

No. VMware Go is a SaaS application that runs in the cloud and cannot be run locally without an Internet connection.

Internet Explorer assigns all websites to one of four security zones: Internet, Local intranet, Trusted sites, or Restricted sites. The zone to which a website is assigned specifies the security settings that are used for that site.

The level of security set for the Local intranet zone is applied to websites and content that is stored on a corporate or business network. The security level for the Local intranet zone is set to Medium (but you can change it to any level).

To get support for VMware Go, simply access the VMware Go Community site. Here you can find answers to many of your VMware Go questions from your peers and leading experts, including VMware Go engineers that use the VMware Go Community site every day. If you have questions about vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) access the vSphere Hypervisor community.

Visit the VMware Go forum

Visit the VMware vSphere Hypervisor community

In addition to community support, users who purchase a VMware Go Pro subscription are eligible for Saas Basic Support from 7am to 7pm Central Time, Monday through Friday. Support is available in English only. To file a support request online, log into VMware Go Pro, and click the Help link in the upper right corner.

If you require technical support assistance for any other VMware product, please review the available support offerings for those products and follow the documented support methods.

Support requests for VMware Go Pro can be filed by calling 1-866-407-5279 or the standard VMware technical support numbers or from the Help link in the upper right corner in the VMware Go Pro product. Support requests cannot be initiated through the VMware Support Portal at this time.

VMware vSphere Hypervisor is the new name for what was formerly known as VMware ESXi Single Server or free ESXi (often abbreviated to simply “VMware ESXi”). VMware vSphere Hypervisor is the free edition of the vSphere production line. It is licensed to only unlock the hypervisor functionality of vSphere, but it can be seamlessly upgraded to more advanced offerings of VMware vSphere. VMware vSphere is available in multiple editions including several options specifically designed for small businesses.

VMware ESXi Single Server 4.0. VMware vSphere Hypervisor 4.1 and VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.0 are supported by VMware Go.

Yes. There are a small number of Web client “helper” tools that must be downloaded and installed on your machine.

• VMware Go Discovery Application (30 MB)
• Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 (5 MB)

Also, several applications are installed “on demand” if you choose to use those options.

• VMware Remote Console (8 MB)
• VMware Standalone Converter (105 MB)
  
  

VMware ESXi Single Server 4.0, VMware vSphere Hypervisor 4.1 and VMware Hypervisor 5.0 are supported by VMware Go. New installations support VMware Hypervisor 5.0 only

The VMware Remote Console is a VMware application that allows you to open a console window on a Virtual Machine (VM).

The VMware Standalone Converter is an application from VMware that allows you to create new VMs by copying another physical server (P2V), another Virtual Machine (VM) (V2V) or by importing a popular Virtual Appliance. VMware Go uses VMware vCenter Converter technology that streamlines this process for you.

VMware Go launches a ClickOnce application on your client machine so you can manage your VMware vSphere Hypervisor hosts and virtual machines on your local network. Your client machine must be on the same local network as your vSphere Hypervisor hosts.

Yes. When VMware vSphere Hypervisor is installed it will reinstall the operating system and overwrite all existing data. The machine should not be used for other purposes.

VMware supplies a special SCSI driver for virtual machines that are configured to use the BusLogic virtual SCSI adapter. Please read this KB article for more information.

You do not need to use VMware Go indefinitely to manage your virtualization infrastructure. VMware Go should be considered a quick and easy introduction to the world of virtualization. It will also shorten your learning curve for coming up to speed with virtualization. As the number of your vSphere Hypervisor hosts and VMs grow, you should plan to upgrade to more advanced editions of VMware vSphere and manage your vSphere hosts with VMware vCenter Server.

Make sure you have met the memory requirements based on Total Physical Memory. You can see this spec by going to Start > Run > msinfo32 > System Summary.

After you register for vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi), you will receive an email to access your VMware ESXi License with an "Access your VMware vSphere Hypervisor license and download" link. Click on this link and log into vmware.com and you will be redirected to a page displaying your free VMware ESXi License key. You can then license the vSphere Hypervisor with the license key by logging into VMware Go, clicking on the vSphere Hypervisor, letting the vSphere Hypervisor configuration load, and then entering the key into the expiring or expired license warning form. Once the free ESXi license is applied, the license will show as "esxBasic" on the vSphere Hypervisor configuration page.

No, although you have applied your free ESXi license, the vSphere Hypervisor still has some days left using the fully featured evaluation. When the evaluation expires, the vSphere Hypervisor will revert to the free ESXi license.

The vSphere Hypervisor evaluation is fully featured where the Free ESXi License has limitations. Two important limitations are the following: 1. vCenter cannot manage free ESXi without a vSphere Hypervisor license as its APIs only grant read-only access, 2. Automated scripts cannot change vSphere Hypervisor settings.

No, VMware Go will work with other purchased vSphere licenses.

VMware Go will continue to still work with your vSphere Hypervisor, however associated tools such as Remote Console will not work correctly. You will still be able to apply your license key to the vSphere Hypervisor through VMware Go.

One possibility is that you do not have VMware Tools installed on the virtual machine. This is a requirement for virtual machines that are going to have scans performed against them. It's also possible that you do not have the virtual machine powered on.

All data is stored in the cloud. Specifically, it is stored in a fully-managed, secure datacenter.

Absolutely and here’s why:

• All data is fully encrypted using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) during transmission.
• No sensitive data (such as passwords) is ever stored in the datacenter.
• All data is backed up on a regular basis.
• The fully-managed, secure datacenter ensures that critical tasks such as configuring, troubleshooting, backups, updates, patching, monitoring, and if necessary disaster recovery are all completed with best in class technologies. Multiple levels of security are utilized to ensure protection against breaches, viruses, tampering, intrusion, and theft.
  
  

VMware will analyze collective usage data from VMware Go to better understand usage patterns and to improve VMware Go functionality going forward. Read the VMware privacy policy.

VMware Go is to help you setup virtual machines, but is not required to run them. You can setup, run and manage your virtual machines using vSphere Client.

You can purchase VMware Go Pro by logging into https://go.vmware.com, and click the Upgrade to Pro button in the top right corner. If you already have a VMware.com account, your login will remain the same as for VMware Go.

VMware Go Pro is licensed per system, which is a machine running Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 or Windows 7.

Yes. VMware Go Pro requires a minimum order of 50 systems with increments of 10 systems thereafter.

VMware Go offers a one, two or three year subscription.

You (or your company’s billing contact) will receive an account invoice email immediately after you subscribe to VMware Go Pro. Your account is immediately set up to automatically charge your credit card.

Your subscription will be automatically renewed at the end of each subscription period unless you inform us that you do not wish to renew the subscription. At the time of automatic renewal, the subscription fee will be charged to the credit card you have provided for your account. Unless you cancel your subscription, you will be presumed to have authorized VMware to charge the subscription fee to the credit card on file.

Yes, you can cancel your VMware Go Pro subscription at any time. Payments made are for the full subscription term, no refunds. If you cancel during your subscription’s cycle, you will have access to Go Pro until the last day of your subscription. There will be no credits or refunds for that subscription term. To cancel your subscription, log into your account, then

• 1) Click On "Manage my Account" in the upper right.
• 2) Click on "Cancel Account"
• 3) On the confirm Cancel Account screen, click the "Cancel Account" button.

We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and the Discover Card credit cards as well as purchase orders (PO).

All charges are in USD. Your credit card company will convert the transaction to your local currency.

No, VMware Go Pro does not offer any discounts for academic institutions.

If your credit card is declined, an email notification will be sent to you within 24 hours asking you to update your credit card information. If you do not update your credit card information or if your card is rejected again, another notice will be emailed to you 5 days later. If still no action is taken on your part, another notice will be emailed 5 days later. Fifteen days from the decline, if no action is taken, your subscription will be suspended.

In order to reinstate your subscription and access your data again, you must pay any outstanding subscription fees that were not paid because your credit card was declined in additional to the current subscription fees.

If you would like the payment for the renewal to be made through a different Credit Card, please access your account by logging in at https://gona1.vmware.com/, login, and then

• 1) Click On "Manage my Account" in the upper right.
• 2) Click on "View/Update Billing Information.

If you would like to change your billing email address, please access your account by logging in at https://gona1.vmware.com/, and then

• 1) Click On "Manage my Account" in the upper right.
• 2) Click on "View/Update Billing Information"

Your email address cannot be updated online. Please create a new profile with your new email address. If you need to deactivate your previous profile that is associated with your old email address, contact VMware Support by choosing one of our Support contact options. Please note that when you change your email address, your VMware Go data is still attached to your old email address. Please contact billing@vmwarego.com to inform us of this change so that the proper association can be reestablished.

You can add additional systems to your account by accessing your account at https://gona1.vmware.com/. Log in and then :

• 1) Click on “Manage my Account” in the upper right
• 2) Click on “Add More System Licenses to My Account” under “Purchase Additional System Licenses.”
• 3) Select the number of additional systems

Please send an email to billing@vmwarego.com with your request. We will request a letter from the company authorizing the change. The letter should indicate the full name and company email for the new account contact and be signed by company management. The change may also require an update to the credit card on file.

Any data related to the Service will be retained for a period of one calendar year from the date that the account was terminated or defaulted. After this time it will be permanently deleted. To access this data again you must reinstate the service.

Please email billing@vmwarego.com for billing questions, and include your company name and account number.

VMware Go Pro is a subscription service for one, two or three years. There are no contracts or long term commitments on your part. When you sign up for the service, you agree to the terms and conditions by using a click-through Terms of Service Agreement including VMware Go Pro Support Terms and Conditions. No signed contracts are required. If you need to cancel your subscription, you can initiate the change in your account

Read the Terms of Service Agreement.

VMware may, at its discretion, decide to retire VMware Go Pro at any time upon notice (“End of Availability”). Notice of End of Availability, last date of general commercial availability and timelines for discontinuance shall be provided on the support life cycle web pages.

If you are installing from Firefox on a computer with UAC on that is running an x64 edition of Windows 7 or of Windows Server 2008 R2 you need to install a windows update that came out in April 2010. Refer to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978637 for more information.

If you are scanning from a laptop with a wireless connection turned on that blocks ICMP, it is possible the IT Advisor scan discovery using Nmap (Network Mapper) was unable to find any machines. Try turning off the wireless connection to ensure Nmap is scanning over a wired connection.

IT Advisor, patch and asset scans, virtual operations and deployments all use the Microsoft technology ClickOnce to launch the necessary components to execute the tasks in your Windows environment and dissolve afterward.

Two possible causes of ClickOnce not properly launching are security tools such as pop-up blockers or User Account Control (UAC) preventing the launch of ClickOnce or one of the pre-requisites is not functioning correctly. Allow pop-ups from VMware Go and check for any dialogs that may have popped up asking to allow an application to run.

If the problem is still not resolved, you can force the VMware Go setup.exe to run again and ensure all pre-requisites are functioning by doing the following:

• Firefox users: You should not have this problem. The Firefox extension framework allows VMware Go with considerable flexibility to prevent issues like this on the fly.
• Chrome users: Click on the wrench and go to Options. Click on Extensions. Remove ClickOnce for Google Chrome™. Run the action in VMware Go again and the Setup.exe will run and ensure all pre-requisites are in place.
• Internet Explorer users: Delete your cookies by going to Tools > Internet Options > General > Browsing History > Delete. Run the action in VMware Go again and the Setup.exe will run and ensure all pre-requisites are in place.

There is likely a problem with the ClickOnce application itself. To force ClickOnce to re-install, browse to your user folder and delete the contents of the following folder: ..\AppData\Local\Apps\2.0. Next time you run an action requiring ClickOnce it will re-install and resolve the issue.