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

Features | Technical Papers | Knowledge Base | VMware Infrastructure Community | Downloads

VMware Infrastructure 3 version 3.5 offers three server versions — ESXi Embedded, ESXi Installable, and ESX. The documents listed on this page cover ESXi Embedded and vCenter Server. There are separate Web pages for the
ESX / 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 ESXi and not to ESX, the documents use the term ESX Server 3i.

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
ESXi Embedded	ESX Server 3i Embedded
vCenter Server	VirtualCenter
VMware vCenter Update Manager	VMware Update Manager
VMware vCenter Converter	VMware Converter Enterprise for VirtualCenter 2.5

Hardware, Software, and Guest Operating System Compatibility Information

Hardware, Host Operating System, and Guest Operating System Compatibility Guides
VMware Product Interoperability Matrix
VMware vSphere Compatibility Matrixes (deprecated as of 10/26/2011)

Release Notes

ESX Server 3i version 3.5 Update 5 Embedded (HTML)
ESX Server 3i version 3.5 Update 4 Embedded (HTML)
ESX Server 3i version 3.5 Update 3 Embedded (HTML)

VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 6c (HTML)
VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 6b (HTML)
VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 6 (HTML)
VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 5 (HTML)
VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 4 (HTML)
VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 3 (HTML)

ESX Server 3i version 3.5 Update 2 Embedded 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 6 (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.

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 ESXi 3.5 Update 2 Embedded 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:
ESXi 3.5 Update 2 Embedded Build 110271 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)
         Getting Started with ESX Server 3i Embedded (PDF, Updated 3/13/2009)
         Configuration Maximums for VMware Infrastructure 3 (PDF, Updated 3/13/2009)
         ESX Server 3i Embedded Setup Guide (PDF, Updated 6/12/2009)
         Upgrade Guide (PDF, Updated 05/14/2010)
         Basic System Administration (PDF, Updated 05/14/2010)
         ESX Server 3i Configuration Guide (PDF, Updated 3/13/2009)
         Resource Management Guide (PDF, Updated 6/12/2009)
         Fibre Channel SAN Configuration Guide (PDF, Updated 05/14/2010)
         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)

Additional Resources

         VirtualCenter Database Sizing Calculator for Microsoft SQL Server (Excel)
         VirtualCenter Database Sizing Calculator for Oracle (Excel)
         Setup for Microsoft Cluster Service (PDF, Updated 8/14/2009)
         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)
         Legacy Host Licensing with vCenter Server 4.x (PDF)
         Guest Operating System Installation Guide (HTML | PDF)

For Developers

VMware SDK & API Developer Resources page (HTML)

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