Introduction to VM WAREIntroduction to VM WARE

WHAT IS VMWARE?

• VMware is virtual machine software

• It runs multiple operating systems on a single computer

• An administrator can manage and optimize resources globally

• It’s an excellent testing and development platform

• It’s an enterprise-class server

FLAVORS OF VMWARE

• VMware Workstation

• GSX Server

• ESX Server

VMWARE WORKSTATION

• Current version is 5.5• Evaluation license key is valid for 30 days

•This is a full working version•VMware has extended this for additional evaluation time if necessary

• Runs on Windows or Linux• Retails for ~$189• Upgrades after a year are ~$95 a workstation

GSX SERVER

• Able to run multiple servers or workstations on a single box

• Meant for a small size server environments and larger-scale test environments

• Scales to allow a test Active Directory domain, client/server environment, etc.

• Can run on Windows or Linux• Retails for ~$1400 for a dual processor

system

ESX SERVER

• Enterprise-class virtual server

• This is meant more for a live environment

• ESX Server is built directly into a custom Linux kernel to optimize performance, stability, and modularization

• Pricing: call them. A purchase for a 2 processor system with a bundled package should run ~ $3500.

WHY VMWARE WORKSTATION

• Saves the average administrator and developer hundreds of hours a year by allowing rapid, modular and convenient tests

• You can run Windows on Linux and Linux on Windows

• You can do presentations involving OS-based demonstrations on the same piece of hardware as the presentation using multiple VMware systems

• It’s cheap

WHY GSX SERVER

• It’s less expensive than ESX Server

• It allows for multi-processor environments and rapid tests of multiple systems

• You can run a few servers or workstations on a single system

• If you’re not comfortable with Linux, you can use a Windows Server as the host OS

WHY ESX SERVER

• Create new systems faster with reduced hardware needs allowing for tailored and scalable memory and processor utilization

• Decouple application workloads from underlying physical hardware for increased flexibility- read this is to separate your server applications and services onto individual servers (DNS, DHCP, SMS, IIS, AD, FTP, Brightmail, Sendmail, whatever).

• Dramatically lower the cost of business continuity- if your virtual system dies, crank of a new box and run a restore in just a few minutes