Introduction to VM WARE
WHAT IS VMWARE? •
VMware is virtual machine software
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It runs multiple operating systems on a single computer
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An administrator can manage and optimize resources globally
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It’s an excellent testing and development platform
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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
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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 largerscale 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
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Pricing: call them. A purchase for a 2 processor system with a bundled package should run ~ $3500.
This is meant more for a live environment ESX Server is built directly into a custom Linux kernel to optimize performance, stability, and modularization
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