Vmware Essentials?

OoteR

Hey guys,

I run a small enough shop that this looks like a helluva deal. Vmware essentials for $495!

3 servers is plenty, it's only 400 users total, with no more than 200 (server 2k3) at a time (absolute max).

They are running it at half off for a while..

I currently am running (almost) everything off of 2 dell 2950's with ESXi 3.5. I would love to get the VCB functionality, and have some actual support to go along with it. I can use one server to backup the other accross the campus, and have a coldbackup of my VM's ready to go.

What are the big minuses? I've looked at the comparison chart, and the big one seems to be the High Availability isn't enables, nor is the vmware datarecovery.

Does anyone have any experience with this package?

OoteR

Also, where do you install vCenter Server essentials? Is it installed on a workstation or what?

It controls the ESX hosts correct? So does it run as a client on a workstation or on one of the ESX hosts?

I'm confused.

MentholMoose

OoteR wrote: »

I've looked at the comparison chart, and the big one seems to be the High Availability isn't enables, nor is the vmware datarecovery.

It sounds like you are using local storage. Is that correct? VMware HA requires shared storage, so you can't use it with local storage. Another feature that needs shared storage is VMotion, and by extension DRS. These are two very useful features, so if you don't have shared storage you are really missing out.

VDR is new and useful, but I've seen a lot of complaints about it so I think it is not stable yet. I've only used it in a test environment and seen inconsistent and buggy behavior.

OoteR wrote: »

Also, where do you install vCenter Server essentials? Is it installed on a workstation or what?

It controls the ESX hosts correct? So does it run as a client on a workstation or on one of the ESX hosts?

I'm confused.

vCenter will need to be on something reliable, so a standard workstation is not a good candidate. It can be installed on Windows XP, though. The two typical options are to have a physical server dedicated to vCenter, or to install vCenter on a VM in one of your ESX hosts.

blargoe

Neither Essentials nor Essentials Plus support VMotion. Essentials Plus supports HA I think which would require shared storage.

MentholMoose

blargoe wrote: »

Neither Essentials nor Essentials Plus support VMotion. Essentials Plus supports HA I think which would require shared storage.

Oops my bad, I assumed any of the versions for sale would include VMotion. However, it looks like you need to buy Advanced or above to get VMotion.
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blargoe

I assumed at least Plus would include it until yesterday... I'm looking to do the same thing in one of my remote sites

Chris:/*

Really sounds like your next step is to buy a form of shared storage iSCSI would be the most inexpensive and possible in your situation. Most of the sexy stuff with VMware requires a SAN.

The third server should have Virtual Center, the database and license server installed on it. For your size architecture this would work out fine.

OoteR

Most of the functionality I want doesn't require the SAN.

A SAN of any real size (even dumping openfiler on a whitebox) seems like overkill for what I need. Vmotion would be fun, but I'm really just looking at VCB to do backups once a week to the second host (which is in another builiding) as a cold spare that is relatively up to date. I can have backup exec running to handle the fileupdates, but this will prevent me from having to do a new OS install and an emergency AD restore.

The big thing I don't have with ESXi is the backup functionality, for $500 it seems well worth it to me.

The Essentials Plus package is within my price range, but the advanced kit (vmotion etc) runs $xx,xxx.

This is for a small shop, i could never justify that.

Chris:/*

Understood. Is there any foreseeable growth in your organization or would its size stay pretty static? If it will be static then have you read through this documentation?

VMware Communities: Essential ESX 3.5 & VC 2.5 links