6.7

Table Of Contents
Compute servers continue to function even if vCenter Server becomes
unreachable (for example, if the network is severed). The ESXi hosts can
be managed separately and continue to run the virtual machines assigned
to them based on the resource assignment that was last set. After
connection to vCenter Server is restored, it can manage the data center as
a whole again.
Management clients VMware vSphere provides several interfaces for data center management
and virtual machine access. These interfaces include vSphere Web Client
for access through a web browser, vSphere Client, or vSphere Command-
Line Interface (vSphere CLI).
vSphere Software Components
VMware vSphere is a suite of software components for virtualization. These include ESXi,
vCenter Server, and other software components that fulfill several different functions in the vSphere
environment.
Note Starting with vSphere 6.5, all vCenter Server services and some Platform Services Controller
services run as child processes of the VMware Service Lifecycle Manager service.
vSphere includes the following software components:
ESXi The hypervisor runs virtual machines. Each virtual machine has a set of
configuration and disk files that together perform all the functions of a
physical machine.
Through ESXi, you run the virtual machines, install operating systems, run
applications, and configure the virtual machines. Configuration includes
identifying the virtual machine’s resources, such as storage devices.
The server provides bootstrapping, management, and other services that
manage your virtual machines.
vCenter Server A service that acts as a central administrator for VMware ESXi hosts that
are connected on a network. vCenter Server directs actions on the virtual
machines and the ESXi hosts.
vCenter Server is a single Windows or Linux Service and is installed to run
automatically. The vCenter Server service runs continuously in the
background. It performs its monitoring and managing activities even when
no vSphere Web Clients are connected and when no one is logged on to
the computer where it resides. It must have network access to all the hosts
it manages.
vCenter Server and Host Management
VMware, Inc. 13