Datasheet

McCain c01.tex V3 - 09/17/2009 12:23pm Page 5

EXPLORING VMWARE VSPHERE 4 5

In addition to VMware VMotion, VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler, VMware High

Availability, and VMware Fault Tolerance, using vCenter Server to manage ESX/ESXi hosts also

enables a number of other features:

◆ Enhanced VMotion Compatibility (EVC), which leverages hardware functionality from

Intel and AMD to enable greater CPU compatibility between servers grouped into VMware

DRS clusters

◆ Host proﬁles, which allow administrators to bring greater consistency to host conﬁgura-

tions across larger environments and to identify missing or incorrect conﬁgurations

◆ vNetwork Distributed Switches, which provide the foundation for cluster-wide network-

ing settings and third-party virtual switches

vCenter Server plays a central role in any sizable VMware vSphere implementation. Because of

vCenter Server’s central role, I’ll touch on aspects of vCenter Server’s functionality throughout the

book. For example, in Chapter 3, ‘‘Installing and Conﬁguring vCenter Server,’’ I discuss planning

and installing vCenter Server, as well as look at ways to ensure its availability. Chapters 5 through

12 all cover various aspects of vCenter Server’s role in managing your VMware vSphere environ-

ment. As an integral part of your VMware vSphere installation, it’s quite natural that I discuss

vCenter Server in such detail.

vCenter Server is available in three editions:

◆ vCenter Server Essentials is integrated into the vSphere Essentials edition for small ofﬁce

deployment.

◆ vCenter Server Standard provides all the functionality of vCenter Server, including provi-

sioning, management, monitoring, and automation.

◆ vCenter Server Foundation is like vCenter Server Standard but is limited to managing

three ESX/ESXi hosts.

You can ﬁnd more information on licensing and product editions for VMware vSphere in the

section ‘‘Licensing VMware vSphere.’’

VMware vCenter Update Manager

vCenter Update Manager is a plug-in for vCenter Server that helps users keep their ESX/ESXi

hosts and select virtual machines patched with the latest updates. vCenter Update Manager pro-

vides the following functionality:

◆ Scans to identify systems that are not compliant with the latest updates

◆ User-deﬁned rules for identifying out-of-date systems

◆ Automated installation of patches for ESX/ESXi hosts

◆ Full integration with other vSphere features like Distributed Resource Scheduler

◆ Support for patching Windows and Linux operating systems

◆ Support for patching select Windows applications inside virtual machines