How does VMware work?

1) What is the difference between vSphere, vCenter, VMware, and ESX?

VMWare - Simply a company that is very strong right now in virtualization technologies.

VSphere- is a "product line" that is the overarching umbrella under which VMWare manages it's line of virtualization that caters to large scale users of it's virtualization products. Many individual software products fall under this umbrella.

ESX - is the main "hypervisor" product of the large-scale VSphere product line.

Before we get too far off the beaten path, let's explain some basic concepts:

"Virtualization" is a process by which a powerful server with mutiple processors and many gigs of memory can be "virtualized" into multiple separate resource instances. I.e. each "virtual machine" can be allocated a portion of access time to a processor, and can be allocated 2Gig of memory, or whatever. Storage space can be onboard the powerful machine itself, or can be accessible by network.

The "VSphere Client" is used to manage all aspects of the host machine, and the client machines. It is a basic tool that manages one server at a time. "VCenter" is a more powerful tool that can manage multiple host machines and many individual virtual machines, and is more appropriate to a organization's management of virtual infrastructure..

2) How do you create a new virtual server?

Connect to the host machine in VSphere Client and use the "New Virtual Machine" wizard. Assign processor cores, memory, storage, and virtual peripherals.

Do you need a physical server to host the virtual server? How does it all come together in VMware?

Answered above.

3) How do you connect a virtual server to a physical network?

There are "virtual networks" in VMWare that can be kept separate from each other, can be combined, or can be bridged over to the host network. The particular network for a VM is configured in the New VM wizard, or can be reassigned later.

Last few notes... ESXi is a free hypervisor version that can be used for a limited time to start your own VMWare lab at home. This is recommended for anyone seriously pursuing virtualization knowledge. It does require a little more horsepower from a home user's PC, as well as a compatible GigEthernet card.

If your company is allowing you access to its virtual infrastructure, run with it, read every book you can, and learn it inside and out. It is a very profitable field.

VMWare workstation is a more lightweight virtualization solution that can work on pretty much any modern PC, assuming it is at the upper end of the spectrum.

Virtualizaton has many uses for IT personnel. You can run a VM as your web browsing PC to guarantee your host PC will never get a virus. You can learn Linux without dual booting.

Learn it, live it, love it.

If this was helpful please choose it as best answer. It took a while to write.

Russ

How Vmware Works