In my latest article, I cover why, in my opinion, VMware should release a version of vCenter for the small business. While VMware has vCenter Essentials for SMBs with 20 or fewer physical ESX hosts, I believe that a version of vCenter is needed for the “even-smaller” business with, say, 5 or fewer ESX hosts. In my article, I also compare what I am suggesting to Microsoft’s System Center Virtual Machine Manager Workgroup edition.
Read the full article at: Why VMware should release VMware vCenter Express
Comments are welcome!
David Davis (CCIE #9369, vExpert, VCP, VCAP-DCA) has been in the IT industry for 20+ years. He has authored hundreds of articles, 10+ video training courses, and co-authored one book. Learn about David's certifications, video courses, and where you can find his content on our 
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
VMware already has such a product, it’s called vCenter Server Foundation !
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for your comment!
This is very true – VMware vCenter Server Foundations is certainly a good option but why is it still 4 times the price of MS VMM Workgroup? ($2000 vs $500)
I just wish that there was a free (or a few hundred $) option for the small business who has just a couple ESXi (free) servers.
Thank again for reading! I appreciate your opinions!
-David
Actually, they have VMWare Essentials package which includes 3 ESX(i) hosts and vCenter Essential (aka Foundation). It runs ~$999 for all of that. Pretty good deal.
Compare the editions here:
http://www.vmware.com/products/vsphere/buy/small_business_editions_comparison.html
Have you looked at VMware GO?
Hi Adam, Thanks for pointing out VMware Essentials for $999 – which, by the way, is available at a reduced price for just $495 until June 15! It is a great deal, really. The things that I would like to see, of course, are more features as MS VMM 2008 R2 includes many of the more advanced vCenter features. I hope that, over time, VMware wil move these more advanced features down to the smaller business editions…
Joel – thanks for your comments! Yes, I really love VMware GO, in fact, the most popular video on my website is this video I created about VMware GO-
VIDEO: Jumpstart ESXi and P2V with VMware GO
Again, I’m not bashing VMware, just hoping that they will more some of the amazing more advanced features down to a more affordable level to allow for mass-adoption.
That’s absolutely right, the SMBs does not have that money to buy vCenter and never will, so they’re turning slowly to Microsoft…. which is a bit shame, because the quality of ESX4 and ESXi4 is still the best. And such a features for memory optimization like TPS (transparent page sharing), Memory Ballooning and soon Memory compression are still features that Microsoft lucks for now. Those features saves money already.
The VMware Essentials for 495$ for 3 servers IS one of the ways to go. http://www.vladan.fr/50-off-the-regular-price-for-vsphere-essentials/ . Now the next step from VMware should be some kind of “Express Edition” for vCenter and also some better upgrade path from Essentials to Standard too. -:)
Thanks.
Vladan
Yeah, I wasn’t sure if the half deal was still on for Essentials so didn’t want to say it and then look like the fool. Even at $1k it’s still a good deal for SMB’s. Let’s face it, the real value in virtualization comes from the management now. The hyper-visor does what it is supposed to and does it really well. I would even argue the that the Essentials Plus bundle at ~$3k is a great deal as it comes with HA and VMWare Data Recovery which is a great way to backup your VM’s in a small environment.
The vCenter Express you are looking for is the Essentials product. It is aimed at companies with less than 20 physical servers, not 20 VMware servers. It can only be purchased with 3 ESX(i) licenses for a maximum of 6 cpus. There is no upgrade path from Essentials either. Once you outgrow it, you repurchase.