HP VMware ESXi 5.0 U1 and Updates Getting Started Guide

VMware vSphere includes the following components:
• Virtual machine—A virtual machine is a software-based computer capable of running an
operating system such as Microsoft® Windows® or GNU/Linux as if the operating system is
installed on a physical machine.
• Host—A host is a physical machine running platform virtualization software such as ESXi.
Hosts provide processor, memory, storage, and network resources for one or more virtual
machines.
• vCenter Server—vCenter Server continuously monitors your virtual infrastructure, automates
system administration tasks, and centralizes remote management sessions. It coordinates the
resources and activities of individual hosts to efficiently distribute virtual machines and tolerate
hardware downtime across a data center.
• vSphere Client—vSphere Client is the primary interface for interacting with hosts and virtual
machines. vSphere Client can manage a standalone host by connecting directly to the host,
or manage multiple hosts by connecting to a vCenter Server machine.
Additional HP components that complete your virtualization infrastructure:
• Management network—A management network enables the server administrator to manage
discrete physical servers without relying on a general purpose communications network. This
dedicated network enables a reliable connection to the hardware in the event of a network
failure.
• HP Insight Control for VMware vCenter Server—The HP Insight Control extension for VMware
vCenter Server delivers powerful HP server host management capabilities to virtualization
6 Overview