Overview:
Designed for IT environments with fewer than 20
server workloads, the VMware® vSphere® Essentials
and Essentials Plus Kits deliver enterprise-class IT
management with cost-effective server consolidation
and business continuity for small organizations—with
minimal investment. Use vSphere Essentials Plus with
vSphere Storage Appliance software to get business
continuity without shared storage hardware
View vSphere Demo
Key Benefits
- Ensure business continuity and always-available IT.
- Simplify your IT environment.
- Reduce IT hardware and operating costs.
- Improve service levels and application quality.
- Strengthen security and data protection.
What is VMware vSphere?
VMware vSphere is the industry's leading and most reliable
virtualization platform. vSphere simplifies IT by separating
applications and operating systems from the underlying
hardware. Your existing applications see dedicated resources, but
your servers can be managed as a pool of resources. The result is
your business running on a simplified yet resilient IT environment.
What are vSphere Essentials
and Essentials Plus?
vSphere Essentials and Essentials Plus are designed especially for
small organizations just getting started with virtualization. Both
provide virtualization and centralized management for up to three
server hosts. vSphere Essentials provides server consolidation to
help you get the most out of your hardware. Essentials Plus adds
features such as vSphere Data Recovery for agent-less backup of
your data and virtual machines. It also includes business-continuity
features such as vSphere High Availability—for automatic restart of
your applications when server failures are detected—and vSphere
vMotion, to completely eliminate planned downtime for server
maintenance. The result is an always-available IT environment that is
more cost-effective, resilient and responsive to changing business
needs. For scalable solutions with more-advanced capabilities,
upgrade to vSphere Acceleration Kits.
Shared Storage Hardware
Not Required
Introducing the vSphere Storage Appliance: The advanced
features in vSphere Essentials Plus require shared storage
capabilities. This used to mean having shared storage hardware
in your environment—but no longer. Now you can turn your
servers into shared storage. vSphere Storage Appliance is
revolutionary software that delivers shared storage capabilities
without the cost and complexity of shared storage hardware. You
install it with a few mouse clicks and manage it with vCenter
Server—perfect for any small or midsized business. Keep your
keep IT simple while using the high-availability and automation
features of vSphere.
How are vSphere Essentials
and Essentials Plus Used?
- Eliminate downtime and protect data – Achieve always
available IT with live migration for virtual machines and high
availability for applications in virtual-machine clusters
- Consolidate and optimize IT investments – Achieve consolidation
ratios of 10:1 or higher, and improve hardware utilization from 5–15
percent to as much as 80 percent or more, without sacrificing
application performance.
- Maximize application availability and protect information
assets – Ensure always available continuity of IT operations
with the rock-solid reliability of vSphere and integrated backup,
recovery and failover features.
- Simplify management and enhance productivity – Provision
new applications in minutes instead of days or weeks, monitor
virtual machine performance, and automate patch and update
management.
- Streamline software development – Safely test complex
multitier configurations in a secure, isolated sandbox
environment while allowing test and development teams
to share server, network and storage infrastructure.

VMware vSphere Essentials enable you to virtualize and consolidate many application
workloads onto three physical servers running vSphere and centrally manage them with
VMware vCenter™ Server for Essentials.
How To Buy:
*NOTE – The vSphere Essentials kit is the only offering that contains the option of per incident support and requirement of subscription for one year. All other kits and editions listed below have support and subscription requirements (SnS) for one year.
Prices listed for licenses only, Production and Basic Subscription and Support (SnS), and Incident Support (for vSphere Essentials Kit) are sold separately. All vSphere offerings below can also be upgraded to a higher vSphere kit or edition at any time.
VMware vSphere Essentials Kit - Subscription is required. VMware vSphere Essentials includes vCenter Server Essentials and ESXi for 3 hosts, plus the following features: vCenter agents, 8-way vSMP, and Update Manager. vSphere Essentials is limited for use on up to 3 hosts and on servers with up to two processors only. 192 GB total VRAM entitlement. The server hosts must be managed by the vCenter Server Essentials edition that is provided with this bundle, and that same vCenter Server Essentials edition cannot be used to manage other server hosts not included with this edition.
VMware vSphere Essentials Plus Kit - SnS is required. VMware vSphere Essentials Plus includes vCenter Server Essentials and ESXi for 3 hosts, plus the following features: vCenter agents, 8-way vSMP, Update Manager, Data Recovery and High Availability. vSphere Essentials Plus is limited for use on up to 3 hosts and on servers with up to two processors only. 192 GB total VRAM entitlement.The server hosts must be managed by the vCenter Server Essentials edition that is provided with this bundle, and that same vCenter Server Essentials edition cannot be used to manage other server hosts not included with this edition.
VMware vSphere 5 Essentials Plus with vSphere Storage Appliance Bundle PROMO- SnS is required and sold separately. Renewals will be based on the Bundle SnS prices instead of the individual components in the kit. Promo good from 8/5/11 thru 12/31/11.
VMware vSphere 5 Essentials to vSphere 5 Essentials Plus Kit for 3 hosts (Max 2 processors per host) Upgrade - vSphere 5 Essentials Plus SnS is required and sold separately. Renewals will be based on the Bundle SnS prices instead of the individual components in the kit.
VMware vSphere 5 Essentials to vSphere 5 Standard Acceleration Kit for 8 processors Upgrade - One purchase per customer site. Each VS5 Standard AK contains 8 VS5 Standard edition license, each of which contributes 1 CPU and 32 GB of vRAM (256 GB of VRAM total) entitlement towards total available vRAM pool. SnS is required. Renewals will be based on then current list SnS prices of the component products in the kit.
VMware vSphere 5 Essentials to vSphere 5 Enterprise Acceleration Kit for 6 processors Upgrade - One purchase per customer site. Each VS5 Enterprise AK contains 6 VS5 Enterprise edition license, each of which contributes 1 CPU and 64 GB of vRAM (384 GB of VRAM total) entitlement towards total available vRAM pool. SnS is required. Renewals will be based on then current list SnS prices of the component products in the kit. (Includes vSphere 5 Enterprise for 6 Processors, 1 vCenter Server 5 Standard)
VMware vSphere 5 Essentials to vSphere 5 Enterprise Plus Acceleration Kit for 6 processors Upgrade - One purchase per customer site. Each VS5 Enterprise Plus AK contains 6 VS5 Enterprise Plus edition license, each of which contributes 1 CPU and 96 GB of vRAM (384 GB of VRAM total) entitlement towards total available vRAM pool. SnS is required. Renewals will be based on then current list SnS prices of the component products in the kit. (Includes vSphere 5 Enterprise Plus for 6 Processors, 1 vCenter Server 5 Standard)
VMware vSphere 5 Essentials Plus to vSphere 5 Enterprise Acceleration Kit for 6 processors Upgrade - One purchase per customer site. Each VS5 Enterprise AK contains 6 VS5 Enterprise edition license, each of which contributes 1 CPU and 64 GB of vRAM (384 GB of VRAM total) entitlement towards total available vRAM pool. SnS is required. Renewals will be based on then current list SnS prices of the component products in the kit. (Includes vSphere 5 Enterprise for 6 Processors, 1 vCenter Server 5 Standard)
Support:
Per incident support available. Please contact us.
VMware Production Support & Subscription
Technical Support, 24 Hour Sev 1 Support -- 7 days a week.
Focused, 24-Hour Support For Production Environments
- Global, 24x7 support for Severity 1 issues
- Fast response times for critical issues
- Unlimited number of support requests
- Remote Support
- Online access to documentation and technical resources, knowledge base, discussion forums
- Product updates and upgrades
Overview
VMware Production Support is designed with your production environments in mind. Our global support centers are staffed around the clock to provide you access to our industry-leading expertise in virtualization and years of experience supporting virtual infrastructure products in real-world customer environments. We are committed to delivering enterprise-class, worldwide support with a single objective in mind: your success.
VMware Basic Support & Subscription Service
Technical Support, 12 Hours/Day, per published Business Hours, Mon. thru Fri.
Weekday Support for Test, Dev and Non-Critical Deployments
- Global, 12x5 access to support
- Unlimited number of support requests
- Remote Support
- Online access to documentation and technical resources, knowledge base, discussion forums
- Product updates and upgrades
Overview
VMware Basic Support is designed for non-critical applications and platforms that require support during normal business hours. Our global support centers have been strategically placed to provide you with fast and efficient access to the support center in your region. Each center is staffed with engineers that can provide industry-leading expertise in virtualization and years of experience supporting virtual infrastructure products in real-world customer environments. We are committed to delivering enterprise-class, worldwide support with a single objective in mind: your success.
| Feature |
Production Support |
Basic Support |
| Hours of Operation |
24 Hrs/Day
7 Days/Wk
365 Days/Yr 1 |
12 Hrs/Day
Mon–Fri 1 |
| Length of Service |
1 or 3 Years |
1 or 3 Years |
| Product Updates |
Yes |
Yes |
| Product Upgrades |
Yes |
Yes |
| Products Supported |
All Products
(excluding VMware Fusion and Player) |
All Products
(excluding VMware Fusion and Player) |
| Method of Access |
Telephone/
Web |
Telephone/
Web |
| Response Method |
Telephone/
Email |
Telephone/
Email |
| Remote Support |
Yes |
Yes |
| Access to VMware Web site |
Yes |
Yes |
| Access to VMware Discussion Forums and Knowledge Base |
Yes |
Yes |
| Max Number of Support Admins per Contract |
6 |
4 |
| Number of Support Requests |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
Target Response Times
Critical (Severity 1
Major (Severity 2)
Minor (Severity 3)
Cosmetic (Severity 4) |
30 minutes or less: 24x7
4 business hours
8 business hours
12 business hours |
4 business hours
8 business hours
12 business hours
12 business hours |
Business Hours
North America and Latin America
Alaska, Hawaii
South America (NASA)
Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA
Asia, Pacific Rim, Japan (APJ)
Australia/New Zealand |
Monday - Friday
6 a.m. to 6 p.m. (local time zone)
6 a.m. to 6 p.m. (PST/PDT)
6 a.m. to 6 p.m. (EST/EDT)
7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (GMT/GMT+1)
8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. (Singapore Time)
7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Sydney AET) |
Monday - Friday
6 a.m. to 6 p.m. (local time zone)
6 a.m. to 6 p.m. (PST/PDT)
6 a.m. to 6 p.m. (EST/EDT)
7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (GMT/GMT+1)
8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. (Singapore Time)
7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Sydney AET) |
1Hours of operation for Gemstone are Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (PST/PDT) globally.
1Hours of operation for VMware Go Pro and vCenter Protect products are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (CST/CDT), except holidays.
1Hours of operation for VMware IT Business Management and IT Financial Management are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST/EDT/GMT) except holidays.
1Hours of operation for Socialcast are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. (PST/PDT).