VMware vSphere vs. vCenter vs. ESXi – Differences, Benefits, and More

ParkView Managed Services


Jordan MacPherson - global Network and Server Management leader - headshot
Jordan MacPherson August 30, 2022

It’s no secret that using virtualization can improve IT resiliency, optimize utilization rates, and increase efficiency. However, the data center virtualization process has many variables that should be considered before forging a path forward.

Once upon a time, pursuing a virtualization solution was relatively easy due to a limited number of products and solutions on the market. Today, there has been an explosion of virtualization vendors, with countless products and features available. This adds complexity for decision-makers and data center managers hoping to make a fast and informed decision that best suits their business requirements.

In this article you will discover the differences and interconnectivity of VMware vSphere, vCenter, and ESXi – three leading virtualization tools from VMware.

TL;DR:

  • vSphere is VMware’s virtualization platform
  • vCenter and ESXi are components that work within that platform to help organizations achieve their mission-critical goals

what is VMware vCenter vs. vSphere vs. ESXi

For a more detailed explanation on the differences, capabilities, and countless benefits of VMware vSphere, ESXi, and vCenter, continue below.

What Is VMware vSphere?

Developed by VMware, vSphere is a cloud computing virtualization platform. It should not be thought of as a product, rather a product family containing supportive software and management tools. Another way of looking at it is that vSphere is a suite of virtualization solutions that includes vCenter, ESXi, vRealized Operations, and more.

What Does vSphere Do?

The core ability of vSphere is the centralized management of your virtual machines and virtual environment. vSphere offers a very wide range of functionality, although this will vary from organization to organization based on the components of the suite each uses. Some of the most important functionality offered by vSphere include the following:

  • Easily creates and manages multiple virtual machines
  • Migrates workloads and data center maintenance live and avoid downtime
  • Manages offices remotely with few or no local IT admins
  • Creates a flexible environment customized to your organization’s specific needs and requirements

Benefits of vSphere

vSphere offers a very wide range of benefits, but some of the most important include:

  • Improved security and protection of valuable data
  • Reduced IT hardware costs
  • Business continuity solutions
  • Reduced IT footprint
  • Improved service levels
  • Improved application quality

What Is vCenter Server?

vCenter is a component of VMware’s vSphere. It is designed to offer advanced server management capabilities through a centralized platform. It also offers improved visibility across hybrid cloud environments, while automating and delivering virtual infrastructure. Moreover, vCenter allows you to manage ESXi hosts, as well as virtual machines.

If you use VMotion, VMware High Availability, or VMware Update Manager, vCenter Server is the application for managing these features.

What Does vCenter Do?

Some of the key features and capabilities of vCenter Server include the following:

  • Allows users to access instances with a single sign-in
  • Searches your entire inventory, including VMs (virtual machines) and hosts, with a single click
  • Runs up to 2,000 hosts and 35,000 virtual machines using a single instance
  • Solves problems faster with customizable triggers
  • Captures host configuration/profile information

Benefits of vCenter

vCenter offers many important benefits, including:

  • Simple deployment and centralized control and visibility
  • Easily manage servers/virtual servers
  • Full scalability across hybrid cloud environments
  • Proactive optimization

vCenter vs. vSphere

It’s difficult to compare vSphere vs. vCenter because vCenter is a component of vSphere – not a competing product. Better to think of vCenter as component of a vSphere deployment, that enabled advanced management scenarios.

What Is VMware ESXi?

VMware ESXi is yet another component of vSphere. It is also one of the most popular components because it delivers the core virtualization services organizations need. It is a bare-metal hypervisor and delivers a host of critical capabilities and features.

This type of hypervisor installs directly onto a physical machine and creates the separation necessary to divide it into one or more virtual machines. And thanks to ESXi’s small footprint, it requires minimal system resources for itself, leaving more for the VMs to use. It is also highly flexible, delivers outstanding security, and offers an intuitive interface that’s easy to use.

VMware vSphere vs. vCenter vs. ESXi

What Does ESXi Do?

ESXi is a critical component of vSphere and is responsible for:

  • Allowing organizations to consolidate IT hardware for improved utilization
  • Delivering improved performance and helping create a competitive advantage
  • Streamlining the administration of IT
  • Reducing hardware resources and improving efficiency
  • Reducing capital and operating expenses (CapEx and OpEx)

Benefits of ESXi

Some of the benefits offered by ESXi include the following:

  • Delivers a user-friendly experience
  • Offers enhanced security and protects important data
  • Reduces the IT footprint
  • Offers reliable, predictable performance

vCenter vs. ESXi

ESXi and vCenter are two different components of vSphere. vCenter is advanced server management software usually deployed as a pre-configured Linux virtual machine, while ESXi is a virtualized hypervisor that is installed only on physical machines. These are both part of the vSphere solution.

ESXi vs. vSphere

Like vCenter, ESXi is a component solution designed to operate within the vSphere suite. ESXi is designed to create and manage multiple virtual machines on a single physical server, while vSphere is an entire solution designed to improve your IT resilience by leveraging virtualization with your physical IT assets.

Support Your VMware Virtual Environment with Park Place Technologies

Park Place’s ParkView Managed Services™ is a full suite of managed IT infrastructure solutions that brings order to managing an organization’s critical physical and virtual infrastructure while eliminating chaos and accelerating business transformation. ParkView Managed Services™ empowers you to efficiently Discover, Monitor, Support and Optimize your IT infrastructure, including cloud environments like VMware’s vSphere platform, vCenter Server, ESXi hypervisor, vSAN, Horizon, and Horizon DaaS.

We combine third-party hardware maintenance and data center hardware monitoring for physical infrastructure with our server management services for physical, virtual, and cloud technologies to proactively identify potential faults. The result? A one-stop shop for traditional, virtual, and hybrid data centers – much like manufacturer-provided services, but with distinct advantages in terms of cost, responsiveness, and flexibility!

Three tools, one managed service provider for your VMware virtual environment. Contact Park Place Technologies to get started today!

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About the Author

Jordan MacPherson,
Jordan is responsible for guiding the global Network and Server Management offerings for Park Place’s ParkView Managed Services division. His responsibilities include collaborating with Sales, Marketing, Enterprise Operations, and the R&D team to develop and bring to market Park Place’s world-class managed services. He brings 12 years of global experience in planning, monitoring, and delivering IT Services, including nearly 10 years as a Team Lead and Strategic Applications Developer with MSP IntelliNet before its acquisition by Park Place. Jordan is a graduate of Ohio University.