Comparing VMware’s ESX to the free ESXi Hypervisor

Saw this TIMELY tweet pop by my screen from Duncan Epping on the differences between ESX and ESXi.  Timely since I just had a conversation with a client this morning about choosing between the ‘free’ hypervisors out there. 

This particular client already had business units that made investments in VMware ESX but also had other business units that were independently evaluating a ‘free’ alternative to ESX potentially not realizing that VMware also had a hypervisor for the financially challenged to evaluate.  The benefit of choosing ESXi in an organization that had already deployed VMware was clear to me.  

1. Consolidated skill sets within the organization.
2. Easy upgrade path to ESX when management and enterprise features become necessities and costs can be justified.
3. The realization that the differences between ESX and ESXi will grow narrower over time.

The KB article that Duncan referenced in his tweet details the differences between ESX and ESXi.  Check out the KB article @ https://bit.ly/MYlPx.  Here’s a sneak peek at the high level chart.