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 administrators, enabling comprehensive monitoring, remote control, and power optimization directly from the vCenter console. For more information, see the HP website (http:// www.hp.com/go/icvcenter).
•Virtual machine communication network—A virtual machine communication network is built on the traditional, general purpose communication network. As with physical servers, virtual machine traffic is brokered through a general purpose network if the virtual machines are on discrete servers. Virtual machine communication on the same physical server is handled by a virtual switch within the server.
•HP storage network—A storage network enables virtual machines to access Storage Area Network (SAN) devices similarly to physical servers. The medium for a storage network can be Fibre Channel or Ethernet. HP recommends HP StorageWorks SAN solutions.
•Virtual SAN Appliance—HP P4000 Virtual SAN Applicance Software (VSA) provides another way to implement a virtual server high availability solution without the need for separate external shared-storage devices. For more information, see the HP website (http:// www.hp.com/go/vsa).
