VMware vCenter Server 8 Foundation

Manage ESXi infrastructure from a central inventory rather than administering each host separately. VMware vCenter Server 8 Foundation is centralized management software for VMware ESXi hosts and virtual machines. Administrators use its inventory and management interface to organize infrastructure, assign permissions, and inspect tasks, events and resource use across a virtualized environment. This generation is deployed as the vCenter Server Appliance, not as a Windows desktop program. Administrators connect ESXi hosts to the management environment and organize their virtual machines in a central inventory. From that common view, they can inspect resource use, review tasks and events and assign access appropriate to different responsibilities. This reduces the operational friction of treating every host as an unrelated management endpoint. A useful deployment requires compatible host versions, reliable management networking and consistent identity, DNS and time configuration. The management layer coordinates infrastructure but does not replace the ESXi virtualization layer or supply storage capacity on its own. Optional host and cluster functions remain dependent on the licenses and configuration of the managed environment. vCenter Server Foundation is intended for small environments and manages up to four vSphere hosts. Guest operating systems, ESXi host licences and any vSAN or add-on components are licensed separately. The vCenter Server Appliance is managed from a web browser on Windows, macOS or Linux; it is not installed as a Windows program.

Features

• Central inventory of ESXi hosts and VMs
• Roles and permissions
• Tasks, events, alarms and performance charts
• vSphere Lifecycle Manager images and Configuration Profiles
• Up to 4 ESXi hosts
• Deployed as the vCenter Server Appliance