VMware ESX

VMware ESX
Name	VMware ESX
Developer	VMware, Inc.
Initial release	2001
Latest release	(discontinued product line)
Operating system	Proprietary hypervisor
Genre	Hypervisor, Virtualization

VMware ESX VMware ESX was a proprietary bare-metal hypervisor developed by VMware, Inc., designed to run multiple virtual machines on x86-compatible hardware. It was used in enterprise datacenters alongside products from companies such as Microsoft Corporation, Red Hat, Inc., Citrix Systems, Inc., IBM, and Oracle Corporation and integrated with management solutions like VMware vSphere, VMware vCenter Server, Microsoft System Center and orchestration tools from BMC Software and ServiceNow. Major adopters included institutions such as Walmart, Bank of America, General Electric, NASA, and CERN.

Overview

VMware ESX functioned as a Type-1 hypervisor competing with alternatives from Microsoft Hyper-V, XenProject, KVM (kernel-based virtual machine), Citrix XenServer, and offerings by Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform. Enterprises used ESX alongside hardware from Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco Systems, Lenovo, and networking from Juniper Networks and Arista Networks. ESX interoperated with storage ecosystems including EMC Corporation (now Dell EMC), NetApp, Hitachi Data Systems, Pure Storage, and backup products from Veeam Software and Symantec Corporation (now Broadcom Inc.).

Architecture

The architecture of ESX centered on a privileged virtualization layer running directly on server hardware, interfacing with processors from Intel Corporation (including VT-x) and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD-V). ESX incorporated components analogous to a service console and a virtualization kernel; it supported device drivers for hardware from Intel Corporation, Broadcom Inc., NVIDIA Corporation, AMD, and storage controllers from LSI Logic and Marvell Technology. Integration points included management APIs used by VMware vCenter Server and third-party tools from Red Hat, SUSE, and Canonical (company).

Installation and configuration

Deployment of ESX typically occurred on rack servers produced by Dell PowerEdge, HP ProLiant, IBM System x, Cisco UCS, and Fujitsu Siemens Computers. Administrators used consoles and protocols such as IPMI, ILO (HP Integrated Lights-Out), and Dell iDRAC for remote setup, and configuration management tools like Puppet (software), Chef (software), Ansible (software), SaltStack, and HashiCorp Terraform for automation. Integration with directory services often involved Microsoft Active Directory, OpenLDAP, and identity providers like Okta and Ping Identity.

Features and components

ESX provided virtualization features including CPU and memory scheduling, virtual networking, and virtualized storage through integrations with VLANs, Fibre Channel, iSCSI, NFS (file system), and SAN arrays from EMC Corporation, NetApp, and Hitachi. It included virtual machine features compatible with guest operating systems from Microsoft Windows Server, various distributions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Ubuntu (operating system), and virtualization-aware drivers from VMware Tools. High-availability and clustering were implemented through components integrated with VMware HA, VMware DRS, and third-party solutions from Veritas Technologies LLC and Commvault.

Licensing and editions

VMware marketed ESX and related products in tiered editions and licensing models similar to enterprise offerings from Microsoft Corporation and Oracle Corporation. Licensing considerations were addressed alongside enterprise agreements common at large organizations such as IBM, AT&T, Verizon Communications, Siemens, and Siemens AG. Partners and resellers included CDW Corporation, Insight Enterprises, SHI International Corp., and Softchoice.

Security and management

Security and management around ESX involved role-based access control integrated with Microsoft Active Directory, audit trails compatible with compliance frameworks such as those referenced by ISO/IEC 27001 and regulations like Sarbanes–Oxley Act and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Monitoring and logging were often performed with tools from Splunk Inc., Nagios, Zabbix, SolarWinds, and Dynatrace, while patching and lifecycle management were coordinated with vendors such as Red Hat, Canonical (company), and SUSE and with orchestration platforms like VMware vRealize Suite.

History and development

ESX emerged as part of early virtualization efforts alongside influential projects and organizations such as VMware, Inc.'s contemporaries XenProject, KVM, and enterprise virtualization work at IBM and Microsoft Research. Over time, the product lineage and strategy evolved in relation to cloud computing initiatives by Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure, and in parallel with containerization trends driven by Docker (software), Kubernetes, CoreOS, and orchestration platforms from Red Hat OpenShift. The ESX product line was eventually superseded by other VMware offerings in response to shifts led by cloud providers and open-source projects including OpenStack, CloudStack, and developments from The Linux Foundation.

Category:Virtualization