Differences between VMware ESX and ESXi

This article highlights the differences between VMware ESX and ESXi for vSphere 4 and Virtual Infrastructure 3.

Note: VMware vSphere 4.1 with the following Patch-Releases is the last relase that includes ESX. Future major releases will only include ESXi architecture.

VMware vSphere 5

VMware vSphere 5 includes only ESXi.

VMware vSphere 4

VMware vSphere 4 can be installed in the following ways:

Product	includes Linux Service Console	Installation Method	usable with the following editions (licenses)
VMware ESX	yes	Installation-CD-ROM (install on Hard Disk/RAID)	all editions with costs (Essentials, Essentials Plus, Standard, Advanced, Enterprise, Enterprise Plus)
VMware ESXi Embedded	no	mostly integrated in a flash storage	free ESXi single server license all editions with costs (Essentials, Essentials Plus, Standard, Advanced, Enterprise, Enterprise Plus)
VMware ESXi Installable	no	Installation-CD-ROM (install on Hard Disk/RAID or install on USB flash drive)	free ESXi single server license all editions with costs (Essentials, Essentials Plus, Standard, Advanced, Enterprise, Enterprise Plus)

Note: the term ESXi is not exclusively used for the products (=installation method) ESXi Embedded and ESXi Installabale. It is moreover used as name for the smallest (and free) VMware Infrastructure Edition with the name ESXi Single Server - see VMware vSphere 4 Editionen Funktionsunterschiede.

VMware Infrastructure 3

VMware Infrastructure 3 can be installed and used in the following ways:

Product	includes Linux Service Console	Installation Method	usable with the following editions (licenses)
VMware ESX	yes	Installation-CD-ROM (install on Hard Disk/RAID)	VI Foundation VI Standard VI Enterprise
VMware ESXi Embedded	no	mostly integrated in a flash storage	free ESXi license VI Foundation VI Standard VI Enterprise
VMware ESXi Installable	no	Installation-CD-ROM (install on Hard Disk/RAID)	free ESXi license VI Foundation VI Standard VI Enterprise

Note: the term ESXi is not exclusively used for the products (=installation method) ESXi Embedded and ESXi Installabale. It is moreover used as name for the smallest (and free) VMware Infrastructure Edition with the name ESXi Single Server - see VMware Infrastructure 3 Editionen Funktionsunterschiede.

Details to the differences between ESX and ESXi can be found in the following VMware Knowledge Base articles:

• VMware ESX and ESXi Comparison
• Differences in Supported Networking Features Between ESX Server 3.5 and ESX Server 3i

References

Author: Werner Fischer Werner Fischer, working in the Knowledge Transfer team at Thomas-Krenn, completed his studies of Computer and Media Security at FH Hagenberg in Austria. He is a regular speaker at many conferences like LinuxTag, OSMC, OSDC, LinuxCon, and author for various IT magazines. In his spare time he enjoys playing the piano and training for a good result at the annual Linz marathon relay.