ESXi Free vs Paid What are the differences Fairly often new people discovering VMware asking this questions ESXi free vs paid Whats the difference While for many folks, VMware certified people, and others, this question and especially the answer is obvious, the new people who just discovered virtualization, might want to know exactly. Thats why this post. At first, you might want to read my post ESXi Free Whats the LimitationsThe ESXi Free version is the same download as the full blown ESXi but stays unlocked only for 6. It is the exact same ISO image. If you dont enter the serial number for the free version, the product works as full version during 6. When the trial period ends and the product locks out the advanced features and becomes ESXi free youll still have to apply a serial number, which is available with the free version when you download it. If you dont know how to do it just follow our tutorial on this ESXi Free Version no more hard limit 3. GB of RAMESXi Free Limitations. You cant Manage via v. Center Serve. Maximum 2 physical CPUs in Hosts. Maximum 8 v. CPU Virtual Machines VMsNo VMware Support. However No limit on physical memory. No limit on cores per CPUHow do I Download and Install the free version of ESXi Step 1 You can download the free version from VMware, directly from the product page here. Its an ISO image, which you can burn to a CD, and then boot the physical server by using the CD. Step 2 Configure a static IP address directly from the console, set a new password, and connect from another machine via the IP address, by using web browser. On the web page youll find a download link for VMware v. Sphere Client, which is a software to access the Vmware ESXi hypervisor. Step 3 After installing the VMware v. Sphere client on a management station, you can access the hypervizor via the v. Sphere Client, start creating your VMs from scratch or do a P2. V conversion by using VMware Converter Standalone free tool. ESXi Free for Which usage For very small shops which wants to try out virtualization is the best way to start. The free version of ESXi with some local disks in the server can be a good start to explore the VM operations, how to manipulate the VMs from the v. Sphere client, test the snapshot technology, etc. But think twice before start running some production workloads. The VMs running on the ESXi Free version wont be able to back up with software like Veeam or others, unless using in guest software applications to backup the data and application configuration. Its because the ESXi has the APIs locked out. Dr scenarios You can start to virtualize some production physical servers if you want to, and have some kind of DR scenarios a VM running in an isolated test environment on the ESXi host. But its like the poor mans DR scenario with using VMware Converter. Good enough for small shops without funds to invest. Good enough for small shops without funds to invest to more reliable, more robust solutionBut when the production environment becomes critical. Or critical enough that the boss says, ok, now we cannot afford to have 2hours of downtime. Thats when you can step in and say, ok, we need to buy a licensed paid version of ESXi. Whats the lowest cheapest package of VMware ESXi The cheapest package is VMware v. Sphere Essentials and it offers unlocked APIs, so the external backup applications can leverage the hypevizors snapshot technology to create backups of VMs running on ESXi host. With v. Sphere Essentials is possible to manage up to 3 ESXi hosts by using v. Center Server Foundation. And as you can see on the image below, there is much less to play with when you dont have v. CenterWrap Up The usage of ESXi Free is obvious. Learning, testing workflows, small DR tests, validating architectural decisions. By using snapshots, you can also validate windows patches. Example you might want to create an isolated clone of your production server by using VMware Converter and P2. V technology, and you want to test a big Microsoft service pack before rolling it directly into the production environment, and possibly causing a downtime. The next step would obviously be one of the entry level VMware packages like v. Sphere Essentials or Essentials Plus, where the Essentials Plus offers not only v. Revo Uninstaller Pro Activation File. Center Foundation, but also many other products within the bundle, including backup solution v. Sphere Data protection VDP. You can read about VDP and the deduplication technology used in this product in my series of articles, where Ive deployed and tested the solution in my lab  v. Sphere Data Protection a new backup product included with v. Sphere. Also recommended More from ESX Virtualization. Stay tuned through RSS, and social media channels Twitter, FB, You. Install Esxi Software Raid For Mac' title='Install Esxi Software Raid For Mac' />VMware vShphere 6 Install, Configure, Manage Part 1 Show Available CoursesHide Available Courses. HP-ML110-G5-VMware-vSphere-5.jpg]];var lpix_1=pix_1.length;var p1_0= [[1039' alt='Install Esxi Software Raid For Mac' title='Install Esxi Software Raid For Mac' />ESXi and vCenter Server 5. Documentation VMware vSphere ESXi and vCenter Server 5. Documentation vSphere Installation and Setup Updated Information. Cisco Virtualization Solution for EMC VSPEX with VMware vSphere 5. Virtual Machines. ESXi Free vs Paid things to know. The free version of VMware ESXi is no longer locked and limited to run on hardware with up to 32Gb of RAM. VMware, a global leader in cloud infrastructure digital workspace technology, accelerates digital transformation for evolving IT environments.