ESXi 8 free version vs cheapest paid subscription

[Rimfire]

Noticed that vSphere prices has risen a lot. I usually have 1 or 2 hosts and the vSphere (6 or 7) has been less than $1000. Not any more.

I have a single "HPE ML350 G11 4410Y MR408i-o 8SFF " host with a single 12 core processor. What are my choices?

Is there still a free version of the ESXi  8 and what would I gain if I buy the paid version? 

I will install only 2 VMs, it is just the ESXi give me more choices to grow than a physical Win 2022 Sever installation.

Thanks, in advantage.

[a_p_]

The free Hypervisor Edition has unfortunately been dropped, so if you want to run ESXi on the mentioned server, you had license 16 cores (the minimum per CPU). The least expensive option in this case would be the Standard edition, which comes as a yearly subscription at ~50$/core.

To be honest, in that special case with a single host, and only two Windows Server VM's, you may consider to install Windows Server on the physical host, and run the two VMs using Hyper-V. If you do not use the physical Windows system for anything else but Hyper-V, a single Windows Server license should be sufficient to run the OS on the hosts as well as the two VMs (see MS licensing for details).

André

[Rimfire]

Thanks André

So VMware has changed its' strategy a bit. Need to think if I squeeze everything into a single Win istallation.

[Mark Edwards]

 - Just to add to  's comments, you mentioned having maybe "1 or 2" hosts and asked "what would you get for the paid version"?

 

Under Broadcom's new ownership, there are now 4 options available for VMware, which are as follows:

1. VVEP (vSphere Essentials Plus) - 96 core pack. Maximum 3 hosts, $35 dollars per core. includes vCenter - Cost=$3360
2. VVS (VMware vSphere Standard) - $50 per core (charged at minimum 16 cores per socket). Includes vCenter. Cost of 2 hosts with 16 cores or less = $1600
3. VVF (VMware vSphere Foundation) - $150 per core. See William Lams VVF vs VCF article for what's included. Cost variable
4. VCF (VMware Cloud Foundation) - $350 per core. See William Lams VVF vs VCF article for what's included. cost variable

 

For your use case, it may be worth considering option 2 if you have the budget. With 2 hosts, for $1600 you will get vCenter, HA and vMotion which means much greater resilience, and less downtime. Note those costs are "per year" costs

 

HTH

[Rimfire]

Thanks markey165

Will discuss with the customer. I may have to go with a MS Hypervisor with this case or just put up a physical installation.

To us the vSphere may be out of question in future installations. It is for big boys I can see.