SAP Business One on ESX or ESXi 4.1

[JarrodB291]

I am currently running the free version of ESXi 4.1 with two guest operating systems (SBS 2011 and Win Server 2008 R2). On the Win 2008 R2 guest I am running SAP Business One 8.81 pl03. This seems to work fine however we are having some minor issues with some of the add ons. SAP have advised that they do not officially support ESXi 4.1 but DO support ESX 4.1.

Now, my question is am I able to get a copy of ESX 4.1 to download (free license) or must I pay for vSphere essentials which I believe comes with both versions. This seems ridiculous as it is possible (and encouraged by VMWare) to upgrade from ESX to the free version of ESXi 4.1.

I strongly believe there are no major issues with running SAP Business One on ESXi 4.1 it's just that they (SAP) have not got around to testing and certifying yet.

[idle-jam]

even with free ESXi 4.1 would be fine, but then if you need ease of management (alerts and alarms), snapshot, cloning, VADP backup, vmotion, HA and etc then you can opt for essential plus.

if i'm in your shoe, i would opt for the paid afterall i get better availability and flexibility and support for your important ERP system.

[JarrodB291]

Yes, I would value the support that comes with the paid version however we have backup and other management functions covered with other tools so the 'free' version provides us with enough functionality. My question is can I get a free version of ESX (not ESXi) since this is the only version SAP are happy to support at the moment.

[idle-jam]

there is no free version of ESX. only ESXi comes in free package. you will need to opt for essential or essential plus of ESX to start with (cheapest).

[JarrodB291]

I thought that might be the case, that does seem odd though that you can upgrade from ESX to the free version of ESXi ?

[idle-jam]

the only free version would be ESXi. changing from ESX (standard, advance or enterprise) to free ESXi would be more of a downgrade.

[JarrodB291]

But isn't VMWare encouraging everyone to upgrade to ESXi from ESX. This sounds like ESXi has at least equivelent functionality to ESX. Thanks for you ultra promt replies by the way, very helpful.

[idle-jam · Accepted solution]

it started in the old days on version 3 where all are just ESX paid version only. ESXi came along and the lowest entry point is the free edition. ESXi can be made to paid = of ESX by assigning the license keys. When 4.1 came out ESXi or now know as VMware Hypervisor will be the only common platform in future hence the mass migration of ESX to VMware Hypervisor. That's why there is never a free ESX in the first place and likewise SAP would only support the paid version = ESX. 😃