VI3 Foundation - 8GB Limit?????? Please no.

[ubisec]

Is there really an 8GB memory limit to a single physical server with VI3 Foundation? So, if I get 16GB or 32GB RAM, it won't recognize it or not work?

Thanks,

Ed

[Dave_Mishchenko]

Currently with the starter edition ESX will only use 8 GB of memory. That limit is supposed to be removed with the next version (due possibly in December). See the post by esiebert7625 here. ESX foundation will also gain vSMP, the ablitiy to use FC SAN and iSCSI storage and VCB will be included (see the 2nd link).

http://communities.vmware.com/message/766504#766504

http://www.vmware.com/products/vi/packaging.html

[ubisec]

Thanks.

What I'm confused about now is the pricing difference on these two URLs. What are the main differences in the Foundation packages that makes for a $2K difference? I'm not following.

Can someone help clarify, please?

Also, I see that there is not an 8GB limit now, but is there no limit to memory or number of processors per server now? This wasn't clear to me after reading the various sites.

Thanks,

Ed

[Dave_Mishchenko]

On the first URL you're seeing the pricing per ESX host. So you would get VMware Infrastructure Foundation (or ESX Starter) for $995. With the 2nd link you get the below bundle - 3 ESX starter host licenses, VirtualCenter Server which lets you manage the hosts together and 1 year of gold support.

Limited Time Promotional Price

of $3630 includes:

3 (2-processor) licenses of VMware Infrastructure 3.0 Starter Edition

1 license of VirtualCenter Management Server 2.0 (restricted to manage only 3 physical servers running VI3)

1 year of Gold Support and Subscription (SnS), includes new releases FREE

Also, I see that there is not an 8GB limit now, but is there no limit to memory or number of processors per server now? This wasn't clear to me after reading the various sites.

Just to clarify, today the ESX starter (foundation) edition is limited to 8 GB and 4 processors. You can use local or NFS storage, but you don't get their cluster file system so the NFS storage could not be shared. This link has a comparison of the current editions that you would be buying today - http://www.vmware.com/products/vi/buy.html.

[ubisec]

3 (2-processor) licenses of VMware Infrastructure 3.0 Starter Edition

So I'm assuming dual quad-core processors still count as two processors? And are there any specific ESX advantages of using quad-core vs dual-core processors, performance-wise?

Thanks,

Ed

[Dave_Mishchenko]

With quad cores you'd be able to run more VMs per host, but with the starter edition the 8 GB RAM limit would limit what you could do overall so you'd likely end up with a lot of idle CPU capacity. Licensing is per CPU slot, so 2 quad core CPUs use just 2 CPU licenses.

The below has some benchmark tests of systems with dual and quad CPUs.

[ubisec]

But when the new starter kit comes out on Foundation, the 8GB limit will be gone, right?

[Dave_Mishchenko · Accepted solution]

That's right -

VMware Infrastructure 3 Foundation (previously called “Starter”) will include VMware ESX Server, VMware ESX Server 3i, VMware Consolidated Backup and the new VMware Update Manager. Unlike the previous VMware Infrastructure 3 Starter, VMware Infrastructure 3 Foundation will have no restrictions on shared storage connectivity, memory utilization or number of CPUs of the physical server. VMware Infrastructure Foundation list price will be $995 per 2 processors.