So if I don't implement shared storage then I wouldn't need vMotion, correct? My understanding with vMotion (not Storage vMotion) is that in a setup with shared storage I can more VMs from one host to another and take the host offline for maintenance. But, if I don't have shared storage I can still use vMotion, but the storage is still on the host and would have to move it before I can take the host offline for maintenance, for example, correct?

The organization does want some sort of HA, but not at the 24/7 level. The most critical application/server can be done for 1 hour everything else is in the range of 1 to 4 hours. Their backup solution can integrate with vSphere for backup and recovery. If a VM or ESXi host goes down I can spin up the VM in matter of minutes directly from the backup device or the cloud and users can still access the application/server. During this time I can repair the server or recover the VM to another host.

On the other hand, shared storage is not out of the question, yet. This is still being considered. Well, at least until the Org. gets the quote for a Storage Array. (:

Not sure what route to take.

Thank you for the information you provided.

--Alex