Are you looking for an easy way to avoid unnecessary IT spending? Here is a cost-saving tip that may not be too obvious: Do not use System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 (SCVMM) to manage your VMware ESX environment.
What?
SCVMM is licensed by the number of physical hosts under management — which includes both the Hyper-V and ESX hypervisors. And, by the way, if you intend to use the “PRO Tips” or any of the other features that require integration with System Center Operations Manager 2007 (SCOM), you will need to buy the System Center Server Management Suite Enterprise (SMSE) for $1497 per physical host.
For example, if you have 10 VMware ESX servers in your environment and you decide to integrate SCVMM, you will owe Microsoft $1470 x 10 = $14,970.
When you look closely, the cost of all that free virtualization really starts to add up.
absolutely agree with you as it will be more expensive when we been locked in to the micro$oft licensing model. For my opinion, the SCCM and SCVMM is just not the best products from the market.
Thanks for your support, Craig.
How about Xen with their free version of Xen Server with vMotion …… Clearly the SMB market will go tht Xen’s way….. I’m afraid
I’m a bit afraid for Vmware…….
Interesting perspective, Vladan. Don’t be afraid.
Your argument holds no water at all.
The current list price for VMWare ENT Plus is $4,369 per cpu.
10 vSphere hosts with 2 cpus = $69,904
So with the $70k I’d have saved I could buy many SMSE licenses.
You also forget to mention that SMSE covers more than 1 product.
Gary, I’m talking about using SCVMM to manage ESX hosts. You need to pay both companies in this case — it’s not a case of one or the other.
And oh, by the way, Microsoft just increased the price of SMSD by 75 percent.
My math was totaly wrong there, 10 hosts would add up to $87380 for ESX.
My point is that you are arguing the point of cost with VMWare when it is an argument that VMWare will never win on.
Sure System Center adds cost to a ‘free’ Hyper-V solution, which MS try to hide, but you forget that customers who take the SMSE licensing deal cover all guests for SCOM, SCCM, SCDPM etc so you are getting a lot of bang for your buck.
Virtual Centre is great for managing ESX/vSPhere but it is only good at this one thing, it lives in a virtual bubble neglecting the physical world which dominates our datacentres, e.g. why would you use Vcentre to patch virtual windows guests then use another mechism like WSUS/SCCM to patch physical servers? double admin for no gain.
The point MS are focusing on is the overall management package. Sure they have not got it right yet as its too expensive and quite disjointed but it will come with time and buying up smaller companies.
VMWare know this and this year you will start to see them acquire smaller service management companies to boost their reach outside the virtual bubble.
Whoever gets the whole dynamic datacentre package out to market end-to-end the quickest will win the next ‘management’ battle.
I am not favouring either solution over the other I find it quite exciting to debate these things instead of all the old intel/amd MS/Linux debates.
>>you will owe Microsoft $1470 x 10 = $14,970
Step 1: Math.
Ha ha, thanks. That was 3 years ago, but if I recall the proofreader had the day off.
Anyway, the new price is $3,607 per host if you want multi-hypervisor management nirvana.