VMware vSphere explained

VMware vSphere (formerly VMware Infrastructure 4) is VMware's cloud computing virtualization platform.^[2]

It includes vCenter Configuration Manager, as well as vCenter Application Discovery Manager, and the ability of vMotion to move more than one virtual machine at a time from one host server to another.

On February 12, 2024, VMware owner Broadcom discontinued general availability of vSphere Hypervisor free edition.^[3]

Releases

• On February 10, 2011 VMware released Update 1 for vSphere 4.1 to add support for RHEL 6, RHEL 5.6, SLES 11 SP1 for VMware, Ubuntu 10.10, and Solaris 10 Update 9.^[4]
• On July 12, 2011, VMware released version 5 of VMware vSphere.^[5]
• On August 27, 2012, VMware released vSphere 5.1. This extended vSphere to include VMware vSphere Storage Appliance, vSphere Data Protection, vSphere Replication and vShield Endpoint.^[6]
• In May 2014 SAP and VMware announced the availability of SAP HANA for production use on VMware vSphere 5.5.^[7]
• On February 3, 2015, VMware announced vSphere 6.0 with many new features and enhancements.^[8]
• On October 18, 2016, VMware announced vSphere 6.5 focusing on a simplified experience and improving security features.^[9]
• On April 17, 2018, VMware announced vSphere 6.7 focusing on simple and efficient management at scale, further improved security features, a universal application platform, and seamless hybrid cloud experience.^[10]
• On March 10, 2020, VMware announced vSphere 7.0.^{[11] [12]}
• On September 15, 2020, VMware announced vSphere 7.0 Update 1.^{[13] [14]}
• On March 9, 2021, VMware announced vSphere 7.0 Update 2.^{[15] [16]}
• On August 30, 2022, VMware announced vSphere 8.0.^[17]

See also

• • vCenter is the centralized management utility
• VMware ESX/ESXi, the hypervisor operating system component
• VMware VMFS, the VMware file system component

External links

• VMware Infrastructure product page - VMware, Inc.

Notes and References

1. Web site: VMware vCenter Server 8.0 Update 3e Release Notes . 2025-06-02 . May 29, 2025 . https://web.archive.org/web/20250529224312/https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/vsphere/vsphere/8-0/release-notes/vcenter-server-update-and-patch-release-notes/vsphere-vcenter-server-80u3e-release-notes.html . live .
2. Web site: Server Virtualization with VMware vSphere VMware India. www.vmware.com. 2016-03-08. March 8, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160308182338/http://www.vmware.com/in/products/vsphere. dead.
3. Web site: End Of General Availability of the free vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi 7.x and 8.x) . February 12, 2024 . February 12, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240212195412/https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2107518 . live .
4. Web site: VMware ESX 4.1 Update 1 Release Notes. February 10, 2011. March 5, 2011. February 17, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110217154247/http://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere4/doc/vsp_esx41_u1_rel_notes.html. dead.
5. Web site: VMware vSphere® 5 launched . July 15, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110714230223/http://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-cloud-infrastructure-071211.html . July 14, 2011 . dead . mdy-all .
6. Web site: VMware vSphere® 5.1 Helps SMBs Simplify and Protect Their IT Environments with New Business Continuity and Management Capabilities . July 15, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110714230223/http://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-cloud-infrastructure-071211.html . July 14, 2011 . dead . mdy-all .
7. Web site: SAP and VMware Announce SAP HANA® for Production Use on VMware vSphere 5.5. www.vmware.com. en-US. 2017-01-23. February 2, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170202020029/https://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/2014/VMware-SAP-Release-06052014.html. live.
8. Web site: vSphere 6.0 finally announced! . February 3, 2015 . February 18, 2015 . February 18, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150218224735/http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2015/02/03/vsphere-6-0-finally-announced/ . live .
9. News: Introducing vSphere 6.5 - VMware vSphere Blog. 2016-10-18. VMware vSphere Blog. en-US. 2017-01-23. December 22, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171222051105/https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2016/10/introducing-vsphere-6-5.html. live.
10. News: Introducing VMware vSphere 6.7!. 2018-04-17. VMware vSphere Blog. en-US. 2018-05-01. May 1, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180501224905/https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2018/04/introducing-vmware-vsphere-6-7.html. live.
11. Web site: Introducing vSphere 7: Essential Services for the Modern Hybrid Cloud. March 10, 2020. VMware vSphere Blog.
12. Web site: vSphere 7 – Announcing General Availability of the New Generation of vSphere . 2023-12-22 . April 2, 2020 . October 2, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201002151021/https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2020/04/vsphere-7-new-generation-vsphere.html . live .
13. Web site: What's New with VMware vSphere 7 Update 1. September 15, 2020. VMware vSphere Blog. January 23, 2021. January 25, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210125213019/https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2020/09/whats-new-with-vmware-vsphere-7u1.html. live.
14. Web site: Announcing General Availability of vSphere 7 Update 1 . 2023-12-22 . October 6, 2020 . June 10, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210610085824/https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2020/10/announcing-general-availability-vsphere-7-update-1.html . live .
15. Web site: What's New, Part 2, in vSphere 7 Update 2. March 9, 2021. VMware vSphere Blog. June 10, 2021. June 10, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210610085826/https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2021/03/whats-new-part-2-in-vsphere-7-update-2.html. live.
16. Web site: Announcing: vSphere 7 Update 2 Release. 2023-12-22 . March 9, 2021 .
17. Web site: Introducing vSphere 8: The Enterprise Workload Platform. August 30, 2022. VMware vSphere Blog. August 30, 2022. August 30, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220830220117/https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2022/08/introducing-vsphere-8-the-enterprise-workload-platform.html. live.