VMware vCenter Server provides centralized visibility, proactive management and extensibility for VMware vSphere from a single console.

Simple Deployment

• vCenter server appliance: Quickly deploy vCenter Server and manage vSphere using a Linux-based virtual appliance.
• Host profiles: Standardize and simplify how you configure and manage vSphere host configurations. Capture the blueprint of a known, validated configuration—including networking, storage and security settings—and deploy it to many hosts, simplifying setup. Host profile policies can also monitor compliance.

Centralized Control and Visibility

·         vSphere web client: Manage the essential functions of vSphere from any browser anywhere in the world.

·         vCenter single sign-on: Allow users to log in once and access all instances of vCenter Server, without the need for further authentication.

·         Custom roles and permissions: Restrict access to the entire inventory of virtual machines, resource pools and servers by assigning users to custom roles. Users with appropriate privileges can create these custom roles, such as night-shift operator or backup administrator.

·         Inventory search: Explore the entire vCenter inventory—including virtual machines, hosts, datastores and networks—from anywhere within vCenter.

Proactive Optimization

• Resource management: Allocate processor and memory resources to virtual machines running on the same physical servers. Establish minimum, maximum and proportional resource shares for CPU, memory, disk and network bandwidth. Modify allocations while virtual machines are running. Enable applications to dynamically acquire more resources to accommodate peak performance.
• Dynamic allocation of resources: Using vSphere Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) continuously monitor utilization across resource pools and intelligently allocate available resources among virtual machines based on predefined rules that reflect business needs and changing priorities. Achieve a self-managing, efficient IT environment with built-in load balancing.
• Energy-efficient resource optimization: Automatically monitor and respond to resource and power consumption demands across a DRS cluster using vSphere Distributed Power Management. When the cluster needs fewer resources, consolidate workloads and put hosts in standby mode to reduce power usage. When resource requirements increase, automatically bring powered-down hosts back online to meet necessary service levels.

Scalable and Extensible Platform

• Improved large-scale management: Manage up to 1,000 hosts and 10,000 virtual machines with a single vCenter Server instance. Using Linked Mode, manage up to 30,000 virtual machines across 10 vCenter Server instances. Use VMware HA and DRS clusters to support up to 64 hosts and 8,000 virtual machines.
• Linked mode: Replicate roles, permissions and licenses across the infrastructure, so you can simultaneously log in, view and search the inventories of all vCenter Servers.
• Systems management product integration: Use web services APIs to achieve cost-effective and flexible integration with existing systems management products.