Tell me more ×
Server Fault is a question and answer site for professional system and network administrators. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote -4 down vote favorite

VMWare Workstation costs some money, but why is ESXi, the more complicated product, as I think, distributed for free?

share|improve this question
7  
Ask your local heroin dealer why the first shot is free... – SvW Sep 10 '12 at 21:03
And then get some real VMWare Infrastructure project you need to get real work done and look at the price. – SvW Sep 10 '12 at 21:05
1  
Possible duplicate - serverfault.com/questions/105432/vmware-esxi-free?rq=1 – TheCleaner Sep 10 '12 at 21:06
1  
PMSL! Just a little taster... what, you want to manage all this free stuff we've just given you [bundled into the basement]? – Simon Catlin Sep 10 '12 at 21:07
Because Vmware wanted to compete with KVM, XEN, HyperV, and other free/cheap hypervisors? – Zoredache Sep 10 '12 at 21:32

closed as not constructive by SvW, TheCleaner, Ward, Cheekaleak, Greg Askew Sep 10 '12 at 21:12

As it currently stands, this question is not a good fit for our Q&A format. We expect answers to be supported by facts, references, or specific expertise, but this question will likely solicit debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. If you feel that this question can be improved and possibly reopened, see the FAQ for guidance.

2 Answers

up vote 1 down vote accepted

VMWare Workstation is more of a consumer level product geared towards the home-user.

ESXi has a free version of their enterprise product that provides pretty much untethered capabilities. It does have some limitations, like lack of live-migration support and a cap on CPU/memory limits that the system will operate with.

My personal thoughts on it are this; the point behind virtualization is that your system will eventually scale beyond the limits placed on a single server in an enterprise environment. That said, if you already have a system in place that functions well, then why would someone jump ship in an enterprise environment if they currently have vested interest in that platform? The old ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ saying seems relevant.

share|improve this answer
up vote 1 down vote

Because they want you to have to buy the even more complicated product.

share|improve this answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.