Slightly confused on what I need...as I am a programmer with some admin background. The company I work for has fairly specific requirements (ie...what type of hardware is or is not allowed, etc...) and I could go ask them however I wanted to get external views on the matter.
First and foremost is the difference between ESX and vSphere, as they seem to be the same solutions with the only differences being one is a hardware solution and the other is a software based solution. Is that accurate? Do they coincide?
The goal is simple, purchase a machine in line with what the company allows from a hardware stance at the lowest cost possible. They mentioned that ESX is approved and vSphere...so could I order a machine without ESX and still make use of virtualization with vSphere? Would that cost me anything?
Wanting 4 - 8 VM's one to host an ASP.NET app, another to act as a DB server (low load), and the others for expansion. I want the simplest route to maintain these systems, as we will not have any dedicated admin person on the projects.
Sorry for what appears as a brain dump...
UPDATE:
This is what it sounds like it is boiling down to. Should I get ESX pre-installed by the manufacturer or just go the vSphere route after the fact based on the needed specs above.