Introduction to vSphere Installation and Setup

vSphere 8.0 provides various options for installation and setup that define a corresponding sequence of tasks.

The two core components of vSphere are ESXi and vCenter Server. ESXi is the virtualization platform on which you can create and run virtual machines and virtual appliances. vCenter Server is a service that acts as a central administrator for ESXi hosts connected in a network. vCenter Server lets you pool and manage the resources of multiple hosts.

You deploy the vCenter Server appliance, a preconfigured virtual machine optimized for running vCenter Server and the vCenter Server components. You can deploy the vCenter Server appliance on ESXi hosts or on vCenter Server instances.

For detailed information about the ESXi installation process, see VMware ESXi Installation and Setup .