I wanted to put up this post mainly for myself, but I sure you can find this useful when trying to compare the differences between VI3 and vSphere. There have been a numerous amount of technical details and improvements with the new version. but in this post I want to address the price differences

VI3 Pricing and vSphere Pricing. All prices include 1yr Gold Support.

Here is what I will take with me from this comparison.

• Standard license just a hell of a lot cheaper..
• If you do not need Storage VMotion and DRS – then you can use the new Advanced License instead of the old Enterprise and save some major $$$.
• The Essentials package is a huge upgrade on my view of what you got in Foundation.
• Starting from December 16, 2009 – Enterprise will become more expensive.
• ESXi – will still be offered as a free version with per incident support ($299) / SnS Gold/Plat ($495/595).