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Chapter 3: Installing and Configuring vCenter Server > Prepare for Installation
One of most important components of the vSphere environment is vCenter Server. vCenter Server acts as a central management point for managing ESXi hosts, additional components (including but not limited to vCenter Update Manager, federated storage and network management, licensing, Host Auto Deployment, authentication, roles, and permissions), and web services and API exposure for partner integration.
Installing vCenter Server can be broken into three steps:
1. Ensure that your system is capable of running vCenter Server.
2. Install vCenter Server and additional components.
3. Perform basic configuration of vCenter Server and additional components as necessary.
As of this writing, vCenter Server is available only for Microsoft Windows systems. This has been a sore subject for administrators in IT shops that primarily run operating systems other than Windows. For these administrators, VMware has released a vSphere Web Client and vCenter Server Appliance, which is Linux-based. We will cover both of these in “Configure a vCenter Server Appliance,” later in this chapter.
