Many of you will remember the fuss, when during the launch of vSphere, when they announced that VMware Enterprise Edition was to be retired on the 15 December, some people may even remember that I was quite vocal about it. VMware received quite a lot of negative press about this and the perceived increases in cost for their premier Virtualization package. For a good discussion on this read the following thread from the VMware communities:
Enterprise Edition of vSphere was going to be discontinued
Well last night channel partners received news that this position has changed and the Enterprise Edition has received a reprieve of its death sentence and its life will now extend beyond the end of 2009. On the whole this is great news for customers as there will be no requirement for a forced upgrade when purchasing extra licenses for incumbent installations, and more choice for those customers that do not see the need for Nexus 1000V, etc.
The only black cloud on the horizon is that the current “upgrade promotion” concerning Enterprise to Enterprise Plus editions is still scheduled for termination on 15th December 2009, so If you are still on the fence regarding the upgrade remember the clock is ticking.