Yes, you are correct–regardless of the virtualization solution, you need something to manage that virtualization solution.

My disagreement with Jeff was in the way that he positioned Hyper-V (not System Center) as having integrated physical and virtual management. That’s not the case; it’s System Center that provides that functionality. And even though they both fall under the “System Center” moniker, it’s really two different products: System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) and Systems Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM). Yes, there are links between the two (PRO, for example), but it’s still two different products.

Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts!

You need a separate product to manage the virtualization whether it is a VMware ESX or a Hyper-V. Hope you agree with me.

Now, with the given management products (VI from VMware and System Center from Microsoft), VI can manage only the virtual products where as the System center would be able to manage the virtual as well as physical machines.

I believe this is what Jeff covered in his slides.

–Hari