We were just talking about some random VMware acronyms during a lab day and I thought I would write the ones down which some of us didn’t know. (Even google did not have the answer to some) I guess the most difficult one to figure out was VPXA/VPXD, which refers to VPX which was the official name for vCenter back in the days….
- FDM = Fault Domain Manager
- CSI = Clustering Services Infrastructure
- PAE = Propero Application Environment
- ESX = Elastic Sky X
- GSX = Ground Storm X or Ground Swell X
- VPX = Virtual Provisioning X
- VPXA = Virtual Provisioning X Agent
- VPXD = Virtual Provisioning X Daemon
- VMX = Virtual Machine eXecutable
- AAM = Automated Availability Manager
- VIX = Virtual Infrastructure eXtension
- VIM = Virtual Infrastructure Management
- DAS = Distributed Availability Service
- ccagent = Control Center agent
- vswif = Virtual Switch Interface
- vami =Virtual Appliance Management Infrastructure
- vob = VMkernel Observation
- MARVIN = Modular Automated Rackable Infrastructure Node
- WCP = Workload Control Plane
How about code names for releases? Well we had a couple, note that the first name usually refers to ESX and the second to vCenter, so for KL “Kadinsky” was the code name for ESX and Logan for vCenter:
- DM = Dali/McKinley = VI 3.0
- NP = Neptune/Pluto = VI 3.5
- KL = Kadinsky/Logan = vSphere 4.0
- KL.next = vSphere 4.1
- MN = Matisse/Newberry = vSphere 5.0
- OP = Oliveira/Pikes = vSphere 5.5
Of course the big question is where the “X” comes from in ESX, GSX etc. To be honest I don’t know but according to VMware old-timer Mike Di Petrillo (source is this interview (21:30) by Rodney Haywood) the X had been added by an Engineer to make it sound technical and cool!
If there are any to VMware related acronyms that you feel should be on the list which are not too obvious… leave me a comment. (And too obvious would be something like vDS.)
Jake says
I too heard the story about the ‘X’ being a marketing add-on. 😀
I also heard (years ago) GSX= “Ground Swell”, as opposed to “Ground Storm”. Weird names, but kinda prophetic!
burdweiser says
I was checking on the WayBackMachine (http://www.archive.org/web/web.php), but couldn’t find anything on the “X”, but you can see some classic info from the old VMware pages. Really fun stuff to see if you’ve been working with the product for a while.
Rob says
The ‘X’ in ESX/GSX stood for ‘eXtended’. At least that’s what the internal VCI’s told me during the ICW. So it was “Elastic Sky Extended” and “Ground Storm Extended” as monikers, and the names were dropped but the acronyms were kept for some unknown reason. So said Liz or Andrew, I don’t remember.
Duncan Epping says
I looked around on the internal website but couldn’t find anything around the X, will ask some of the old school employees.
Ryan Johnson says
The X was just a marketing term. Word has it the marketing company was fired. Ask Phil Aronson.
MLock says
I too believe GSX was Ground Swell. “A gathering of force or public opinion” is what groundswell means, and that was what Diane and Mendel wanted to happen to the product. Duncan, we *need* to know the truth! 🙂
Rodos says
I know where the X comes from. Mike D revealed it in an interview I did with him. He was at VMware back in the day and remember it. From memory its right at the end.
http://rodos.haywood.org/2010/04/mike-dipetrillo-from-vmware-talks-cloud.html
Rodos
Nathan says
Can’t believe you published this!
It’s one of those things few folks know 😉
I asked the question of what ESX/GSX meant back when I did my 2.5/VC1 course form the instructor, who said the whole Elastic Sky and Ground Swell was compleatly created by a marketing company.
Did not know about the VPX however thanks Duncan.
David owen says
I heard the X was put is as marketing ploy as you say. But more specifically because “sex” sells and it made it sound more appealing. Heard that from an instructor so must be gospel lol.
Jason Boche says
ESX advanced settings… DAS
Duncan Epping says
Apparently both Ground Swell and Ground Storm where proposed.
Duncan Epping says
@jason, added DAS 🙂
Andrew Storrs says
Interesting on the DAS, I would have guessed Distributed AutoStart or something along those lines (since HA is based on FullTime AutoStart) but since EMC re-branded it AAM and that acronym ended up there I’m thinking too far back.
On a different note, it’s amusing how Elastic Sky X suddenly has some relevance these days – “cloud” computing and all. Perhaps that marketing company was just a little ahead of their time. 😉
Matt C says
In VMware View ADAM schema and logs you’ll see reference to PAE.
PAE = Propero Application Environment
Luca Lo Castro says
I thought X is a variable 🙂
Happy Friday to everyone
Jason Boche says
DAS = Dynamic Availability Service
William Lam says
I’ve also seen the following two in the APIs and logs from time to time:
VWS = VMware WebServices
VOD
Not sure what the last one is but it’s one of the proxy endpoint services found on both vCenter & ESX(i) hosts
William Lam says
VOD = VPX Operation Dashboard
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1021804
Jason Boche says
Correction:
DAS = Distributed Availability Service. I’m so embarrassed!
http://www.boche.net/blog/index.php/2008/11/06/will-our-children-know-what-das-stood-for/
Mike DiPetrillo says
It was Ground Swell and Elastic Sky. Both were created by a marketing firm. They came in with that and some really disco like brown corporate colors. Disco because that was the name of the project at Stanford that kicked all of this off. Like the 70’s (old mainframe virt) was back. Anyhow, after a vote from the engineers we dropped the long names and went without the initials and added the X to make it sound technical. We kept the brown for a long time but eventually changed to a nicer blue. I think I still have cards in the old brown colors and maybe a shirt or two.
Josh Atwell says
I have no inside knowledge but adding the X for ESX had to have been a marketing ploy. Every time I say ESX around my wife she thinks I’m spelling or saying sex even though she admits she knows better. Maybe it was an engineer who wanted to make his work sound sexy and suggestive to his spouse or lady on a date.
Ian K says
HP is using the Elastic Sky X in marketing brochures now.
http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/DS_00189/DS_00189.pdf
Marco says
Where does the i stand for in ESXi?
Hugo Strydom says
I thought the “X” in ESX stand for eXperiance….Elastic Sky eXperiance 🙂
Rick Vanover says
Maybe add: NFC, Network File Copy. The fast data mover protocol.
Pablo Padilla says
I know what the X stands for.
It stands for “Ch!ng@o”.
It’s a latin thing.
🙂
Jane Rimmer says
Fascinating stuff Duncan, thanks for sharing. I too, like MikeD, remember the brown logo, yuck! I also remember Diane talking about a MUI, anyone care to guess what that stood for?
Mike Burkhart says
Awesome finds! I am going for my VCI workshop next week, and though that knowing these would be a nice addition to any course 🙂
Jane – MUI! Haven’t heard that in years, wasn’t that the Management User Interface, as in the web console where we would manage the early ESX servers?
Nate D says
What does HOSTD stand for?
Linus B. says
HostD = Host Daemon. I often liken it to the translator for the vmkernel to the vSphere client or vpxa (depending on which way you come in).
[email protected] says
Wow! Love it. This reminds of the navy blue VMware T-shirt a colleague brought back from PA in 2004. The T-shirt had all the names considered for VC including Control Center, Command Center etc..
Andrew Lytle says
I want to know where “rui” came from.
Whassup says
VMware NSX™ what does NSX stand for ???
Bill S X says
I think NSX basically stands for “this will change the game like ESX did”. Or maybe it just means Nuetron Sky X or something similarly technical and cool.