With the announcement of ESX Server 3.0 and VirtualCenter 2.0 (aka Virtual Infrastructure 3.0) VMware launched a series of whitepapers to clarify technical and marketing aspects of the new offering.
Foedus parner contributed with 4 papers.
The third one of the series:
This document will focus on the use of virtual machine templates in VMware Infrastructure 3. Virtual machine template functionality was redesigned in VMware Infrstructure 3 which includes VirtualCenter 2. In this context, a virtual machine template (usually referred to as simply ?a template?) is a reusable image created from a virtual machine.
The template, as a derivative of the source virtual machine,typically includes virtual hardware components, an installed guest operating system (with any applicable patches) and software application(s). New to VirtualCenter 2 is the ability to keep templates current with OS and application updates.
Read it here.