SteelCentral Portal is distributed as a pre-packaged virtual appliance. The distribution file is an Open Virtualization Appliance (.ova), which is specifically designed for deployment on VMware vSphere hypervisors (ESX/ESXi). This method simplifies installation by providing a pre-configured virtual machine with the operating system and the Portal application already installed and optimized. The administrator imports the .ova file into their vSphere environment to create and run the SteelCentral Portal virtual machine.

A. SteelCentral Portal is not available as a dedicated physical hardware appliance; it is exclusively a virtual appliance.

B. It is a standalone management and reporting platform, not a software module that installs onto AppResponse hardware.

D. The software is not distributed as a standard executable or installer for a generic Windows or Linux operating system.

1. Riverbed SteelCentral Portal Installation Guide, Version 20.1, Chapter 1: Introduction, "About SteelCentral Portal", Page 7. The document states: "SteelCentral Portal is a virtual appliance that runs on a VMware vSphere hypervisor."

2. Riverbed SteelCentral Portal Installation Guide, Version 20.1, Chapter 2: Deploying the SteelCentral Portal virtual appliance, "Before you begin", Page 9. This section details the prerequisites for deployment, including having the "SteelCentral-Portal--.ova" file and a VMware vSphere environment.

3. Riverbed SteelCentral Portal Data Sheet, "Specifications" section. This official product data sheet consistently lists the deployment model as a "Virtual Appliance (OVA)" for "VMware ESXi" across various versions.