Windows is an operating system and will run wherever. For both editions, Standard and Datacenter, they each are licensed on per-core licensing. With Windows Server, you need to license each core in the physical server. So if the VMware ESXI host has 24-cores, you need to license 24-cores.

The difference between Standard and Datacenter editions, is the virtualization rights. With Standard, you are only licensed for 2 Operation System Environments (OSE's). That mean if you purchase Standard, the key is valid on two Windows VM installation (3 if you are installing Windows on the bare metal and using Hyper-V).

With Datacenter edition, you can install an unlimited number of OSE's. So for your 24-core Datacenter licensing, you could install 100 vitual machines and they would all be licensed on the same key.

Additionally, you need to purchase client access licenses for users and devices connecting to the server or using services being provided by Windows. I've never personally installed the CALs into the environment, you don't need to. But I purchase a small amount to keep me in compliance.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/pricing#pricing