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Introduction
VMware ESX is tested for compatibility with a variety of major guest operating systems running in virtual machines. Additionally, VMware ESX is tested for compatibility with
currently shipping platforms from the major server manufacturers in pre-release testing. Our goal is to support a variety of storage and network adapters used as standard options
for these platforms as they come to market.
If you are having a technical issue with 3rd party HW/SW and it is not found on this list, please refer to our 3rd Party HW/SW support policy at http://www.vmware.com/support/
policies/ThirdParty.html.
NOTE: VMware supports Two-Socket Servers and Three-Socket Servers which are de-populated versions of Four-Socket Servers that are on the Systems Compatibility Guide for
ESX 3.0.x. The de-populated Server Configuration must also be supported by the OEM. There is no change in the current Licensing model.
VMware will still sell Licenses in Two-Socket increments. To best utilize all Licenses purchased for Three-Socket Servers, we suggest deploying Server-based Licenses and
deploying Three-Socket populated Servers in pairs so Licenses can be distributed evenly across them.
VMware works closely with each of its OEMs to drive towards mutual support of ESX at the time of announcement. Due to different product release cycles, levels of testing, and
OEM agreements, not all OEM devices will be supported at the general availability date of a new version of ESX.
For Intel and AMD processors, VMware supports the processor series and the processor model that are listed with each server. Please check with the server vendor for specific
CPU support.
RECOMMENDED CPU CLOCK SPEED
ESX 3.0:
* Minimum CPU clock speed - 1500 MHz
* Minimum CPU clock speed, Virtual SMP - 1500 MHz
ESX 3.0.1:
* Minimum CPU clock speed - 1500 MHz
* Minimum CPU clock speed, Virtual SMP - 1500 MHz
ESX 3.0.2:
* Minimum CPU clock speed - 1500 MHz
* Minimum CPU clock speed, Virtual SMP - 1500 MHz
ESX 3.0.3:
* Minimum CPU clock speed - 1500 MHz
* Minimum CPU clock speed, Virtual SMP - 1500 MHz
ESX 3.5:
* Minimum CPU clock speed - 1500 MHz
* Minimum CPU clock speed, Virtual SMP - 1500 MHz
ESX 3i Embedded:
* Minimum CPU clock speed - 1500 MHz
* Minimum CPU clock speed, Virtual SMP - 1500 MHz
ESX 3i Installable:
* Minimum CPU clock speed - 1500 MHz
* Minimum CPU clock speed, Virtual SMP - 1500 MHz
Footnotes:
1. This server model does not support CIM.
2. This server uses a processor series that requires a 4.0 U1 patch (Release Name - ESX400-201002001, Bulletin ID ESX400-201002401-BG / Release Name
ESXi400-201002001, Bulletin ID ESXi400-201002401-BG) or newer for full support.
3. Native single socket system
4. Total count and status not provided for all system temperature and thermal sensors.
5. System power supply status not provided.
6. System fan status not provided.
7. NOTE: VMware ESXi 5.0 does not contain a driver for onboard NIC1 (Intel 82579). Add-on server NIC card (e.g. Intel Ethernet Adapter I350-T2) is required to support
VMware ESXi 5.0.
8. 1: For ESXi 5.0, boot from onboard SAS (aka RSTe mode) requires a custom ESXi image with the RSTe driver included. 2: RSTe RAID mode not supported.
9. Intel 82578DM Gigabit Network Connection not supported.
10. An ESX 3.5 U4 driver installation CD is required to support Intel 82576EB Gigabit NIC, and is available at http://www.vmware.com/download/vi/drivers_tools.html.
11. Intel 82576EB Gigabit NIC not supported by this release.
12. The Intel 82576 Gigabit Network Connection on this server requires the igb driver download. Download the driver from http://www.vmware.com/download/vsphere/
drivers_tools.html
13. ESX server requires on-board LSI1068E to use IT mode of operation. Use OEM's documentation for instructions to FLASH in appropriate firmware for the same.
14. ESXi installation to HDD is supported only in AHCI mode on this server.
15. CIM is not supported with this Server.
16. Supported with SAS Drives only.
17. Requires patch ESXe350-200712401-O-BG 1/17/2008
18. Intel 82566DM Gigabit NIC not supported by this release.
19. 5.5 EP06 (build 2456374) or newer is required to support greater than 4TB of memory.
20. Includes support for G0-Stepping configurations.
21. Switch agnostic vNIC ("vNIC 2") mode not supported on VMware
22. IBM systems that are configured with a MAX5 option are supported starting with ESX 4.1, ESXi 4.1 Embedded, and ESXi 4.1 Installable
23. - No VM DirectPath I/O Support - BIOS must be configured with Hyperthreading disabled, and 8 max NUMA nodes
24. No VM DirectPath I/O Support - BIOS must be configured with Hyperthreading disabled, and 8 max NUMA nodes
25. CIM monitoring on this server is limited due to the absence of a BMC
26. This system has been tested for compatibility with vSphere DirectPath I/O
27. This system has been tested for compatibility VMDirectPath I/O
28. This Dell server supports the Dell Fault Resilient Memory and VMware Reliable Memory Feature with vSphere 5.5 and greater, on BIOS v2.0.19 and greater
29. SimpliVity requires that VT-d interrupt remapping be disabled for BIOS 1.0.4
30. Total count and status not provided for all system temperature and thermal sensors; this information can be accessed via the UCS SAM interface.
31. Requires custom image: http://downloads.vmware.com/d/details/esx4u2_cisco_oem_iso/ZHcqYnRkZXRidGR3 for ESXi 40U2 and http://downloads.vmware.com/d/details/
esxi41_cisco_oem_iso/ZHcqYnRkdHdiZCVodw for ESXi 41
32. "vSphere client may not report RAID configuration changes until after an ESX reboot"
33. Error messages may be seen on the console for Bus 128. Please refer to KB 2014170
34. Supports booting from SATA Disks. VMFS is not supported on SATA Disks.
35. ESX server requires on-board LSI1068E to use IT or IR mode of operation. Use OEM's documentation for instructions to FLASH in appropriate firmware for the same.
36. The Intel® 82576 Gigabit Ethernet Controller on this system requires the igb driver not included with ESX 3.5 U4. Download the driver from http://www.vmware.com/
support/vi3/doc/drivercd/esx35-igb-350.1.3.8.6.3.html
37. RAID monitoring not available with PERC 4 controllers.
38. Includes support for same G0-Stepping configurations.
39. Supports NetQueue-enabled.
40. Supported with one or two sockets populated.
41. CIM monitoring is not available or supported on this server.
42. scsi-megaraid-sas 06.801.52.00 driver is required to enable Shared PERC functionality on PowerEdge VRTX.
43. Dell requires that VT-d interrupt remapping be disabled for this release on Dell 12G servers
44. Not supported for VMDirectPath.
45. The vDGA Certification has been tested with patch build number 1746018.
46. SATA optical CD/DVD drive is not supported.
47. The server does not support the Wake-On-Lan functionality. Consequently, Distributed Power Management via Wake-On-Lan will not be supported on the server
48. This server only supports 10 cores for E5-26xx-v2 processor.
49. The CPU while capable of supporting the MWAIT and MONITOR instructions, are disabled by this server's BIOS. Therefore this specific server can not support Enhanced
VMotion (EVC).
50. Only 4 sockets configuration is supported for ESX 4.0 Update X.
51. Only supported with boot from SAN or LSI SAS 1068.
52. vDGA feature is supported only on 5.5 P03 (2143827) or newer.
53. The server is available only by special approval from Fujitsu. Please contact Fujitsu for further assistance.
54. Optional Intel 82571EB Gigabit NIC required.
55. SUSE Linux is not tested as GOS.
56. SATA configuration is not tested.
57. Requires patch ESX-1006511.
58. Change the "MMCFG" setting in BIOS to "3GB" to install the ESXi.
59. ESX410-201204001 required.
60. Internal SAS HDD is not supported.
61. SAS configuration is not tested.
100. The Recovery CD that is delivered with this product from NEC is required for recovery.
101. P05 must be applied.
102. System power supply wattage not provided.
103. Health Monitor may incorrectly shows multiple Power Supply units on this server, though a single server is equipped with a single PSU
104. Solaris 10 Update 6 and onwards is necessary to run Solaris Guest OS.
105. Solaris 10 Update 6 and onwards is necessary to run Solaris Guest OS.
106. Systems with chipset 8131 from AMD are not supported with any PCI-X FC-HBA card except Emulex FC-HBA.
107. Support for maximum of 64GB RAM.
108. Power supply status information may be inaccurae. Please see KB article 1010716 for more information.
109. Optional Intel 82575EB Gigabit NIC required.
110. Based on equivalency with Intel ESAA Rackmount system Alcolu (S5000PAL/SR2500)
111. SAS (no RAID) requires BIOS version 79 or higher. Solaris is not tested as GOS.
112. LSI RAID and SAS configurations are supported.
113. RAID information may be inaccurate in the vSphere client
114. Support for maximum of 12GB RAM.
115. Support for maximum of 32GB RAM.
116. The supported arrays are: EMC CLARiiON (All members of the family), Stratus ftScalable Storage D919 and D919F, EMC Symmetrix DMX-4.
117. Supported on Intel partition only.
118. G3 processor support only.
119. Up to 16 dual-core processors with Hyperthreading disabled.
120. Firmware v2.4QFR3 required for ESX4.0. Firmware v2.4QFR4 required for ESX 4.0 U1, ESX 4.0 U2 and ESX 4.1. Firmware v2.4QFR4 optional for ESX 4.0
None
Disclaimer
THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED AS IS, AND TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, VMWARE DISCLAIMS ALL OTHER
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THIS CONTENT, INCLUDING THEIR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE,
THEIR MERCHANTABILITY, OR THEIR NONINFRINGEMENT. VMWARE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION
WITH THE USE OF THIS CONTENT, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES,
EVEN IF VMWARE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
THE VMWARE COMPATIBILITY GUIDE IS UPDATED FROM TIME TO TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. FOR THE LATEST VMWARE COMPATIBILITY GUIDE,
PLEASE GO TO THE FOLLOWING LINK: http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility