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tractng
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

ESXi have any guest limitation

Hello,

Does the ESXi (free version) have any limitation on how many guests can be run on?

Tnt

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weinstein5
Immortal
Immortal

no the software itself has no limitation as to the number of virtual machines you can run - the resource the server has will - e.g. a dual proc single core host with 4 GB will run fewer vms than a quad proc quad core host with 64 GB -

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Dave_Mishchenko
Immortal
Immortal

You are supported with ESXi free to run up to 128 virtual CPUs (same as the other editions) - http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_35/esx_3/r35u2/vi3_35_25_u2_config_max.pdf. So you could have up to 128 single vCPU VMs running. Potentially you could run more, but this is what is supported.

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tractng
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Thanks guys.

Tnt

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fejf
Expert
Expert

That's not entirely correct: from the ESX-3.5.0u2 Release Notes ( http://www.vmware.com/support/vi3/doc/vi3_esx35u2_vc25u2_rel_notes.html 😞

- 192 vCPUs per Host – VMware now supports increasing the maximum number of vCPUs per host to 192 given that the maximum number of Virtual Machines per host is no more than 170 and that no more than three virtual floppy devices or virtual CDROM devices are configured on the host at any given time. This support is also extended on ESX Server 3.5 Update 1.

While the ESX3i-3.5.0u2 Release Notes don't contain this entry it seams that ESX supports more VMs than ESX3i.

--

There are 10 types of people. Those who understand binary and the rest. And those who understand gray-code.

-- There are 10 types of people. Those who understand binary and the rest. And those who understand gray-code.
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Dave_Mishchenko
Immortal
Immortal

Good catch - I had forgotten that.

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tractng
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

So in short, it is more than we can use Smiley Happy

Tnt

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Erik_Zandboer
Expert
Expert

That depends on what hardware you use - Try a Sun X4600M2 with 8x quadcore CPU and 256GB of RAM... That one runs 128 VMs easilly... and more! 😛

Visit my blog at http://www.vmdamentals.com
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tractng
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Right now I have a single core Smiley Happy with 4 gb that vmware server runs on Redhat 4.6 and I am happy. Withe ESXi, it should be as efficient or better right?

Tnt

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fejf
Expert
Expert

It should be better and has more features but you also need to know that there are some limitations: e.g. no soundcard/usb/ide-disc support. So what you want depends on what (features) you need Smiley Happy

--

There are 10 types of people. Those who understand binary and the rest. And those who understand gray-code.

-- There are 10 types of people. Those who understand binary and the rest. And those who understand gray-code.
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Dave_Mishchenko
Immortal
Immortal

The thing to watch is that ESXi is more picky with the hardware that it will recognize and work with. What do you have for a storage controller and NIC(s)?

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tractng
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

I have a Asus 5PK-E board and will be using Intel ICH9R and Intel Pro/1000 GT.

I am in the processing of saving all my current stuff before I format the system.

Edit: If the vm servers are running on ESXi, can they be rolled back to vmware server using a converter?

Right now I have virtual machines running on vmware server and will need to convert so it will work with ESXi. Just in case I need to roll back, will it work?

Awesome forum.

Tnt

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wizdude
Contributor
Contributor

please remember that ESXi has a minimum requirement of two cores. this includes hyperthreading. if your current processor doesn't have hyperthreading in it, you don't meet the base requirements for ESXi.

i would recommend also that you check out your current hardware on the HCL to ensure that it would be supported with ESXi.

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Peter_vm
Immortal
Immortal

I suggest to try running ESXi from USB stick, as you may encounter problems with SATA drives (or ICH9R controller, to be precise) on P5K.

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tractng
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Have ESXi installed and runs like a champ. Just learning my way around the interfaces.

tnt

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Mathboy2006
Contributor
Contributor

No problems here installing from CD using ICH9R on a DP35DP (intel) or a GA-EP35-DS3L (gigabyte). We also did the same on a P5K series board at work, and it was fine. Smiley Happy

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Mathboy2006
Contributor
Contributor

Some more details since Dave linked to this on his awesome whitebox webpage:

Gigabyte EP35-DS3L

The board works fine, including onboard SATA. I installed from a USB cdrom drive directly to a SATA hard drive connected to the onboard ICH9 (no USB key needed). I used the bios settings mentioned for the DP35DP intel board on the whitebox page: IDE mode for the SATA controller, and Legacy off (i.e. Native mode). The onboard Realtek nic isn't usable - I plugged in a Broadcom instead.

Intel DP35DP

As listed, I had no problem getting this board going, with bios for SATA set to IDE/Native. However the intel onboard nic (a 82566DC-2) didn't work. Others have tried modifying the map file and so on for the nic, but couldn't get it going, so I didn't pursue it.

Shuttle SP35P2 Pro

I tried a Shuttle SP35P2 Pro and it locks up during install regardless of bios settings (didn't try USB key). This board has the same chipset as the Intel DP35DP, and the Gigabyte above, so I was surprised it didn't just work.

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Jasemccarty
Immortal
Immortal

ESXi has a requirement for 2 cores?

I don't think that is correct. Keep in mind every physical box I have installed it on, has had either multiple processors, hyperthreading, or multi-core technology.

Given that I have had success with several boxes running ESX 3.5 that only had a single core and didn't have hyperthreading, and I would assume the same would be true for ESXi.

Jase McCarty

http://www.jasemccarty.com

Co-Author of VMware ESX Essentials in the Virtual Data Center

(ISBN:1420070274) from Auerbach

Jase McCarty - @jasemccarty
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wizdude
Contributor
Contributor

the installation guide for ESX 3.5 clearly states:

Minimum Server Hardware Requirements.

You need the following hardware and system resources to install and use ESX Server 3.

At least two processors.

this is also taught in the VCP classes.

whether it would actually physically work on a single core with no hyperthreading enabled is probably more a case of whether its "supported" or not from a VMware perspective.

of course common sense would tell you that the vmkernel scheduler would have a hard time scheduling multiple vcpu's (and also the console os) on a single thread.

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Jasemccarty
Immortal
Immortal

I agree with the standard "supported" clause.

And I've been to the courses... I'm one of the first 2500 VCP's.

I would argue, that the "requirement" for multiple cores, is somewhat contradictory of their Single Processor Licensing Policy.

It states:

Effective immediately, customers may install VMware ESX and VI licenses on

single processor, physical hosts that are included on our Hardware Compatibility List (HCL).

This includes servers with two sockets that are populated with a single processor.

Each processor may contain up to four cores.

That being said, I wouldn't say, that it is a limitation to have multiple processors, or multiple cores for that matter.

I understand that it wouldn't be an option to run a multi-vcpu guest with a host configured in such a way.

All I'm trying to state, is... You don't have to have more than one core for ESXi to operate.

Respectfully,

Jase McCarty

http://www.jasemccarty.com

Co-Author of VMware ESX Essentials in the Virtual Data Center

(ISBN:1420070274) from Auerbach

Jase McCarty - @jasemccarty
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