VMware Compatibility question

[zerol]

Hi ,,

Sorry for the stupid newbe question but why is ESX and ESXi only compatible with some servers and not all ,,

Must it use a certain chip sets or does the processor have to be virtualization enabled like Intel VT processors ...?

like the Dell PowerEdge 1950 not compatable but the 1950 III is ..... been looking at the specs of both and very little difference ...

thanks for the help

[Texiwill]

Hello,

For support purposes what is on the HCL works, but ESX/ESXi may work on those systems. The main thing to be aware of is what is on the IO HCL. There may be a difference at the controller level that prevents one or the other from working.

Best regards,

Edward L. Haletky

VMware Communities User Moderator

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Author of the book 'VMWare ESX Server in the Enterprise: Planning and Securing Virtualization Servers', Copyright 2008 Pearson Education.

CIO Virtualization Blog: http://www.cio.com/blog/index/topic/168354

As well as the Virtualization Wiki at http://www.astroarch.com/wiki/index.php/Virtualization

[Mr_Flibble1]

I have ESX running on what would be considered an "unsupported" system. That is, it is not on the HCL. However, most any system that has 2 cpus and a decent amount of RAM can run ESX. This is not exact of course, but it is a good general rule.

Systems that are on the HCL are ones that have been vetted by VMware to be fully functional with ESX, and are the least likely to cause problems.

[Ken_Cline]

The two things that torment the whitebox ESX builder are:

- 1. Disk Controllers (All IDE and most SATA are not supported and do not work)

- 2. Network Adapters - stick with the big boys (Intel / Broadcom) and you'll be happy

The CPU and RAM really don't cause much trouble.

Ken Cline

Technical Director, Virtualization

Wells Landers

VMware Communities User Moderator