Hi,
My understanding is that vCenter 4.1 or later (such as vCenter 5.0) has to be installed on x64 OS (e.g. Windows 7 x64, Windows 2008 R2 etc.)
or x64 VM. Right? Thanks.
Your post has been moved to the vCenter Server forum.
vCenter 4.1 is only supported on x64 systems. Check page 16 for a list of supported OSes. http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_compatibility_matrix.pdf
Note: vCenter Server 4.1 does not support 32 bit host operating systems. For more information, see the Operating System Compatibility for vSphere Client, vCenter Server, and VMware vCenter Update Manager section of the vSphere Compatibility Matrix.
follow to best practices. http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=102210...
Correct, if you want to update or do a fresh install you'll have to use a 64 bit Windows VM (2003, 2008).
Yes, your VC will need to be on a 64 bit OS.
ESX(i) also now requires 64 bit hardware - though pretty much any hardware you buy for ESX will now be 64 bit.