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misan
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

ESXi 6.5 U1g Guest OS Windows Server 2019

Hi guys - I'm running ESXi 6.5 U1g and would like to deploy Windows Server 2019, however I am only seeing Server 2016 as a Guest OS option when building a new VM.  Does anyone know if ESXi 6.5 U2 has support for Server 2019?

I realise I can probably just deploy as Server 2016 - but I'd prefer the Guest OS version to be correct.

Many thanks!

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22 Replies
daphnissov
Immortal
Immortal

It may have support but as how 2019 has just come out there won't be a specific guest OS identifier probably until the next major update. It shouldn't affect the functionality.

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SupreetK
Commander
Commander

In addition to daphnissov​'s comment, I wouldn't recommend running a critical production workload yet since it is still in Tech Preview support phase. More on that in the link - VMware Knowledge Base

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Cheers,

Supreet

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abugeja
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

why does esxi 6.0 not have support for windows 2019?

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daphnissov
Immortal
Immortal

Because it's old.

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abugeja
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

But still under support from VMware for over another year.

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daphnissov
Immortal
Immortal

That doesn't mean they're required to add new operating systems (or features). In fact, they usually don't. Bottom line: Don't expect a three-year-old platform to support bleeding edge operating systems. You'll most likely be disappointed.

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DeepakNegi420
Contributor
Contributor

Having said that it would be pointless for VMware to do any developments on older version.

It's vital to keep the technical currency up to date of underlying infrastructure.

Regards, Deepak Negi
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sachinss1986
Contributor
Contributor

Addition to this there is similar observation for SLES15 and MAC10.14 Guest operating systems selection options.

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abugeja
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

esxi 6.0 u3 now support windows 2019

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yeadubs4
Contributor
Contributor

Any idea when the 2019 Guest OS version will be available?  Should we just use 2016 in the interim?

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Shawnlo
Contributor
Contributor

It looks like Windows Server 2019 has been supported in ESXi 6.5 U2 since November 19th 2018.  VMware Compatibility Guide - Guest/Host Search

As far as installing it yes, use Server 2016 see KB 59222  VMware Knowledge Base

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misan
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Yeah - I've just been using the Server 2016 Guest OS option when building my 2019 VM's.

I recently updated my hosts to 6.5 build 11925212  and still no sign of 2019 as a Guest OS.  Guess they'll add it in a newer patch..

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Floydus
Contributor
Contributor

I don't see why they can't just add the OS identifier as soon as they 'fully support' it. It must surely be trivial to add the option, but for some reason they'd prefer people to be confused and/or slightly concerned that they're choosing a mis-matched OS. It's like someone selling you Coke Zero in a Diet Coke can, and assuring you it's still Coke Zero ... it'll be fine, but I mean ... just why?! :smileygrin:

They did the same with Windows 2016 in 5.5, had to install all those as 2012.

Come on VMWare, understand your customer's paranoia!

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daphnissov
Immortal
Immortal

It's not trivial and amounts to much more than just a single line of text in a drop-down box. It's a combination of virtual hardware settings, advance VMX settings, CPU masks, etc., and all of them have to come with vCenter. So these get rolled into the next vCenter update after support is delivered.

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Floydus
Contributor
Contributor

I would argue that can't possibly be the case.

I'm not saying it's trivial to provide the support, but trivial to change the designator after full support is asserted. They are already asserting that Windows 2019 is 'fully supported' using the Windows 2016 Server designator. Therefore it follows that nothing is required beyond duplicating the Windows 2016 Server designator, and renaming the duplicate 2019 Server.

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daphnissov
Immortal
Immortal

I would argue that can't possibly be the case.

Unless you are one of the vCenter/ESXi developers with deep knowledge of the inner-workings of the two products, there is no basis for such an assumption.

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Floydus
Contributor
Contributor

I don't agree, and I shall explain why.

Yes, they could have made such a mess of the coding that it's ridiculously difficult to simply duplicate an existing designator, but anyone who knows anything about coding knows that should be trivial if there's any coherence to the code at all. They simply have to change how it appears to the user, absolutely zero has to change beyond appearance once they assert that one designator is 100% supported by a different OS. It's absolutely cosmetic at that stage, you'd just need a flag to keep track of which 'version' of Windows Server 2016 the user had chosen for display purposes - Windows 2016 - Windows 2016 display name or Windows 2016 - Windows 2019 display name.

Regardless, it's a feature that they definitely *should* be able to provide for new supported OS'es as soon as they're supported, to remove unnecessary confusion and concern. These little things make a lot of difference to a lot of admins with a lot on their plates, and any argument that it simply "doesn't need" to say what it really it because it works anyway, and it's too much trouble to change, is pretty poor. They have released multiple patches for every part of VSphere since full support was announced - there's no real excuse not to have added this display except the belief that it doesn't matter (or, more cynically, that it gives people an extra incentive to upgrade VSphere next time if only to fix this display issue, and it may be deliberate).

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abugeja
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

Why is it in vCenter 6.7 there is no option to select Windows 2019 as the OS when you build a new VM? Its only 2016 or later... seems strange.

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Doc_r
Contributor
Contributor

Along the same lines, with Server 2019 guests..

Hosts in the same cluster.

HOST1: 6.5.0 build 15256549

HOST2: 6.5.0 build 13635690

Host 1 identifies Guest OS via tools as Microsoft Windows Server 2016 or later (64-bit)

Host 2 identifies Guest OS via tools as Windows Server 2019, 64-bit (Build 17763)

Tools v11269 (11.0.5) for interest sake

I don't at all get it, did something break in P04 that was working in EP14??

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