Guest OS Install Guide

Category Archives: Windows

Windows Server 2019

Full Support for Windows Server 2019 has been introduced for these products:

ESXi 6.0, ESXi 6.0 Update 1, ESXi 6.0 Update 2 and ESXi 6.0 Update 3
ESXi 6.5, ESXi 6.5 Update 1 and ESXi 6.5 Update 2
ESXi 6.7 and ESXi 6.7 Update 1

For more information about software and hardware support, please check the VMware Compatibility Guide

Windows Server 2019

Tech Preview Support for Windows Server 2019 has been introduced for these products:

ESXi 6.5 and ESXi 6.5 Update 1

For more information about software and hardware support, please check the VMware Compatibility Guide

Windows Server 2016

Full Support for Windows Server 2016 has been introduced for these products:

ESXi 5.5, ESXi 5.5 Update 1, ESXi 5.5 Update 2, ESXi 5.5 Update 3, ESXi 6.0, ESXi 6.0 Update 1 and ESXi 6.0 Update 2
Installation instruction can be found here http://partnerweb.vmware.com/GOSIG/Windows_Server_2016.html
Please check vSphere blog post for SVVP support

For more information about software and hardware support, please check the VMware Compatibility Guide

Windows Server 2016

Tech Preview Support for Windows Server 2016 has been introduced for these products:

ESXi 5.5, ESXi 5.5 Update 1, ESXi 5.5 Update 2, ESXi 5.5 Update 3, ESXi 6.0 and ESXi 6.0 Update 1

For more information about software and hardware support, please check the VMware Compatibility Guide

Windows 10

Support for Windows 10 has been introduced for these products:

ESXi 5.5, ESXi 5.5 Update 1, ESXi 5.5 Update 2 and ESXi 6.0
Installation instruction can be found here http://partnerweb.vmware.com/GOSIG/Windows_10.html

For more information about software and hardware support, please check the VMware Compatibility Guide

Windows Server 2012 R2

Support for Windows Server 2012 R2 has been introduced for these products:

ESXi 5.0 Update 2, ESXi 5.1, ESXi 5.1 Update 1 and ESXi 5.5

For more information about software and hardware support, please check the VMware Compatibility Guide

Windows 8.1

Support for Windows 8.1 has been introduced for these products:

ESXi 5.0 Update 2, ESXi 5.1, ESXi 5.1 Update 1 and ESXi 5.5

For more information about software and hardware support, please check the VMware Compatibility Guide

OS Releases No Longer Supported

The release of vSphere 5.5 announces the following guest operating system releases are no longer supported:

CentOS 4.5-4.8
CentOS 5.0-5.5
CentOS 6.0
Debian 5.0.x
Debian 4.0
FreeBSD 6.x
Netware
OS/2 Warp
Oracle Linux 4.5-4.8
Oracle Linux 5.0-5.5
Oracle Linux 6.0
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.5-4.8
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2-5.5
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.0
SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 SP0
SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 SP0, 10 SP1 and 10 SP2
SUSE Linux Enterprise 9 SP0, 9 SP1, 9 SP2 and 9 SP3
SUSE Linux Enterprise 8 SP3 and 8 SP4
Ubuntu 10.10, 9.10, 9.04, 8.10 and 8.04.x
Windows NT
All 16-bit Windows releases (Windows 98, Window 95 and Microsoft DOS)

If you are currently running a guest operating system that is at the Terminated support level, VMware recommends moving to a newer release immediately. VMware support does not provide assistance with any issues relating to this operating system release. More information on support levels are available at http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2015161

For more information about software support, please check the VMware Compatibility Guide

Windows Server 2012

Support for Windows 2012 has been introduced on ESXi 5.0 U1, with the following support considerations:

Installation of patch ESXi500-201209001 (a.k.a. 5.0 Patch 04) is required on ESXi 5.0 U1
Snapshots, checkpoints and VMotion actions for virtual machines with Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012 are incompatible between hosts running ESXi 5.0 Update 1 or ESXi 5.0 Patch 03 (ESXi500-201207001) with host running later versions of ESXi ( ESXi 5.0 Patch 04, ESXi 5.0 Update 2, ESXi 5.1, etc.). Please refer to KB-2033723 for more information.
The Guest OS Customization feature in vCenter does not support Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012 in vSphere 5.0.
Installation instruction can be found here http://partnerweb.vmware.com/GOSIG/Windows_Server_2012.html

For more information about software support, please check the VMware Compatibility Guide

Windows 8

Support for Windows 8 has been introduced on ESXi 5.0 U1, with the following support considerations:

Installation of patch ESXi500-201209001 (a.k.a. 5.0 Patch 04) is required on ESXi 5.0 U1
Snapshots, checkpoints and VMotion actions for virtual machines with Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012 are incompatible between hosts running ESXi 5.0 Update 1 or ESXi 5.0 Patch 03 (ESXi500-201207001) with host running later versions of ESXi ( ESXi 5.0 Patch 04, ESXi 5.0 Update 2, ESXi 5.1, etc.). Please refer to KB-2033723 for more information.
The Guest OS Customization feature in vCenter does not support Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012 in vSphere 5.0.
Installation instruction can be found here http://partnerweb.vmware.com/GOSIG/Windows_8.html

For more information about software support, please check the VMware Compatibility Guide