ESXi 5.x support for 64-bit guest operating systems
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ESXi 5.x support for 64-bit guest operating systems

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Article ID: 308292

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

When utilizing 64-bit guest operating systems on ESXi 5.x, there are certain considerations and requirements that must be made when choosing the hardware you are using for virtualization. This article outlines those requirements.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5

Resolution

ESXi offers support for several 64-bit guest operating systems. For a complete list of operating systems supported for ESXi, see the VMware Compatibility Guide.

Hosts running virtual machines with 64-bit guest operating systems have these hardware requirements:
  • For AMD Opteron-based systems, the processors must be Opteron Rev E or later.
  • For Intel Xeon-based systems, the processors must include support for Intel Virtualization Technology (VT). Many servers that include CPUs with VT support might have VT disabled by default, so you must enable VT manually. If your CPUs support VT, but you do not see this option in the BIOS, contact your vendor to request a BIOS version that lets you enable VT support.

To determine whether your server has 64-bit VMware support, you can download the CPU Identification Utility from http://www.vmware.com/.

Note: For more information, see the ESXi and vCenter Server Installation Guide.


Additional Information

Best practices for installing ESXi 5.0
Best practices for upgrading to ESXi 5.0
ESXi 5.x の 64 ビット ゲスト オペレーティング システムのサポート
Installing or upgrading to ESXi 5.5 best practices
对 64 位客户机操作系统的 ESXi 5.x 支持