Physical Host must be Certified for Windows Server to ensure support from Microsoft

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

Microsoft may deny providing technical support for the Windows Server operating system in a vSphere Virtual Machine if the physical server and adapters are not Certified for Windows Server.

Resolution

Microsoft provides technical support for the Windows Server operating system on third-party hypervisors that are certified through the Windows Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP). VMware's vSphere ESXi servers are certified for all Windows Server releases.  However, the SVVP has a requirement that the physical server and adapters must also be Certified for Windows Server with Microsoft. See SVVP program site for more details:
* https://www.windowsservercatalog.com/svvp.aspx?svvppage=svvp.htm

To ensure technical support from Microsoft for Windows Server in a vSphere Virtual Machine, the ESXi physical server and adapters must be listed as Certified for Windows Server, for the specific version of Windows Server.  The Windows Server catalog is available at the following:
* https://www.windowsservercatalog.com/

Note that the above does not apply to VMware Cloud on AWS and other service providers using vSphere ESXi who are providing Windows Server support through the Microsoft Service Provider License Agreement Program (SPLA).

Workaround:

To workaround the issue, please migrate Virtual Machine to a physical host that is Certified for Windows Server.