Skip to content

VMware ESXi 6.0 - Unsupported Hardware

hcl-60Double check your vendor support when updating ESXi hosts from VMware vSphere 5.5 to 6.0. There are a lot of systems that are no longer supported. The following servers were supported in 5.5 but are according to the VMware HCL no longer supported in vSphere 6.0.

Your server is listed and you want to upgrade? Don't panic.

  • Usually, the list gets smaller a couple of weeks after a new vSphere version has been released. I will update this post when I notice changes.
  • Not supported does not mean that it does not work.
  • Servers get certified by their vendor, not VMware. If you want a server to get certified, ask your vendor.
  • Vendor support matrices and VMware HCL have some mismatches at the moment (HP and IBM). Servers are listed at the bottom. Please ask your vendor or VMware if you are allowed to upgrade.
  • Did I miss something? Please comment.

Last Update: May 2, 2018

 

Source: VMware HCL

Related posts:

  1. VMware ESXi 5.5 - Unsupported Hardware
  2. Updating ESXi from 5.0 to 5.1 - Unsupported Hardware
  3. VMware ESXi Support for HP ProLiant Gen9 Servers
  4. vSphere 5 Homelab – ESXi on HP Microserver Gen8
  5. Intel CPU EVC Matrix (VMware Enhanced vMotion Compatibility)
Tags:

75 thoughts on “VMware ESXi 6.0 - Unsupported Hardware”

  3. Dan Robinson

    As an interesting way of seeing how things progress, would you mind NOT deleting items from the list when the vendor adds support?

    Perhaps just do a strikethrough on that line with a note on the end of the date you noticed support was added (obviously not the exact date it was added, but whenever you noticed should be close enough)

    Something interesting to me is some models that are listed are definitely supported by their OEM, but digging in it seems like the HCL published support is for Ivy Bridge (v2) but not Sandy Bridge (v1).
    So I wouldn't panic if you see a fairly new model that you use on the list.
    I expect a lot of those will disappear over time.

    Reply
    1. fgrehl

      On previous verisons (had this list for 5.5 and 5.1) were lot of changes in the first weeks. I also had mismatches between VMware HCL and Vendor HCL (eg. HP which I check often as this is our vendor of choice.)

      I create this list more or less automatically, so it's not directly possible to to strike systems out. But I am going to do a diff on the changes to point out when servers appear in the HCL.

      Reply

  5. Pingback: Upgrade vmware esxi free 5.5 alla versione 6.0 | Ivan Zini

  6. Pingback: VMware vSphere v6.0 officially announced

  7. fgrehl

    Removed this systems from the unsupported list because they are listed at HPs Support Matrix:

    • HP ProLiant SL4540 Gen8 (Intel Xeon E5-2400-v2 Series)
    • HP ProLiant ML350e Gen8 v2 (Intel Xeon E5-2400 Series)
    • HP ProLiant DL320e Gen8 (Intel i3-3200 Series)
    • HP ProLiant BL660c Gen8 (Intel Xeon E5-4600 Series)
    Reply

  9. Pingback: My vSphere 6 Upgrade Experience | Notes from MWhite

  10. Pingback: vSphere 6.0 – Unsupported Storage Arrays | Virten.net

  11. fgrehl

    Removed this systems from the unsupported list because they are listed at IBMs Support Matrix:
    IBM System x3100 M5 (Intel Xeon E3-1200-v3 Series)
    IBM System x3250 M5 (Intel Xeon E3-1200-v3 Series)
    IBM System x3750 M4 (Intel Xeon E5-4600-v2 Series)
    IBM System x3750 M4 (Intel Xeon E5-4600 Series)
    IBM system x3630 M4 (Intel Xeon E5-2400-v2 Series)
    IBM System x3500 M4 (Intel Xeon E5-2600-v2 Series)
    IBM System x3530 M4 (Intel Xeon E5-2400-v2 Series)
    IBM System x3300 M4 (Intel Xeon E5-2400 Series)
    IBM System x3250 M4 (Intel Xeon E3-1200-v2 Series)
    IBM System x3250 M4 (Intel Xeon E3-1200 Series)
    IBM System x3100 M4 (Intel Xeon E3-1200-v2 Series)
    IBM System x3100 M4 (Intel Xeon E3-1200 Series)

    Reply
  13. clement

    :idea: FYI, successfully installed ESX 6 on my Dell T410 with bi Xeon X5550, but not on my HP ML370 G5 with bi Xeon E5xxx

    Reply
    1. itadmincrbc

      LOL..you beat me too it. I find it amazing that Dell engineers know nothing about this patch, and really I want to know what's special about it?

      Reply
  16. itadmincrbc

    There is a custom ISO patch for the Dell R510 on the dell forums but even the Dell engineers will not acknowledge it exists, and they put it on there. I am going to be testing it here pretty soon on one of the two hosts.

    Reply
  17. fgrehl

    Removed because now listed at VMware HCL:

    HP ProLiant ML110 Gen9 (Intel Xeon E5-2600-v3 Series)
    IBM System x3620 M4 (Intel Xeon E5-2400-v2 Series)
    IBM System x3500 M4 (Intel Xeon E5-2600 Series)
    IBM System x3500 M4 (Intel Xeon E5-2600-v2 Series)
    IBM System x3530 M4 (Intel Xeon E5-2400 Series)
    IBM System x3530 M4 (Intel Xeon E5-2400-v2 Series)
    IBM System x3620 M4 (Intel Xeon E5-2400 Series)
    IBM system x3630 M4 (Intel Xeon E5-2400 Series)
    IBM system x3630 M4 (Intel Xeon E5-2400-v2 Series)
    IBM System x3850 X5 (Intel Xeon E7-4800 Series)
    IBM System x3850 X5 2 Node (Intel Xeon E7-8800 Series)
    Apple MacPro 6,1 with 4-core (Intel Xeon E5-1600-v2 Series)
    Apple MacPro 6,1 with 6-core (Intel Xeon E5-1600-v2 Series)
    Apple MacPro 6,1 with 12-core (Intel Xeon E5-2600-v2 Series)
    Apple MacPro 6,1 with 8-core (Intel Xeon E5-1600-v2 Series)
    Apple MacPro51 (Intel Xeon 56xx Series)

    Reply
      2. itadmincrbc

        Sorry I typed that wrong. Did you use the Dell custom iso or did you use the VMWare official iso for the R510?

        Reply
  21. Ivailo

    Lenovo ThinkServer TS440 (Intel Xeon E3-1245-v3) works even though not on the supported list. Also worth mentioning - no longer need to inject the net-e1000e-2.3.2.x86_64.vib. The ISO comes with newer driver.

    Reply
    1. Ben H

      How is ESXi 6 coming along on that 2900? Any problems? Are you running just ESXi or vCenter as well?

      I have a 29000 III 2x Xeon 5410 that I would like to upgrade from 5.5, but have been worried as yours is the only post I have seen that states it has even been tried.

      Reply
      1. bendodge

        I would also like to hear the answer to this! I have an old 2900 with lots of disk space that I'd like to load up with oddball, low-traffic VM's.

        Reply
        1. Bonnve

          Hi,

          I have tried installing on HPDL380G5 Xeon Processor and it had pink screened. I have tried on other FUj S6 Servers and so far its ok. I havent linked to the Prod yet just as the standalone for now.

          Bonn

          Reply
      3. Jason Alquiza

        I've been running ESXi 6 on 3x PowerEdge 2900 servers with E5400 series Xeon CPUs for months. We have not identified any issues in ESXi and vCenter. We use several utilities to monitor and manage, and there has been no issue there as well.

        The E5400 is in the VMware Compatibility Guide, but the entire server is not listed. Dell support only lists up to ESXi 5.5, so we just used the Dell ESXi 6 image from newer servers.

        Reply
  24. dfosbenner

    I've been using a Dell PowerEdge T410 (Xeon E5620, PERC H700) with ESXi 6 for a week or so, no issues so far. I'd really like this series make the list.

    Reply
  27. fgrehl

    Removed because now listed at VMware HCL:

    Cisco UCS - B200 M2 Blade Server (Intel Xeon 56xx Series)
    Cisco UCS - B230 M2 Blade Server (Intel Xeon E7-28xx Series)
    Cisco UCS - B440 M2 Blade Server (Intel Xeon E7-48xx Series)
    IBM System x3755 M3 (AMD Opteron 6300 Series)
    IBM System x3755 M3 (AMD Opteron 6200 Series)
    IBM System x3690 X5 (Intel Xeon 65xx Series)
    IBM System x3690 X5 (Intel Xeon 75xx Series)
    IBM System x3690 X5 (Intel Xeon E7-2800 Series)
    IBM System x3690 X5 (Intel Xeon E7-4800 Series)
    IBM System x3690 X5 (Intel Xeon E7-8800 Series)

    Reply
      1. billy

        The BL460c G6 and the BL490c G7 are now listed in the HCL as supported. not sure when this happened. think the most needs an update as there might be more. cheers

        Reply
          1. billy

            and now they are no longer listed on VMware website. HP didn't believe me so i sent them the screenshots i took at the time. very frustrating!

  30. David

    As an addendum to your list, we have two HP Proliant DL580 G4's (with the latest BIOS - P59) and, per the VMWare PSOD, our 70xx family CPU's (dual core, quad socket) are "unsupported" for ESXi v6.0.

    Intel family 0x0f, model 0x06, stepping 0x8

    Reply
  32. Rickard Borgmäster

    Hey,

    It's always good to check back on the VMware HCL after a while. Before summer, our HP BL465c G7 was not listed as supported for ESXi 6.0, but now they are. Seems as it just took some time to take them thru the certification/support enablement process.

    Reply
  33. fgrehl

    Removed because now listed at VMware HCL:

    Cisco UCS - E140S M2 (Intel Xeon E3-1100-C-v2 Series)
    Cisco UCS - E160D M2 (Intel Xeon E5-2400-v2 Series)
    Cisco UCS - E180D M2 (Intel Xeon E5-2400-v2 Series)
    Cisco UCS - EN120S-M2 (Intel Pentium B925C)
    Cisco UCS - E140D M1 (Intel Xeon E5-2400 Series)
    Cisco UCS - E140DP M1 (Intel Xeon E5-2400 Series)
    Cisco UCS - E140S M1 (Intel Xeon E3-1100 Series)
    Cisco UCS - E160D M1 (Intel Xeon E5-2400 Series)
    Cisco UCS - E160DP M1 (Intel Xeon E5-2400 Series)
    Cisco UCS - B230 M2 Blade Server (Intel Xeon E7-48xx Series)

    DELL PowerEdge XC630-10 (Intel Xeon E5-2600-v3 Series)
    DELL PowerEdge XC730xd-12 (Intel Xeon E5-2600-v3 Series)
    DELL PowerEdge XC730xd-24 (Intel Xeon E5-2600-v3 Series)
    DELL PowerEdge R320 (Intel Xeon E5-1400-v2 Series)
    DELL PowerEdge T320 (Intel Xeon E5-1400-v2 Series)
    DELL PowerEdge R210-II (Intel Xeon E3-1200-v2 Series)
    DELL PowerEdge T110-II (Intel i3-2100 Series)
    DELL PowerEdge T110-II (Intel Xeon E3-1200-v2 Series)
    DELL PowerEdge R510 (Intel Xeon 55xx Series)
    DELL PowerEdge R510 (Intel Xeon 56xx Series)
    DELL PowerEdge R210-II (Intel i3-2100 Series)
    DELL PowerEdge R210-II (Intel Xeon E3-1200 Series)
    DELL PowerEdge T110-II (Intel Xeon E3-1200 Series)

    HP ProLiant ML350e Gen8 (Intel Xeon E5-2400 Series)
    HP ProLiant BL460c G6 (Intel Xeon 56xx Series)
    HP ProLiant BL465c G7 (AMD Opteron 61xx Series)
    HP ProLiant BL490c G7 (Intel Xeon 56xx Series)
    HP ProLiant DL360 G6 (Intel Xeon 55xx Series)
    HP ProLiant DL360 G6 (Intel Xeon 56xx Series)
    HP ProLiant DL380 G6 (Intel Xeon 55xx Series)
    HP ProLiant DL380 G6 (Intel Xeon 56xx Series)
    HP ProLiant BL465c G7 (AMD Opteron 6200 Series)

    IBM System x3550 M3 (Intel Xeon 55xx Series)
    IBM System x3650 M3 (Intel Xeon 55xx Series)
    IBM Flex System x280 X6 (Intel Xeon E7-8800/4800/2800-v2)
    IBM Flex System x480 X6 (Intel Xeon E7-8800/4800/2800-v2)
    IBM Flex System x880 X6 (Intel Xeon E7-8800/4800/2800-v2)
    IBM Flex System x222 (Intel Xeon E5-2400 Series)
    IBM System x3650 M4 BD (Intel Xeon E5-2600-v2 Series)
    IBM Bladecenter HS23 (Intel Xeon E5-2600-v2 Series)
    IBM Flex System x240 (PureFlex) (Xeon E5-2600-v2 Series)
    IBM System x iDataPlex dx360 M4 (Xeon E5-2600-v2 Series)
    IBM System x NextScale nx360 M4 (Xeon E5-2600-v2 Series)
    IBM BladeCenter HS22 (Intel Xeon 55xx Series)
    IBM BladeCenter HS22 (Intel Xeon 56xx Series)
    IBM BladeCenter HS22V (Intel Xeon 55xx Series)
    IBM BladeCenter HS22V (Intel Xeon 56xx Series)
    IBM BladeCenter HX5 (Intel Xeon 65xx Series)
    IBM BladeCenter HX5 (Intel Xeon 75xx Series)
    IBM System x3550 M3 (Intel Xeon 56xx Series)
    IBM System x3650 M2 (Intel Xeon 55xx Series)
    IBM System x3650 M3 (Intel Xeon 56xx Series)
    IBM System x iDataPlex dx360 M2 (Intel Xeon 55xx Series)
    IBM System x iDataPlex dx360 M3 (Intel Xeon 55xx Series)
    IBM System x iDataPlex dx360 M3 (Intel Xeon 56xx Series)
    IBM BladeCenter HX5 (Intel Xeon E7-2800 Series)
    IBM BladeCenter HX5 (Intel Xeon E7-4800 Series)
    IBM BladeCenter HX5 (Intel Xeon E7-8800 Series)
    IBM Bladecenter HS23 (Intel Xeon E5-2600 Series)
    IBM Flex System x220 (PureFlex) (Intel Xeon E5-2400 Series)
    IBM Flex System x240 (PureFlex) (Intel Xeon E5-2600 Series)
    IBM Flex System x440 (PureFlex) (Intel Xeon E5-4600 Series)
    IBM System x iDataPlex dx360 M4 (Intel Xeon E5-2600 Series)
    IBM BladeCenter HX5 (Intel Xeon 75xx Series)

    Lenovo ThinkServer RQ940 (Intel Xeon E7-8800/4800/2800-v2)
    Lenovo ThinkServer RD340 (Intel Xeon E5-2400-v2 Series)
    Lenovo ThinkServer RD440 (Intel Xeon E5-2400-v2 Series)
    Lenovo ThinkServer RD540 (Intel Xeon E5-2600-v2 Series)
    Lenovo ThinkServer RD640 (Intel Xeon E5-2600-v2 Series)
    Lenovo System x3850 X5 2 Node (Intel Xeon E7-8800 Series)

    Reply
    1. Rawl

      Where you can view that HP ProLiant BL465c G7 (AMD Opteron 6200 Series) is supported on vSphere 6.0??
      I don't found this information in the VMware Compatibility web.

      Thanks!

      Reply
  35. Rup Singh

    great post on this!
    I have IBM x3650 M5 - I don't see it on the VMware HCL list, nor can I find it on the IBM site - any idea about this server
    x3650 M5, Xeon 10C E5-2660v3

    Reply
    1. Anddy

      You can find HS22 under Lenovo and NOT under IBM.
      It has support for 6.0U2 and U3, but right now there is only a custom ISO from Lenovo with 6.0U2.

      Reply
  39. fgrehl

    I've completely updated the list. Now there are 177 Servers (up from 104).
    Please remember that servers from this list were supported in ESXi 5.5 U2 and are not supported in ESXi 6.0.

    Reply

  40. Pingback: VMware ESXi 6.0 – Unsupported Hardware (All Vendors) | Virten.net

  45. Rodrigo Peluffo

    I saw on a comment that ML350 G5 works... Do you know about ML350 G6?

    I am planning to buy one for lab and I would like to know if the installation completes and works properly..

    Reply
  46. Mile

    HP DL360 G5 works. Just use Vmware iso image (not HP), then add HP offline bundle drivers prior to 2014. No issues in two months lab setup.

    Reply
  47. Sam

    HP ML350 G6 works
    - Running ESXi 6.0
    - installed from VMware ISO image (not HP)
    - Local storage, with HP P410i array controller
    - Running from 6 months
    No issues.

    Reply

  48. Pingback: VCP6-DCV Objective 7.3 - Troubleshoot vSphere Upgrades - ESX Virtualization

  50. TooMeeK

    Hi, I own Supermicro with X5650 which is unsupported by 6.0.
    On bare metal host it simply doesn't dectect my onboard NICs, I cannot manage ESXi 6.0 hosts.
    However, I did simple trick - upgrade from 5.5 to 6.0 via command-line (see official Guide at https://kb.vmware.com/kb/2109711, esxcli) and it works as expected.. No missing drivers..

    Reply
  51. Roy

    Hi, please can anyone tell me, if it is possible to run ESXi 6 on a DELL PowerEdge 2950-III (Intel Xeon 54xx Series)? Especialy with the build in drivers for the Raid-Controller DELL PERC 6/i.
    Thank you
    Roy

    Reply
    1. fgrehl

      DELL PowerEdge 2950-III was supported in 5.5u3, which uses the same drivers as ESXi6. It's not supported, but it should work.

      Reply
  53. Giovanni Ruotolo

    Hello guys great job, I would like to ask you about, I would buy an HP ProLiant DL360 G6 with 72 gb memory to install windows with vmware workstation, then install 4 esxi 5.5 or 6.0 to create a host NSX laboratory for expert examination. Do you think it possible?

    Reply
    1. fgrehl

      This post only states that the DL360 G6 is not supported by VMware. That means, if you run it in production and you have a problem related to the hardware, VMware may not be able to help you. In no way it means that ESXi 6 does not work on the DL360 G6. I', pretty sure it does. If you just want to test NSX, you probably don't care about support, so everything fine with your idea. If you are completely new to NSX, maybe HOL is also a alterntive. (http://labs.hol.vmware.com/)

      Resources of you DL360 with 72GB Memory should be enough. I had a lab with 32GB Memory ;-)
      If possible, I would install ESXi on your DL360, not Windows with VMware Wokstation. This should perform better. If you don't want to use a second pc to manage everything, VMware Workstation should also work...

      Reply
      1. Giovanni Ruotolo

        Hello fgrehl
        Thanks for your prompt response, I have already taken the VCP6-NV certification and now I'm studying for the expert VCIX-NV.
        Laboratories (http://labs.hol.vmware.com/) are very useful, but I can't do some things with the VPN ssl and update end installation.
        So at a cost of around € 250 I had thought about buying DL360 with 72GB Memory install vmware workstation 12 to create 3 or 4 esxi ans connect them with the network router for build one lab.
        What you think ?

        Reply
        1. fgrehl

          Why not installing ESXi on the DL360 and run nested ESXi there? Running VMs on Nested ESXi hosts works a little bit better then running everything in VMware Workstation.
          Nested ESXi on the Free ESXi works great.

          technically, both solutions should work.

          Reply
          1. Giovanni Ruotolo

            You thanks for the advice, as I understand it you're telling me to install the software on HP servers esxi then inside the install a vm with windows where I install workstation then inside workstation install 4 esxi host?

            1. fgrehl

              Install ESXi on the Hardware. Then install 4 ESXi (and the NSX appliances) on the physical ESXi. No need for windows there, however you can install an additional Windows VM if you want...

                    1. Will

                      Connect to the host directly as root using there vSphere client (or host client via web if on 6.0 U2) then create the shell of a VM. load another ESXi instance nested inside (great for labs). enjoy!

            4. Robert

              Now saw, that the T420 is not in the Tower category at their Site, but it is there when you select "All systems". So it is officially supported.

              Reply

            Leave a Reply

            Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *