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Confirming ESX/ESXi host hardware (System, Storage, and I/O) compatibility

Details

This article provides links to ESX/ESXi host Hardware Compatibility Documents (HCLs) so that you can verify your System, Storage, and I/O devices are on the VMware Certified and Supported Hardware Compatibility Lists.

Additionally, you can also verify if your systems and hardware require specific BIOS and firmware versions. If your System, Storage, or I/O devices are not listed or no specific BIOS or firmware versions are listed, contact your OEM or third party vendor for further verification and support.

Solution

VMware Hardware Compatibility Guides

Compare your hardware information with the VMware ESX Server Systems, I/O, and SAN Compatibility guides located at VMware Hardware Compatibility Guides. Review these lists to verify correct system BIOS and firmware levels.

If you have any additional questions, contact your OEM hardware vendor directly to verify that your hardware has the recommended BIOS and firmware versions for all hardware installed in your system and storage devices.

Confirming Hardware Compatibility

To confirm hardware compatibility:

Check the ESX/ESXi host for for host hardware info by running following command on ssh terminal as root:

#esxcfg-info | less -i

You see an output similar to:

|----Product Name.............................................ProLiant DL380 G6
|----Vendor Name..............................................Hewlett-Packard

Note: Log in to the ESXi host physical console using Tech Support Mode. For more information, see Tech Support Mode for Emergency Support (1003677).
Identify the SCSI shared storage devices by doing the following:

For ESX 3.x, run the command:

cat /proc/vmware/scsi/vmhba#/#:#

Note: The vmhba#/#:# represents the canonical name for the path. For more information, see Identifying disks when working with VMware ESX (1014953).

The output for ESX 3.x is similar to:

Vendor: DGC Model: RAID 5 Rev: 0324

For ESX 4.x, run the command:

esxcfg-scsidevs -l | egrep -i 'display name|vendor'

The output for ESX 4.0 is similar to:

Display Name: Local ServeRA Disk (mpx.vmhba0:C0:T0:L0)
Vendor: ServeRA Model: 8k-l Mirror Revis: V1.0
Run the following command from the ESX host service console to find additional peripherals and devices:

lspci -vvv

You see an output similar to:

02:0e.0 RAID bus controller: Dell Computer Corporation PowerEdge Expandable RAID Controller 4E/SI/DI (rev 06)
Subsystem: Dell Computer Corporation: Unknown device 016d
Flags: bus master, stepping, 66Mhz, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 24
Memory at d80f0000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=64K]
Memory at dfdc0000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256K]
Expansion ROM at dfe00000 [disabled] [size=128K]
Capabilities: [c0] Power Management version 2
Capabilities: [d0] Message Signalled Interrupts: 64bit+ Queue=0/1 Enable-
Capabilities: [e0] PCI-X non-bridge device.

06:07.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 8254NXX Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 05)
Subsystem: Dell Computer Corporation: Unknown device 016d
Flags: bus master, 66Mhz, medium devsel, latency 32, IRQ 25
Memory at dfae0000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=128K]
I/O ports at ecc0 [size=64]
Capabilities: [dc] Power Management version 2
Capabilities: [e4] PCI-X non-bridge device.

07:08.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 8254NXX Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 05)
Subsystem: Dell Computer Corporation: Unknown device 016d
Flags: bus master, 66Mhz, medium devsel, latency 32, IRQ 26
Memory at df8e0000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=128K]
I/O ports at dcc0 [size=64]
Capabilities: [dc] Power Management version 2
Capabilities: [e4] PCI-X non-bridge device.
Compare your hardware information to the VMware ESX Server Systems, I/O, and SAN Compatibility guides.

Update History

10/27/2011 - Added the -vvv option to the lspci command

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