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Processors and guest operating systems that support VMware Fault Tolerance

Details

VMware Fault Tolerance (FT) requires specific processors (CPUs) and guest operating systems.
 

Solution

Processors 

VMware collaborated with AMD and Intel in providing an efficient VMware FT capability on modern x86 processors. The collaboration required changes in both the performance counter architecture and virtualization hardware assists of both Intel and AMD and these have been included in all processors launched since early 2008.

Download the VMware SiteSurvey (http://www.vmware.com/download/shared_utilities.html ) utility to check if your configuration can run VMware FT.  

For VMware FT to be supported, the servers that host the virtual machines must use compatible processors selected from the categories as documented below. Processors within the same category are always compatible with each other. Note that AMD Opteron Barcelona processors are not compatible with Intel processors.
 
Intel Xeon Penryn Category:
  • 31xx Series
  • 33xx Series
  • 52xx Series 
  • 54xx Series
  • 74xx Series

Intel Xeon Nehalem Category:

  • 34xx Series (Lynnfield)
  • 35xx Series
  • 55xx Series
  • 65xx Series
  • 75xx Series

Intel Xeon Westmere Category:

  • 34xx Series (Clarkdale)
  • 36xx Series 
  • 56xx Series
  • E7-28xx Series
  • E7-48xx Series
  • E7-88xx Series
  • i3/i5 (Clarkdale)

 Intel Xeon Sandy Bridge Category 1:

  • E3-12xx Series

 Intel Xeon Sandy Bridge Category 2:

  • i3-21xx Series
AMD Opteron Barcelona Category:
  • 13xx Series
  • 23xx and 24xx Series (DP)
  • 41xx Series
  • 61xx Series
  • 83xx and 84xx Series (MP)
For a processor to be supported by vSphere Fault Tolerance, the Primary VM and Secondary VM must both be running on a version of ESX/ESXi that supports the processor. See http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility for more information.
 

Guest Operating Systems

The following table displays guest operating system support for VMware FT. For specific guest operating system version information, see the Guest Operating System Installation Guide at http://www.vmware.com/pdf/GuestOS_guide.pdf.
 
Note: A virtual machine can be FT-enabled while powered on only if marked with "ON" in the following table. The processor types that support this are also listed. Otherwise, the virtual machine must be powered off before FT is enabled.
 
 
Guest Operating System
Notes or Limitations
 
Windows 7
ON-Penryn
Requires VMware vSphere 4.0 Update 1 or greater.
Windows Server 2008
ON-Penryn
Windows Vista
ON-Penryn
Windows Server 2003 (64 bit)
ON-Penryn
Windows Server 2003 (32 bit)
ON-Penryn
Requires Service Pack 2 or greater when AMD Opteron Barcelona processor type is used.
Windows XP (64 bit)
ON-Penryn
Windows XP (32 bit)
ON-Penryn
AMD Opteron Barcelona processor type is not supported.
Windows 2000 AMD Opteron Barcelona processor type is not supported.
Windows NT 4.0 AMD Opteron Barcelona processor type is not supported.
Linux (all ESX-supported distributions)
ON-Penryn
Netware Server n/a
Solaris 10 (64-bit)
ON-Penryn
Requires Solaris U1 when AMD Barcelona processor type is used.
Solaris 10 (32-bit)
ON-Penryn
AMD Opteron Barcelona processor type is not supported.
FreeBSD (all ESX-supported distributions)
ON-Penryn
 
 
Note: System vendors are certifying that their systems work with FT. You can find details on the FT-certified systems at http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility. More systems are being certified all the time, so check back if your platform is not currently listed.
You can also check processor, operating system, and virtual machine configuration compliance with FT by downloading and running the VMware SiteSurvey utility from http://www.vmware.com/download/shared_utilities.html. It highlights compliance issues and describes how to correct them.
 
For more information about VMware Fault Tolerance, refer to the article: VMware Fault Tolerance FAQ (1013428)

Keywords

FT; Fault Tolerance; VMware Fault Tolerance; ESX; ESXi; processor; Guest Operating System; requirements

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