Specifications

vCenter Server Software Requirements
Make sure that your operating system supports vCenter Server. vCenter Server requires a 64-bit operating
system, and the 64-bit system DSN is required for vCenter Server to connect to its database.
For a list of supported operating systems, see the VMware Compatibility Guide at
http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility. In the drop-down What are you looking for menu on
that page, select Host OS and use the selection boxes to find compatible operating systems for your version
of vCenter Server.
vCenter Server requires the Microsoft .NET 3.5 SP1 Framework. If it is not installed on your system, the
vCenter Server installer installs it. The .NET 3.5 SP1 installation might require Internet connectivity to
download more files.
NOTE If your vCenter Server host machine uses a non-English operating system, install both the
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 and Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Language Pack through Windows
Update. Windows Update automatically selects the correct localized version for your operating system.
The .NET Framework installed through the vCenter Server installer includes only the English version.
vCenter Server 5.5 removes support for Windows Server 2003 as a host operating system. See the VMware
Compatibility Guide at http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php.
vCenter Server 5.5 removes support for Windows Server 2008 SP1 as a host operating system. Upgrade
Windows Server 2008 SP1 hosts to SP2 before upgrading vCenter Server to version 5.5. See the VMware
Compatibility Guide at http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php and the Microsoft
Software Lifecycle Policy at http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/#ServicePackSupport.
If you plan to use the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Express database that is bundled with vCenter Server,
Microsoft Windows Installer version 4.5 (MSI 4.5) is required on your system. You can download MSI 4.5
from the Microsoft Web site. You can also install MSI 4.5 directly from the vCenter Server autorun.exe
installer.
The VMware vCenter Server Appliance can be deployed only on hosts that are running ESX version 4.x or
ESXi version 4.x or later.
vSphere Web Client Software Requirements
Make sure that your browser supports the vSphere Web Client.
VMware has tested and supports the following guest operating systems and browser versions for the
vSphere Web Client.
Table 2‑10. Supported guest operating systems and browser versions for the vSphere Web Client .
Operating system Browser
Windows 32-bit and 64-bit Microsoft Internet Explorer 8, 9 (64-bit only), and 10.
Mozilla Firefox: the latest browser version, and the one previous version at the time
the vSphere 5.5 is produced.
Google Chrome: the latest browser version, and the one previous version at the time
the vSphere 5.5 is produced.
Mac OS Mozilla Firefox: the latest browser version, and the one previous version at the time
the vSphere 5.5 is produced.
Google Chrome: the latest browser version, and the one previous version at the time
the vSphere 5.5 is produced.
vSphere Upgrade
22 VMware, Inc.