6.0

If the virtual machine memory is greater than the host memory size, swapping occurs, which can have a
severe effect on virtual machine performance. The memory size must be a multiple of 4 MB. The maximum
for best performance represents the threshold above which the host’s physical memory is insufficient to run
the virtual machine at full speed. This value fluctuates as conditions on the host change, for example, as
virtual machines are powered on or off.
Table 10‑1. Maximum Virtual Machine Memory
Introduced in Host Version Virtual Machine Version Maximum Memory Size
ESXi 6.0 11 4080 GB
ESXi 5.5 10 1011 GB
ESXi 5.1 9 1011 GB
ESXi 5.0 8 1011 GB
ESX/ESXi 4.x 7 255 GB
ESX/ESXi 3.x 4 65,532 MB
The ESXi host version indicates when support began for the increased memory size. For example, the
memory size of a version 7 virtual machine that is running on ESXi 5.0 is restricted to 255 GB.
Procedure
1 On the Memory page of the New Virtual Machine wizard, select a size for the virtual memory.
You can use the slider or use the up and down arrows to select the number. To access the predefined
default or recommended setting, click the colored triangles on the right side of the memory bar.
2 Click Next.
The Network page opens.
What to do next
Select network adapters for the virtual machine.
Configure Networks in the vSphere Client
You can select the virtual network interface cards (NICs) to create on the virtual machine so that the virtual
machine can communicate with other hosts and virtual machines. For each NIC, select the network and
adapter type.
CAUTION Because virtual machines share their physical network hardware with the host, the accidental or
malicious bridging of two networks by a virtual machine can occur. Spanning Tree protocol cannot protect
against these occurrences.
You can select only four NICs during virtual machine creation. You can add more virtual NICs by selecting
Edit the virtual machine settings before completion on the Ready to Complete page of the wizard, or by
editing the virtual machine after it is created.
For more information about networking, see the vSphere Networking documentation.
Procedure
1 On the Network page of the New Virtual Machine wizard, select the number of NICs to connect from
the drop-down menu.
Chapter 10 Creating a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Client
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