6.0.1

Table Of Contents
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BusLogic Parallel controllers do not support virtual machines with disks larger than 2TB.
CAUTION Changing the controller type after the guest operating system is installed will make the disk and
any other devices connected to the adapter inaccessible. Before you change the controller type or add a new
controller, make sure that the guest operating system installation media contains the necessary drivers. On
Windows guest operating systems, the driver must be installed and configured as the boot driver.
Storage Controller Compatibility
Adding different types of storage controllers to virtual machines that use BIOS firmware can cause
operating system boot problems. In the following cases, the virtual machine might fail to boot correctly and
you might have to enter the BIOS setup and select the correct boot device:
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If the virtual machine boots from LSI Logic SAS or VMware Paravirtual SCSI, and you add a disk that
uses BusLogic, LSI Logic, or AHCI SATA controllers.
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If the virtual machine boots from AHCI SATA, and you add BusLogic Parallel or LSI Logic controllers.
Adding additional disks to virtual machines that use EFI firmware does not cause boot problems.
Table 64. VMware Storage Controller Compatibility
Existing
Controller Added Controller
BusLogic
Parallel LSI Logic
LSI Logic
SAS
VMware
Paravirtual
SCSI AHCI SATA IDE
BusLogic
Parallel
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
LSI Logic Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
LSI Logic SAS Requires BIOS
setup
Requires BIOS
setup
Usually
Works
Usually
Works
Requires BIOS
setup
Yes
VMware
Paravirtual
SCSI
Requires BIOS
setup
Requires BIOS
setup
Usually
Works
Usually
Works
Requires BIOS
setup
Yes
AHCI SATA Requires BIOS
setup
Requires BIOS
setup
Yes Yes Yes Yes
IDE Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes N/A
Add a SATA Controller
If a virtual machine has multiple hard disks or CD/DVD-ROM devices, you can add up to three additional
SATA controllers to assign the devices to. When you spread the devices among several controllers, you can
improve performance and avoid data traffic congestion. You can also add additional controllers if you
exceed the thirty-device limit for a single controller.
You can boot virtual machines from SATA controllers and use them for large-capacity virtual hard disks.
Not all guest operating systems support AHCI SATA controllers. Typically, when you create virtual
machines with ESXi 5.5 and later compatibility and Mac OS X guest operating systems, a SATA controller is
added by default for the virtual hard disk and CD/DVD-ROM devices. Most guest operating systems,
including Windows Vista and later have a default SATA controller for CD/DVD-ROM devices. To verify
support, see the VMware Compatibility Guides at http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility.
Prerequisites
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Verify that the virtual machine compatibility is ESXi 5.5 and later.
vSphere Virtual Machine Administration
126 VMware, Inc.