6.7

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 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.
The memory size must be a multiple of 4MB.
Table 5‑3. Maximum Virtual Machine Memory
Introduced in Host Version Virtual Machine Compatibility Maximum Memory Size
ESXi 6.7 ESXi 6.7 and later 6128GB
ESXi 6.5 ESXi 6.5 and later 6128GB
ESXi 6.0 ESXi 6.0 and later 4080GB
ESXi 5.5 ESXi 5.5 and later 1011GB
ESXi 5.1 ESXi 5.1 and later 1011GB
ESXi 5.0 ESXi 5.0 and later 1011GB
ESX/ESXi 4.x ESX/ESXi 4.0 and later 255GB
ESX/ESXi 3.x ESX/ESXi 3.5 and later 65532MB
The ESXi host version indicates when support began for the increased memory size. For example, the
memory size of a virtual machine with ESX/ESXi 3.5 and later compatibility running on ESXi 5.0 is
restricted to 65,532MB.
Prerequisites
Verify that you have the Virtual machine.Configuration.Memory privilege on the virtual machine.
Procedure
1 Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.
2 On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand Memory and change the memory configuration.
a In the Memory text box, type the amount of RAM to assign to the virtual machine or select one of
the suggested values from the drop-down menu.
b Select whether the memory is specified in MB or GB.
3 Click OK.
Allocate Memory Resources
You can change the amount of memory resources allocated to a virtual machine by using the shares,
reservations, and limits settings. The host determines the appropriate amount of physical RAM to allocate
to virtual machines based on these settings. You can assign a high or low shares value to a virtual
machine, depending on its load and status.
vSphere Virtual Machine Administration
VMware, Inc. 96