6.5.1

The compatibility setting determines the virtual hardware available to the virtual machine, which
corresponds to the physical hardware available on the host. Virtual hardware includes BIOS and EFI,
available virtual PCI slots, maximum number of CPUs, maximum memory configuration, and other
characteristics. New virtual hardware capabilities are typically released once a year with major or minor
releases of vSphere.
Each virtual machine compatibility level supports at least five major or minor vSphere releases. For
example, a virtual machine with ESXi 3.5 and later compatibility can run on ESXi 3.5, ESXi 4.0, ESXi 4.1,
ESXi 5.0, ESXi 5.1, ESXi 5.5, ESXi 6.0, and ESXi 6.5.
Table 5‑1. Virtual Machine Compatibility Options
Compatibility Description
ESXi 6.5 and later This virtual machine (hardware version 13) is compatible with ESXi 6.5.
ESXi 6.0 and later This virtual machine (hardware version 11) is compatible with ESXi 6.0, and ESXi 6.5.
ESXi 5.5 and later This virtual machine (hardware version 10) is compatible with ESXi 5.5, ESXi 6.0, and ESXi 6.5.
ESXi 5.1 and later This virtual machine (hardware version 9) is compatible with ESXi 5.1, ESXi 5.5, ESXi 6.0, and
ESXi 6.5.
ESXi 5.0 and later This virtual machine (hardware version 8) is compatible with ESXi 5.0, ESXi 5.1, ESXi 5.5, ESXi
6.0, and ESXi 6.5.
ESX/ESXi 4.0 and later This virtual machine (hardware version 7) is compatible with ESX/ ESXi 4.0, ESX/ ESXi 4.1,
ESXi 5.0, ESXi 5.1, ESXi 5.5, ESXi 6.0, and ESXi 6.5.
ESX/ESXi 3.5 and later This virtual machine (hardware version 4) is compatible with ESX/ESXi 3.5, ESX/ ESXi 4.0,
ESX/ ESXi 4.1, ESXi 5.1, ESXi 5.5, ESXi 6.0, and ESXi 6.5. It is also compatible with VMware
Server 1.0 and later. ESXi 5.0 does not allow creation of virtual machines with ESX/ESXi 3.5
and later compatibility, but you can run such virtual machines if they were created on a host with
different compatibility.
ESX Server 2.x and later This virtual machine (hardware version 3) is compatible with ESX Server 2.x, ESX/ESXi 3.5,
ESX/ESXi 4.x, and ESXi 5.0. You cannot create, edit, turn on, clone, or migrate virtual machines
with ESX Server 2.x compatibility. You can only register or upgrade them.
The compatibility setting that appears in the Compatible with drop-down menu is the default for the
virtual machine that you are creating. The following factors determine the default virtual machine
compatibility:
n
The ESXi host version on which the virtual machine is created.
n
The inventory object that the default virtual machine compatibility is set on, including a host, cluster,
or datacenter.
You can accept the default compatibility or select a different setting. It is not always necessary to select
the latest ESXi host version. Selecting an earlier version can provide greater flexibility and is useful in the
following situations:
n
To standardize testing and deployment in your virtual environment.
n
If you do not need the capabilities of the latest host version.
n
To maintain compatibility with older hosts.
vSphere Virtual Machine Administration
VMware, Inc. 92