6.5.1

Hardware Requirements for vCenter Server and
Platform Services Controller on Windows
When you install vCenter Server or Platform Services Controller on a virtual machine or physical server
running Microsoft Windows, your system must meet specific hardware requirements.
You can install vCenter Server and the Platform Services Controller on the same virtual machine or
physical server or on different virtual machines or physical servers. When you install vCenter Server with
an embedded Platform Services Controller, you install vCenter Server and the
Platform Services Controller on the same virtual machine or physical server. When you install the
vCenter Server with an external Platform Services Controller, first install the Platform Services Controller
that contains all of the required services on one virtual machine or physical server, and then install
vCenter Server and the vCenter Server components on another virtual machine or physical server.
Note Installing vCenter Server on a network drive or USB flash drive is not supported.
Table 4‑1. Minimum Recommended Hardware Requirements for Installing vCenter Server and
Platform Services Controller on Windows
Platform Services
Controller
vCenter
Server with
an
Embedded
or External
Platform
Services
Controller
for a Tiny
Environment
(up to 10
Hosts, 100
Virtual
Machines)
vCenter
Server with
an
Embedded
or External
Platform
Services
Controller
for a Small
Environment
(up to 100
Hosts, 1000
Virtual
Machines)
vCenter
Server with
an
Embedded
or External
Platform
Services
Controller
for a Medium
Environment
(up to 400
Hosts, 4,000
Virtual
Machines)
vCenter
Server with
an
Embedded
or External
Platform
Services
Controller
for a Large
Environment
(up to 1,000
Hosts,
10,000
Virtual
Machines)
vCenter Server
with an
Embedded or
External
Platform Services
Controller for X-
Large
Environment (up
to 2,000 Hosts,
35,000 Virtual
Machines)
Number of
CPUs
2 2 4 8 16 24
Memory 4 GB RAM 10 GB RAM 16 GB RAM 24 GB RAM 32 GB RAM 48 GB RAM
Note If you want to add an ESXi host with more than 512 LUNs and 2,048 paths to the vCenter Server
inventory, your vCenter Server instance must be suitable for a large or x-large environment.
For the hardware requirements of your database, see the database documentation. The database
requirements are in addition to the vCenter Server requirements if the database and vCenter Server run
on the same machine.
Storage Requirements for vCenter Server and
Platform Services Controller on Windows
When you install vCenter Server, your system must meet minimum storage requirements.
vSphere Installation and Setup
VMware, Inc. 276