Officially Supported VMware Server 2.0 Guest Operating Systems
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In the world of VMware Server 2.0 there are both supported and unsupported guest operating systems. It is important to understand, however, that just because an operating system is not officially supported to run within a VMware Server virtual machine does not necessarily mean it will not actually work in this environment. It simply means that VMware, Inc. has not actually validated that it will work. In fact, the majority of operating systems missing from the officially supported list will actually run without any problems in VMware Server.
If the required guest operating system is not officially supported it is still worth trying to run it inside a VMware Server virtual machine. After all, when virtual machines can be created in minutes (and deleted in seconds if a test fails), there is little to lose in a little guest operating system experimentation.
Unsupported Linux Guest Operating Systems
There are many Linux distributions and versions freely available today, and as such it would be impossible for VMware to validate every single one. It is important to note, however, that even if a specific Linux guest operating system is not listed as being officially supported, it does not necessarily mean it will not run within VMware Server 2.0. In fact, it is usually sufficient to select the closest match from the list. In the case of unsupported Linux distributions, identify the kernel version (current mainstream versions are 2.4 and 2.6) and whether the operating system is 32-bit or 64-bit, and then make an appropriate selection from the Other Linux options. In most cases, the Linux distribution will run perfectly (or at least no less perfectly than a supported distribution) within the VMware Server virtual machine.
Officially Supported Guest Operating Systems
With the above information in mind, the following tables list the current officially supported VMware Server 2.0 guest operating systems:
Microsoft Windows (64-bit)
|
Microsoft Operating Systems (64-bit) |
Supported Versions |
|---|---|
|
Windows Server 2008 x64 |
Standard Edition, Enterprise Edition |
|
Windows Vista x64 |
Business Edition, Ultimate Edition |
|
Windows XP x64 |
|
|
Windows Server 2003 x64 Standard Edition |
SP1, SP2, R2 |
|
Windows Server 2003 x64 Web Edition |
SP1, SP2, R2 |
|
Windows Server 2003 x64 Enterprise Edition |
SP1, SP2, R2 |
Microsoft Windows (32-bit)
|
Microsoft Operating Systems (32-bit) |
Supported Versions |
|---|---|
|
Windows Server 2008 |
Standard Edition and Enterprise Edition |
|
Windows Vista |
Business Edition and Ultimate Edition |
|
Windows XP |
SP2 |
|
Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition |
SP1, SP2, R2 |
|
Windows Server 2003 Web Edition |
SP1, SP2, R2 |
|
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition |
SP1, SP2, R2 |
|
Windows Small Business Server 2003 Standard Edition |
R2 |
|
Windows Small Business Server 2003 Premium Edition |
R2 |
|
Windows 2000 Server |
SP3, SP4 |
|
Windows 2000 Advanced Server |
SP3, SP4 |
Linux Operating Systems (64-bit)
|
Linux Operating Systems (64-bit) |
Supported Versions |
|---|---|
|
Mandriva Linux 2006 |
|
|
Red Hat Enterprise Linux |
5.0, 5.1 |
|
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS |
4.5 |
|
Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES |
4.5 |
|
Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS |
4.5 |
|
SUSE Linux |
9.0, SP1, SP2, SP3 |
|
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server |
10, 10 SP1 |
|
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9.0 |
SP1, SP2, SP3, SP4 |
|
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop |
10, 10.1, 10.2 |
|
openSUSE |
10.2 |
|
Open Enterprise Server |
SP1, SP2 |
|
Ubuntu Linux |
8.04 7.10, 7.04, 6.10, 6.06, 5.10, 5.04 |
Linux Operating Systems (32-bit)
|
Linux Operating Systems (32-bit) |
Supported Versions |
|---|---|
|
Mandriva Linux |
2006, 10.1, 10.0, 9.x |
|
Red Hat Enterprise Linux |
5.1, 5.0 |
|
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS |
4.5 |
|
Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES |
4.5 |
|
Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS |
4.5 |
|
SUSE Linux |
9.0, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3 |
|
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server |
10, 10 SP1 |
|
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server |
9, SP1, SP2, SP3, SP4 |
|
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop |
10, 10.1, 10.2 |
|
openSUSE |
10.2 |
|
Open Enterprise Server |
SP1, SP2 |
|
Ubuntu Linux |
8.04, 7.10, 7.04, 6.10, 6.06, 5.10, 5.04 |
Sun Solaris
|
Sun Solaris Operating Systems |
Supported Versions |
|---|---|
|
Solaris 64-bit Platform Edition 10 |
update 3, update 4 |
|
Solaris 32-bit Platform Edition 10 |
update 3, update 4 |
Novell Netware
|
Novell Netware Operating Systems |
Supported Versions |
|---|---|
|
NetWare 6.x Server 32-bit |
6.5 SP6 |
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