Officially Supported VMware Server 2.0 Guest Operating Systems

In the world of VMware Server 2.0 there are supported and unsupported guest operating systems. it is important to understand, however, that just because an opearing systems is not officially supported to run within a VMware Server virtual machine does not necessarily mean it will not actually work in this environment. 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 virtual machine. After all, when virtual machine can be created in minutes and deleted in seconds, there is little to lose in experimenting.

Unsupported Linux Guest Operating Systems

There are many Linux distributions 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, 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 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 aboveinformation 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