Update Manager works with specific databases and operating systems.

The Update Manager server requires a 64-bit Windows system.

To see a list of the supported Windows operating systems on which you can install the Update Manager server and the UMDS, see Supported host operating systems for VMware vCenter Server installation. The supported Windows operating systems for vCenter Server installation listed in the article also apply for installation of the respective versions of the Update Manager server and the Update Manager Download Service (UMDS).

Note: Make sure the Windows system on which you are installing the Update Manager server is not an Active Directory domain controller.

The Update Manager server that you install on Windows requires a SQL Server or an Oracle database. Update Manager can handle small-scale environments using the bundled in the installer SQL Server 2012 Express database. For environments with more than 5 hosts and 50 virtual machines, create either an Oracle or a SQL Server database for Update Manager. For large-scale environments, set up the Update Manager database on a different computer than the Update Manager server and the vCenter Server database.

To see the list of database formats that are compatible with the Update Manager server and UMDS, click the Solution/Database Interoperability tab on the VMware Product Interoperability Matrix page at http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/sim/interop_matrix.php. From the Select a Solution drop-down menu, select VMware vSphere Update Manager and click the Check Compatibility button.