You can reconfigure the amount of memory allocated to a virtual machine to enhance performance.

Minimum memory size is 4 MB for virtual machines that use BIOS firmware. Virtual machines that use EFI firmware require at least 96 MB of RAM or they cannot power on.

Maximum memory size for virtual machines that use BIOS firmware is 24560 GB. You must use EFI firmware for virtual machines with memory size greater than 6128 GB.

Maximum memory size for a virtual machine depends on the physical memory of the ESXi host and the virtual machine compatibility settings.

If the virtual machine memory is greater than the host memory size, swapping occurs, which can have a severe effect on virtual machine performance. The maximum for best performance represents the threshold above which the physical memory of the ESXi host is insufficient to run the virtual machine at full speed. This value fluctuates as conditions on the host change, for example, as virtual machines are powered on or off.

The memory size must be a multiple of 4 MB.

Table 1. Maximum Virtual Machine Memory
Introduced in Host Version Virtual Machine Compatibility Maximum Memory Size
ESXi 7.0 Update 3 ESXi 7.0 Update 3 and later 24560 GB
ESXi 7.0 Update 2 ESXi 7.0 Update 2 and later 24560 GB
ESXi 7.0 Update 1 ESXi 7.0 Update 1 and later 24560 GB
ESXi 7.0 ESXi 7.0 and later 6128 GB
ESXi 6.7 Update 2 ESXi 6.7 Update 2 and later 6128 GB
ESXi 6.7 ESXi 6.7 and later 6128 GB
ESXi 6.5 ESXi 6.5 and later 6128 GB
ESXi 6.0 ESXi 6.0 and later 4080 GB

The ESXi host version indicates when support began for the increased memory size. For example, the memory size of a virtual machine with ESXi 6.0 and later compatibility running on ESXi 6.5 is restricted to 4080 GB.

Prerequisites

Verify that you have the Virtual machine.Configuration.Change Memory privilege on the virtual machine.

Procedure

  1. Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.
  2. On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand Memory and change the memory configuration.
    1. In the Memory text box, enter the amount of RAM to assign to the virtual machine.
    2. Select whether the memory is specified in MB, GB or TB.
  3. Click OK.