When you create a virtual machine or upgrade an existing virtual machine, you use the virtual machine compatibility setting to select the ESXi host versions that the virtual machine can run on.
The compatibility setting determines the virtual hardware available to the virtual machine, which corresponds to the physical hardware available on the host. Virtual hardware includes BIOS and EFI, available virtual PCI slots, maximum number of CPUs, maximum memory configuration, and other characteristics. New virtual hardware capabilities are typically released once a year with major or minor releases of vSphere.
Each virtual machine compatibility level supports at least five major or minor vSphere releases. For example, a virtual machine with ESXi 6.5 and later compatibility can run on ESXi 6.7, ESXi 6.7 Update 2, ESXi 7.0, ESXi 7.0 Update 1, ESXi 7.0 Update 2, ESXi 7.0 Update 3, ESXi 8.0, ESXi 8.0 Update 1, ESXi 8.0 Update 2, ESXi 8.0 Update 3.
| Compatibility | Description |
|---|---|
| ESXi 8.0 Update 2 and later | This virtual machine (hardware version 21) is compatible with ESXi 8.0 Update 2 and later. |
| ESXi 8.0 and ESXi 8.0 Update 1 | This virtual machine (hardware version 20) is compatible with ESXi 8.0, ESXi 8.0 Update 1, ESXi 8.0 Update 2, and ESXi 8.0 Update 3. |
| ESXi 7.0 Update 3 and later | This virtual machine (hardware version 19) is compatible with ESXi 7.0 Update 3, ESXi 8.0, ESXi 8.0 Update 1, ESXi 8.0 Update 2, ESXi 8.0 Update 3. |
| ESXi 7.0 Update 2 and later | This virtual machine (hardware version 19) is compatible with ESXi 7.0 Update 2, ESXi 7.0 Update 3, ESXi 8.0,ESXi 8.0 Update 1, ESXi 8.0 Update 2, and ESXi 8.0 Update 3. |
| ESXi 7.0 Update 1 and later | This virtual machine (hardware version 18) is compatible with ESXi 7.0 Update 1, ESXi 7.0 Update 2, ESXi 7.0 Update 3, ESXi 8.0, ESXi 8.0 Update 1, ESXi 8.0 Update 2, and ESXi 8.0 Update 3. |
| ESXi 7.0 and later | This virtual machine (hardware version 17) is compatible with ESXi 7.0, ESXi 7.0 Update 1, ESXi 7.0 Update 2, ESXi 7.0 Update 3, ESXi 8.0, ESXi 8.0 Update 1, ESXi 8.0 Update 2, and ESXi 8.0 Update 3. |
| ESXi 6.7 Update 2 and later | This virtual machine (hardware version 15) is compatible with ESXi 6.7 Update 2, ESXi 6.7 Update 3, ESXi 7.0, ESXi 7.0 Update 1, ESXi 7.0 Update 2, ESXi 7.0 Update 3, ESXi 8.0, ESXi 8.0 Update 1, ESXi 8.0 Update 2, and ESXi 8.0 Update 3. |
| ESXi 6.7 and later | This virtual machine (hardware version 14) is compatible with ESXi 6.7, ESXi 6.7 Update 2, ESXi 6.7 Update 3, ESXi 7.0, ESXi 7.0 Update 1, ESXi 7.0 Update 2, ESXi 7.0 Update 3, ESXi 8.0, ESXi 8.0 Update 1, ESXi 8.0 Update 2, and ESXi 8.0 Update 3. |
| ESXi 6.5 and later | This virtual machine (hardware version 13) is compatible with ESXi 6.5, ESXi 6.7, ESXi 6.7 Update 2, ESXi 6.7 Update 3, ESXi 7.0, ESXi 7.0 Update 1, ESXi 7.0 Update 2, ESXi 7.0 Update 3, ESXi 8.0, ESXi 8.0 Update 1, ESXi 8.0 Update 2, ESXi 8.0 Update 3. |
The compatibility setting that appears in the Compatible with drop-down menu is the default for the virtual machine that you are creating. The following factors determine the default virtual machine compatibility:
- The ESXi host version on which the virtual machine is created.
- The inventory object that the default virtual machine compatibility is set on, including a host, cluster, or data center.
You can accept the default compatibility or select a different setting. It is not always necessary to select the latest ESXi host version. Selecting an earlier version can provide greater flexibility and is useful in the following situations:
- To standardize testing and deployment in your virtual environment.
- If you do not need the capabilities of the latest host version.
- To maintain compatibility with older hosts.
When you create a virtual machine, consider the environment that the virtual machine runs in and weigh the benefits of different compatibility strategies. Consider your options for these scenarios, which demonstrate the flexibility inherent with each virtual machine compatibility selection.
| Objects in Environment | Compatibility | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Cluster with ESXi 6.5, ESXi 6.7, ESXi 7.0, ESXi 7.0 Update 1, ESXi 7.0 Update 2, ESXi 7.0 Update 3, ESXi 8.0, ESXi 8.0 Update 1, ESXi 8.0 Update 2, and ESXi 8.0 Update 3 hosts | ESXi 6.5 and later |
This virtual machine does not have all the capabilities available to virtual machines that run on ESXi 6.7 and later. |
| Cluster with ESXi 6.5, ESXi 6.7, ESXi 7.0, ESXi 7.0 Update 1, ESXi 7.0 Update 2, ESXi 7.0 Update 3, ESXi 8.0, ESXi 8.0 Update 1, ESXi 8.0 Update 2, and ESXi 8.0 Update 3 hosts | ESXi 6.7 and later |
This virtual machine does not have all the capabilities available to virtual machines that run on ESXi 7.0 and later. A virtual machine with such compatibility cannot run on ESXi 6.5. |
| Cluster with ESXi 6.5, ESXi 6.7, ESXi 7.0, ESXi 7.0 Update 1, ESXi 7.0 Update 2, ESXi 7.0 Update 3, ESXi 8.0, ESXi 8.0 Update 1, ESXi 8.0 Update 2, and ESXi 8.0 Update 3 hosts | ESXi 7.0 and later |
This virtual machine does not have all the capabilities available to virtual machines that run on ESXi 7.0 Update 1 and later. A virtual machine with such compatibility cannot run on ESXi 6.7 and earlier. |
| Cluster with ESXi 6.5, ESXi 6.7, ESXi 7.0, ESXi 7.0 Update 1, ESXi 7.0 Update 2, ESXi 7.0 Update 3, ESXi 8.0, ESXi 8.0 Update 1, ESXi 8.0 Update 2, and ESXi 8.0 Update 3 hosts | ESXi 7.0 Update 1 and later |
This virtual machine does not have all the capabilities available to virtual machines that run on ESXi 7.0 Update 2 and later. A virtual machine with such compatibility cannot run on ESXi 7.0 and earlier. |
| Cluster with ESXi 6.5, ESXi 6.7, ESXi 7.0, ESXi 7.0 Update 1, ESXi 7.0 Update 2, ESXi 7.0 Update 3, ESXi 8.0, ESXi 8.0 Update 1, ESXi 8.0 Update 2, and ESXi 8.0 Update 3 hosts | ESXi 7.0 Update 2 and later |
This virtual machine does not have all the capabilities available to virtual machines that run on ESXi 7.0 Update 3 and later. A virtual machine with such compatibility cannot run on ESXi 7.0 Update 1 and earlier. |
| Cluster with ESXi 6.5, ESXi 6.7, ESXi 7.0, ESXi 7.0 Update 1, ESXi 7.0 Update 2, ESXi 7.0 Update 3, ESXi 8.0, ESXi 8.0 Update 1, ESXi 8.0 Update 2, and ESXi 8.0 Update 3 hosts | ESXi 7.0 Update 3 and later |
This virtual machine does not have all the capabilities available to virtual machines that run on ESXi 8.0 and later. A virtual machine with such compatibility cannot run on ESXi 7.0 Update 2 and earlier. |
| Cluster with ESXi 6.5, ESXi 6.7, ESXi 7.0, ESXi 7.0 Update 1, ESXi 7.0 Update 2, ESXi 7.0 Update 3, ESXi 8.0, ESXi 8.0 Update 1, ESXi 8.0 Update 2, and ESXi 8.0 Update 3 hosts | ESXi 8.0 and later | This virtual machine does not have all the capabilities available to virtual machines that run on ESXi 8.0 Update 1 and later. A virtual machine with such compatibility cannot run on ESXi 7.0 Update 3 and earlier. |
| Cluster with ESXi 6.5, ESXi 6.7, ESXi 7.0, ESXi 7.0 Update 1, ESXi 7.0 Update 2, ESXi 7.0 Update 3, ESXi 8.0, ESXi 8.0 Update 1, ESXi 8.0 Update 2, and ESXi 8.0 Update 3 hosts | ESXi 8.0 Update 1 and later | This virtual machine does not have all the capabilities available to virtual machines that run on ESXi 8.0 Update 2 and later. A virtual machine with such compatibility cannot run on ESXi 8.0 and earlier. |
| Cluster with ESXi 6.5, ESXi 6.7, ESXi 7.0, ESXi 7.0 Update 1, ESXi 7.0 Update 2, ESXi 7.0 Update 3, ESXi 8.0, ESXi 8.0 Update 1, ESXi 8.0 Update 2, and ESXi 8.0 Update 3 hosts | ESXi 8.0 Update 2 and later | This provides access to the latest virtual hardware features and ensures best performance. However, a virtual machine with such compatibility cannot run on ESXi 6.5, ESXi 6.7, ESXi 7.0, ESXi 7.0 Update 1, ESXi 7.0 Update 2, ESXi 7.0 Update 3, ESXi 8.0, or ESXi 8.0 Update 1. |
| Cluster with ESXi 6.5, ESXi 6.7, ESXi 7.0, ESXi 7.0 Update 1, ESXi 7.0 Update 2, ESXi 7.0 Update 3, ESXi 8.0, ESXi 8.0 Update 1, ESXi 8.0 Update 2, and ESXi 8.0 Update 3 hosts | ESXi 8.0 Update 3 and later | This provides access to the latest virtual hardware features and ensures best performance. However, a virtual machine with such compatibility cannot run on ESXi 6.5, ESXi 6.7, ESXi 7.0, ESXi 7.0 Update 1, ESXi 7.0 Update 2, ESXi 7.0 Update 3, ESXi 8.0, ESXi 8.0 Update 1, or ESXi 8.0 Update 2. |
