VMware vSphere has specific hardware preferences. This guide covers the best components for VMware hosts based on real-world performance data.
VMware Hardware Recommendations
Memory
- Use identical DIMMs across all slots for maximum bandwidth
- 32GB or 64GB RDIMM is the sweet spot for density vs cost
- LRDIMM for >768GB configurations
Network
- Minimum 10GbE for vMotion and storage traffic
- 25GbE recommended for vSAN and modern workloads
- Intel X710/XXV710 or Broadcom 57416 — best VMware driver support
Storage
- NVMe for vSAN cache tier
- SAS SSD for vSAN capacity tier
- BOSS card (Dell) or M.2 mirror for ESXi boot
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