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Apple Mac Pro 5,1 now on VMware HCL for ESXi 5.5

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I was just informed yesterday that VMware HCL (Hardware Compatibility List) has been updated to  include the current Apple Mac Pro 5,1 as a supported platform for ESXi 5.5. The Apple Mac Pro was not originally listed and may have caused some confusion. This was a mistake on our part and luckily it has now been resolved.

The Apple Mac Pro 5,1 now supports the following versions of ESXi:

  • ESXi 5.1
  • ESXi 5.1 Update 1
  • ESXi 5.5

I know a few of you have asked about the upcoming Mac Pro (black circular one) and whether it would be certified for ESXi.

All I can say, it is something that we will look at once the new Mac Pro becomes generally available (VMware does not get early access to Apple hardware).

ESXi 5.1 Officially Certified on Apple Mac Pro

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If you are still trying to catch up with all the awesomeness that has been shared, blogged, tweeted, etc. about in the last 24hrs with the announcement of the new vCloud Suite 5.1 release, here is one additional tidbit to add to that list which you might not have heard about it. With the release of ESXi 5.1, the Apple Mac Pro is now officially supported!

I came across this little tidbit from some folks internally who have been working hard to get the Mac Pro platform certified and supported on ESXi. After the vCloud Suite went live, I did a quick search on the VMware HCL and sure enough, the Apple Mac Pro was listed with support for ESXi 5.1.

If you recall back when vSphere 5.0 was released, VMware introduced support for ESXi to run on Apple's XServe ... unfortunately, Apple had decided to announce it's EOL (End of Life) several months prior which made it difficult to purchase and rely on the XServe as a platform. The only way you could get your hands on an XServe is if you were one of the few who purchased them before the EOL date (I personally went through this) or you were willing to look on Ebay. Luckily, now with the latest release of ESXi 5.1, if you need to virtualize Mac OSX Server Virtual Machines and other guestOSes, you can do so using the Apple Mac Pro.