VMware Clarifies Microsoft SVVP Validation Status
September 25th, 2008 | 
Author: There has been an ongoing discussion this week about a possible limitation of VMware’s SVVP validation for Microsoft application support. I first heard about it from Scott Lowe’s post VMware ESX SVVP Apparently Limited. Scott wrote:
“According to this article, the validation is handled per CPU architecture, per memory configuration. So, apparently VMware ESX is validated on an AMD system with 4GB of RAM, but that’s about it.”
Scott asked his readers for additional information to back up the LeMagIT.fr article’s claim and if there was any knowledge of additional validation in the works by VMware. Apparently in response to the concerns of partners and customers, VMware sent an internal communication on this subject, and as of yesterday a couple of blogs have posted an explanation with details about the status of the SVVP validation. Chad Sakac, EMC (and VMware mothership) Senior Director, posted “SVVP – how does it work?” and Kenon Owens, VMware employee, posted “What’s the deal with SVVP“.
Bottom line is that VMware’s SVVP validation is solid and not a concern. Chad is so confident that he has made an open offer to any concerned VMware customers:
“OK – here’s the open offer – if you are a customer, and the only thing stopping you from adopting a joint VMware/EMC solution for your Microsoft apps is a specific gap on the SVVP that matches you, post your needed config as a response to this thread, I’ll work with VMware to get it up there.
I’m that sure that virtualizing wth VMware is the right thing for customers – I’ll get YOUR config tested. We do have experience on getting this sort of thing done fast.”
Of course Chad is asking for comments on his post and not mine. 
Check out the full posts linked above for the complete details, but I am keeping a cut and paste of the internal guidance response VMware has provided here at VM /ETC for quick reference. The Q&A format answers several popular questions about SVVP.
Microsoft now supports their server products on
VMware. This eliminates a significant barrier to adoption for many
prospective customers, and makes all our customers more confident about
deploying on VMware.You can see the list of certified hypervisors here. Products supported by Microsoft are here. The official support policy from Microsoft is here.
Since this policy change was announced, several questions have come up from VMware’s partners and customers:
1. What about Active Directory? Its not on the list.
a. Active Directory is a Server Role provided in Windows Server since Server 2000. This is similar to file services, print services, or other roles that are included in the operating system. All of these roles are supported under SVVP. Active Directory is fully supported
under SVVP.2. Why isn’t VMware certified with 64-bit versions of Windows?
a. Each SVVP run is a multi-day process. The tools provided by the qualification kit have not always worked as expected. We have worked through the learning curve, and are now doing SVVP runs continuously. We chose to certify the 32-bit version of the OS first in order to cover the large installed base of virtual machines that haven’t yet upgraded. 64-bit versions are in the queue and will begin to appear in the next few weeks. VMware ESX and ESXi products will both be supported.
3. Why isn’t ESXi certified?
a. As a new product, ESXi will be certified after ESX certification is complete. Our priorities have been placed on the larger number of users running ESX today.
4. What do the memory limits mean in the certification?
a. Certification is completed for a specific “maximum” virtual machine. The numbers shown are the biggest configuration that VMware has submitted for certification. These configurations will expand in the fourth quarter.
5. Why aren’t we certified with bigger memory limits in the virtual machine?
a. Our initial test runs were conservative to ensure that we fully understood the behavior of the qualification kit. We’re upgrading the servers soon to provide support for larger VMs. We plan to deliver certification for all our products at the maximum supportable memory limit with ESX 3.5 update 3. We will be re-certifying update 2 variants to increase the memory limit well beyond 4 GB early in the fourth quarter.
6. How long will it take for new product releases to be fully certified?
a. Our plan is to ensure that all SVVP certifications are complete within 60 days of product GA. We hope to significantly out-perform on this commitment if possible.
7. What does SVVP mean for hardware certification and the VMware HCL?
a. SVVP isn’t related to VMware’s HCL. Microsoft’s SVVP program demonstrates that a hypervisor runs Windows just like physical hardware, and is a requirement for Microsoft to offer support for Windows and other server products like they do on logoed hardware. VMware’s HCL remains the standard for determining what hardware is supported with VMware products.
8. I’ve still got questions about Microsoft support with VMware.
a. Ask your VMware representative or channel partner. VMware is happy to help you to understand the details and implications of this program, and how it helps you to deploy Microsoft products on VMware.
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