vSphere 9 Compatibility

[cmaier]

Hi,

What should I keep in mind regarding Veeam's compatibility with VMware? I'm only familiar with the page https://www.veeam.com/kb2443, which unfortunately doesn't even mention version 13. The current version of vSphere is 9.0.2 - what does that mean? Is it version 9.0 U2, just as 8.0.3 is version 8.0 U3? Until now, we’ve always had to wait for Veeam to support a new U-version of vSphere. Is that the case here as well, or is 9.0.2 supported automatically?

[Dima P.]

Hello Christian,

The latest v13 supports the most recent vSphere versions. Please refer to the Veeam Backup & Replication 13 Release Notes for details.

Thank you for pointing out the KB article - we will fix it and update it to list the latest Veeam Backup & Replication version as well!

[tpayton]

KB2443 contains a table organized by vSphere Version, with a second column displaying the minimum Veeam Backup & Replication version required. This means that a new row is only added to that table when a new version of vSphere becomes supported.

Version 13 is not listed in the table on KB2443 because it does not introduce support for a new vSphere version that was not previously supported.

As noted in the text under the column name "The maximum version for this table is always the most recent version of Veeam Backup & Replication." Therefore, when Veeam Backup & Replication version 13 was released, all entries related to vSphere 6.x were relocated from the primary table to the "Previously Supported vSphere Versions" section of the article, as v13 dropped support for vSphere 6.x.

[cmaier]

@Tyler
So, for v13 the note "Presently, 4K native (4Kn) disks are not supported." is still true?

Apart from that, I’ve asked a few more questions about the U versions of VMware and Veeam’s automatic support. Those are still unanswered. vSphere 9.1 is now available—what does that mean? Is it a vSphere 9 U1, similar to how there were previously 8.0 U2 (8.0.2) and 8.0 U3 (8.0.3)? Or is it more like version 6.x, when there were separate major releases 6.0, 6.5, and 6.7? I still believe that KB2443 should provide some clearer explanations. That’s why I specifically asked about 9.0.2 and what it means. 9.0 U2 or just a minor patch for 9.0?

[Mildur]

Every 9.0.x is supported.
V9.1.x is not supported yet. We plan to support it with our v13.1 release.

@tpayton
We should update the KB to reflect the new version number format from vSphere. It changed with v9.

Best,
Fabian

[tpayton]

So, for v13 the note "Presently, 4K native (4Kn) disks are not supported." is still true?

Yes, as indicated in the user guide:

• Veeam Backup & Replication does not support the protection of workloads with 4K native disks (disks with 4096 bytes logical sector size).

I've updated the entry in the KB to add a hyperlink to this page for the keywords "not supported."

Apart from that, I’ve asked a few more questions about the U versions of VMware and Veeam’s automatic support. Those are still unanswered. vSphere 9.1 is now available—what does that mean? Is it a vSphere 9 U1, similar to how there were previously 8.0 U2 (8.0.2) and 8.0 U3 (8.0.3)? Or is it more like version 6.x, when there were separate major releases 6.0, 6.5, and 6.7? I still believe that KB2443 should provide some clearer explanations. That’s why I specifically asked about 9.0.2 and what it means. 9.0 U2 or just a minor patch for 9.0?

The table has been updated to specify 9.0.x to clarify supported versions. Also, to hopefully reduce confusion about those U versions, I've updated them so that, for example, the "8.0 U3" entry now reads "8.0.3 (U3)" to clarify that anything beginning with 8.0.3 is covered.

Thank you for your feedback!

[cmaier]

Thanks, I think it's much better understandable now.