VMware: SATA Controller Support in ESX 3.5 (1008673)
ESX 3.5 supports multiple SATA controllers. Some of these controllers are supported only in the native Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI)/SATA mode with SATA hard-drive, and some are only supported in IDE/ATA mode with SATA Optical Drive. For other controllers, VMware provides support in AHCI/SATA or IDE/ATA mode on both types of drives, but you need to be aware of certain feature limitations and trade-offs associated with each mode. 
ESX 3.5 Update 3 introduced support for two new SATA Controllers:
- Broadcom HT1000
- Intel ICH-7
ESX 3.5 Update 4 added support for the following SATA controllers:
- Intel ICH-9
- Intel ICH-10
|
Controller |
Mode support |
Support SATA hard drive and SSD Disk |
Support SATA Optical Drive (CD or DVD) |
Hard drive VMFS Support |
|
Broadcom HT 1000 |
AHCI/SATA mode only |
Yes |
No |
No |
|
Intel ICH-7 |
IDE/ATA mode only |
No |
Yes |
N/A since there is no hard drive support |
|
Intel ICH-9 |
Both |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes, only in AHCI/SATA mode |
|
Intel ICH-10 |
Both |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes, only in AHCI/SATA mode |
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