NSX compatibility with E5-1620

[ovaisvm99]

Dear Experts,

I am considering below configuration for my home lab of NSX. I am just starting out and need a physical server to do the stuff so please guide me if below configuration is good to start with

HP workstation : z420

Processor : E5-1620 (single)

RAM: 32 GB (can expand to 64 GB)

HDD: 1 TB

I am total beginner so dont know if NSX is dependent on the processor at all.

[Sree]

NSX-v doesn't demand a specific CPU model ( Except optional features likes AESNI) , to build lab and test ,a supported Server platform is enough.Sometimes a unsupported hardware might also work :smileywink:.You may please double check VMware HCL with respective ESXI version to confirm server is supported.

VMware Compatibility Guide - System Search .

If you are testing NSX-T there are few CPU requirements that you should be aware of.

System Requirements

[ovaisvm99]

Dear Sreec,

i have checked and E5-1600 series is supported so i am guessing 1620 is supported. Also in case of AESNI, how do i check which server is compatible?

[Sree]

Well NSX Edge Functionality is intact irrespective of CPU is AESNI capable or not. It is just a offload functionality ,basically all the encryption ciphers and hashes used by NSX Edge can benefit from AES-NI. Most of the modern CPU/BIOS have this functionality. I'm not sure if there is a single command to check the feature , but i strongly believe in the esxi boot logs it will show. Also you can check in below links

Intel® Product Specifications  -> Select the right CPU model

For eg ->Intel® Xeon® Processor E7-8893 v3 (45M Cache, 3.20 GHz) Product Specifications  , security sections shows AES is supported.