Operating systems in Skytap VMs

Skytap VMs should be able to run all the operating systems listed on this page. Some are no longer supported by the operating system developer. For those operating systems that have reached end of support, Skytap is not able to escalate OS-level issues to the operating system developer.

Notes

  • Skytap doesn't provide support for the operating systems themselves.
  • Some of the operating systems listed here may not be displayed in the Skytap interface.

VM operating systems

Skytap supports FreeBSD, Linux, NetWare, Solaris, VMware, Windows, AIX, and Linux on Power for virtual machines.

See the operating system developer documentation for the most up-to-date product lifecycle information.

The following tables display the operating systems that should be able to run in Skytap VMs, including OS version, VMware hardware version (if applicable), and CPU type.

SupportedThe operating system should run in a Skytap VM. Security patches and other updates are still being developed by the operating system developer. Contact Skytap Support to escalate OS-level issues.
Unsuported but permittedThe operating system is permitted to run in a Skytap VM, but Skytap is unable to support guest OS issues; no security updates or patches are available. Skytap is not able to escalate OS-level issues to the operating system developer.

You can still contact Skytap Support for infrastructure-level issues.

UnsupportedThe operating system is unspported on Skytap infrastructure.

x86 Operating Systems

Operating SystemCPU TypeHW version
FreeBSDSupport status
FreeBSD32-bit64-bit1110987
Operating SystemCPU TypeHW version
AsianuxSupport status
Asianux 3 32-bit64-bit1110987
Asianux 4 32-bit64-bit111098
Asianux 5 64-bit11
CentOS
CentOS 4 32-bit64-bit1110987
CentOS 5 32-bit64-bit1110987
CentOS 6 32-bit64-bit111098
CentOS 7 32-bit64-bit1110
CentOS 8 32-bit64-bit11
Debian GNU/Linux
Debian GNU/Linux 4 32-bit64-bit1110987
Debian GNU/Linux 5 32-bit64-bit1110987
Debian GNU/Linux 6 32-bit64-bit111098
Debian GNU/Linux 7 32-bit64-bit1110
Debian GNU/Linux 8 32-bit64-bit11
Oracle Linux
Oracle Linux 4 32-bit64-bit1110987
Oracle Linux 5 32-bit64-bit1110987
Oracle Linux 6 32-bit64-bit1110987
Oracle Linux 7 64-bit1110987
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 32-bit 1110987
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 32-bit64-bit1110987
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 32-bit64-bit1110987
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 32-bit64-bit1110987
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 32-bit64-bit11109
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 32-bit 109
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 64-bit11109
SUSE Enterprise Linux
SUSE Enterprise Linux 8 32-bit64-bit1110987
SUSE Enterprise Linux 9 32-bit64-bit1110987
SUSE Enterprise Linux 10 32-bit64-bit1110987
SUSE Enterprise Linux 11 32-bit64-bit1110987
SUSE Enterprise Linux 12 32-bit 109
SUSE Enterprise Linux 12 64-bit11109
Ubuntu Linux
Ubuntu Linux 32-bit64-bit1110987
Operating System HW version
NetWareSupport status
NetWare 5.11110987
NetWare 6.x1110987
Operating System CPU TypeHW version
Sun Microsystems Solaris Support status
Sun Microsystems Solaris 81110987
Sun Microsystems Solaris 91110987
Oracle Solaris Support status
Oracle Solaris 10 32-bit64-bit1110987
Oracle Solaris 11 64-bit111098
Operating SystemHW version
VMwareSupport status
ESX 4.x 111098
ESXi 5.x111098
ESXi 6 11
ESXi 6.511
Operating SystemCPU TypeHW version
Windows ServerSupport status
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server 32-bit 1110987
Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 32-bit 1110987
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 32-bit64-bit1110987
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Data Center32-bit64-bit1110987
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Standard 32-bit64-bit1110987
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Web Edition32-bit 1110987
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 32-bit64-bit1110987
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit1110987
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 64-bit111098
Microsoft Windows Server 2016 64-bit1110
Microsoft Windows Server 2019 64-bit1110
Microsoft Windows Server 2022 64-bit1110
Windows DesktopSupport status
Microsoft Windows 2000 32-bit 1110987
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional 32-bit 1110987
Microsoft Windows XP Professional 32-bit64-bit1110987
Microsoft Windows Vista 32-bit64-bit1110987
Microsoft Windows 7 32-bit64-bit1110987
Microsoft Windows 8 32-bit64-bit111098
Microsoft Windows 10 32-bit64-bit1110
Microsoft Windows 11 64-bit

Power Operating Systems

Operating SystemCPU Type
IBM i Power 9 Power 10
V7R1M0 (7.1)
V7R2M0 (7.2)
V7R3M0 (7.3)
V7R4M0 (7.4)
V7R5M0 (7.5)
V7R6M0 (7.6)
Operating SystemCPU Type
AIX Power 9 Power 10
6100-08 (AIX 6.1 TL8)
6100-09 (AIX 6.1 TL9)
7100-02 (AIX 7.1 TL2)
7100-03 (AIX 7.1 TL3)
7100-04 (AIX 7.1 TL4)
7100-05 (AIX 7.1 TL5)
7200-00 (AIX 7.2 TL0)
7200-01 (AIX 7.2 TL1)
7200-02 (AIX 7.2 TL2)
7200-03 (AIX 7.2 TL3)
7200-04 (AIX 7.2 TL4)
7200-05 (AIX 7.2 TL5)
7300-00 (AIX 7.3 TL0)
7300-01 (AIX 7.3 TL1)
7300-02 (AIX 7.3 TL2)
7300-03 (AIX 7.3 TL3)
Operating System CPU Type
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (Power)Power 9Power 10
7
8.0
8.1
8.2
8.3
8.4
8.5
8.6
8.7
8.8
8.9
8.10
9.0
8.1
9.2
9.3
9.4
9.5
9.6
10
Operating SystemCPU Type
SUSE Enterprise Server (Power)Power 9Power 10
11
12
15.0
15.1
15.2
15.3
15.4
15.5
15.6
15.7
Operating System CPU Type
Ubuntu Server (Power)Power 9 Power 10
21
22.04
22.04.1
22.04.2
22.04.3
22.04.4
22.04.5
22.10
23.04
23.10
24.04
24.04.1
24.10
25.04

Notes

  • Skytap provides some VMs with pre-installed operating systems in the public template library. Skytap also provides blank public templates for Windows, Linux, AIX, and IBM i that you can customize to meet your needs. To bring your own licensed x86 or Power VMs into Skytap, see our import tools.
  • Standard Edition licensing for AIX is included with your Skytap subscription. For other OS license requirements, see Licensing the guest OS.

Operating systems that won’t run in Skytap VMs

There are some operating systems that aren’t able to run in Skytap VMs.

  • macOS (OS X) – Skytap can’t support macOS as a guest operating system on any virtual machine, because of Apple’s license agreement and hardware requirements.
  • OEM operating systems – OEM versions of operating systems (such as a Dell installation of Windows) generally won’t run on Skytap VMs. OEM operating systems require specific hardware and come pre-loaded with proprietary drivers. You may experience issues if you use a VM conversion tool (such as VMware Converter) to convert a physical machine with an OEM OS to a virtual machine and import it into Skytap. Some users have found workarounds on the Internet to force VMware to load the BIOS of the original OEM machine. These workarounds aren’t supported by VMware or by Skytap. If you attempt to import a VM containing these types of VMX alteration lines, the Skytap VM Import tool removes them.