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Server Virtualization Validation Program

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The information provided by the Microsoft Application Support Policy is for guidance purposes only. Please visit the Products listing to review the latest information available

Technical Support for Validated Configurations

Technical support will be available for customers running a supported Windows Server operating system on a validated virtualization solution through Microsoft's technical support channels, if the Microsoft customer is running copies of Windows Server they have acquired and licensed from Microsoft directly. SVVP does not apply to vendors that are hosting Windows Server or other Microsoft products through the Microsoft Service Provider License Agreement Program (SPLA). Support for SPLA customers is provided under the SPLA agreement by the SPLA hoster. Customers can deploy the solutions that are included in the program and expect to receive operating system support from either Microsoft or the virtualization vendor.

In order to receive technical support customers must meet the baseline requirements:

  • Microsoft operating system that is currently covered by the program:
    • Windows Server 2022
    • Windows Server 2019
    • Windows Server 2016
    • Windows Server 2012 R2
    • Windows Server 2012
    • Windows Server 2008 R2
    • Windows Server 2008
    • Subsequent service packs for the versions above
  • Valid Windows Server licenses
  • Active technical support agreement with Microsoft and the virtualization vendor
  • Running on a validated third-party virtualization solution
  • Running on a system Logo qualified for either Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 or later versions of Windows Server
  • The virtual machine containing Windows Server does not exceed the maximum virtual processors and memory validated with the virtualization solution

For more information about Microsoft's policies for supporting software running in non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software please refer to https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/897615/support-policy-for-microsoft-software-that-runs-on-non-microsoft-hardw . In addition, refer to https://support.microsoft.com/kb/957006/ to find more information about Microsoft's support policies for its applications running in virtual environments.

How will a customer get support for Windows if they are running on a validated virtualization solution?
Customers who have valid Windows Server licenses and support agreements can call for support from either Microsoft or the vendor who has provided them with a validated server virtualization solution. Whichever company is contacted first will try to resolve the customer's issues. In the event a solution cannot be determined, the technical support representative, with the permission of the customer, can leverage TSANet to contact the other company to help resolve the customer issue. More information about TSANet can be found at www.tsanet.org

When will customers be able to get support?
Customers will be able to benefit from this program as soon as a virtualization vendor's submission is validated and listed on the Windows Server Catalog in the SVVP Products List . Customers can deploy validated solutions in the catalog and expect to receive support from Microsoft or the virtualization vendor when running it on servers Certified for Windows Server 2008 R2 or later versions of Windows Server operating systems with the same processor architecture validated.

Will customers running on validated solutions still be required to reproduce problems on hardware?
While we fully expect the Server Virtualization Validation Program to ferret out the majority of issues associated with running virtualized operating systems, there may be situations when the root cause problem cannot be isolated or duplicated without asking a customer to reproduce the error on hardware. Every situation will be examined on a case by case basis and we expect to ask customer to reproduce problems on "bare metal" only as a last resort.

If my company is running a validated configuration and my vendor updates and validates newer versions, will my validation expire? How long will I be able to get support from Microsoft?
Once validated, a configuration is supported until such time as some element of that configuration is no longer supported by its respective vendor. Examples would be if a virtualization vendor declared a version of their product to be "end of life", or when Microsoft Life Cycle Support policy ends support for a specific version of an operating system or Service Pack.

What questions should we ask ourselves to determine if our system is eligible for support?
You should be able to answer, "Yes" to the following questions to determine if your system is eligible for support:

  • Is the virtualization solution and version we are using validated and listed in the Windows Server Catalog?
  • Is the server hardware Certified for Windows Server 2008 R2 or later versions of Windows Server operating systems?
  • Does the server's processor architecture match the operating system and processor architecture validated with the virtualization solution?
  • Does the virtual machine contain a supported version of Windows Server (examples; Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012,Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, etc.)?
  • Are the virtual processors and memory assigned to the virtual machine running Windows Server less than or equal to the maximum processors and memory validated with the virtualization solution?
  • Does the application vendor support their product in a virtualized environment?
  • Does the virtualization solution provide abstraction of the hardware necessary for your application to function?


What is the support policy for additional functionality of virtualization products?
With regards to virtualization product functionality that can operate without the knowledge or cooperation of the operating system or applications executing within the virtual machine such as, but not limited to; live migration of virtual machines, virtual machine clustering, memory ballooning, virtual machine fault tolerance, virtualization-based security functionality, etc., these are outside the scope of the Server Virtualization Validation Program. Also outside the scope of the Server Virtualization Validation Program's support boundary is emulated hardware functionality, such as a virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM) implementation.

As there are no industry standards to follow in implementing such features, there is no practical method of testing these virtualization product features.

Thus, the SVVP program does not test these features or functions, and the virtualization product vendor is solely responsible for testing and supporting them. Any certification the virtualization vendor has with regards to these features is outside the scope of the Server Virtualization Validation Program. However, unless otherwise stated in articles or documents for Windows Server operating systems or for Microsoft server applications, Microsoft does not preclude their use by customers. Customers may contact Microsoft for more information in this regard for specific virtualization product features and functions and Microsoft products.

If a customer running a supported version of Windows Server on a validated virtualization solution experiences issues after using third party virtualization features (such as live migration, etc., described above) that operate independently of Microsoft products, then the customer should contact the virtualization vendor for assistance in resolving the issue.