VMware releases vSphere 5.0 Update 2

Yesterday VMware released vSphere 5.0 Update 2. You can find the full ESXi release notes here. vCenter 5.0 Update 2 release notes are here. Highlights of Update 2 include:

• Full support for installing vCenter on Windows Server 2012
• Full customization support for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012
• Support for Solaris 11, Solaris 11.1, Mac OSX Server Lion 10.7.5
• Lots and lots of bug fixes

Personally I think update 2 is a huge step forward, as Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8 is now a first class citizen. Yippee! Too bad 5.1 doesn't support it yet. For those of you still burdened with the vTax (essentials edition) update 2 removes the hard enforcement of the 192GB limit. VMs will now power on if you exceed your licensed limit.

I would suggest you review the full release notes and bug fixes to see if any problems you have with 5.0 Update 1 have been addressed. Update 2 also includes security fixes, so even if a particular non-security bug doesn't affect you, to keep your environment secure you should upgrade to update 2.

Update: VUM cannot be installed on Windows Server 2012, since VUM requires a 32-bit OBDC/DSN. Windows Server 2012 has removed support for 16-bit and 32-bit DSNs. Unfortunately VUM in 5.1 also uses a 32-bit DSN, so VMware needs to get with the program and use 64-bit DSNs if they don't want to be trapped in the stone age.