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You can change how much memory to allocate to a virtual machine. You can also review the amount of memory recommended by ESX Server, the maximum amount of memory that can be allocated to the virtual machine and the maximum amount of memory for smooth running of the virtual machine, given the number of virtual processors.

Depending upon the guest operating system in the virtual machine and the number of processors on the server, you can change the number of virtual processors it uses. However, keep in mind the following:

• Virtual machines running certain guest operating systems, such as Windows NT, can be configured with a single processor only. Review the list of Supported Guest Operating Systems to see which guests are multiprocessor- or SMP-capable.
• Virtual machines can be configured with multiple processors only if the server has more than one processor. A virtual machine cannot have more virtual processors than the server has physical processors.
• Multiprocessor-capable guest operating systems configured with a single processor may require additional tuning if you increase the number of virtual processors. At most, a virtual machine can have two virtual processors. For more information, see Configuring a Virtual Machine to Use More than One Virtual Processor.
• Multiprocessor-capable guest operating systems configured and tuned with more than one virtual processor may not boot and will probably degrade the performance of other virtual machines if you change the configuration to a single processor. VMware recommends you do not downgrade a multiprocessor virtual machine to uniprocessor.

Note: You can configure dual-virtual processor virtual machines only if you have purchased the VMware Virtual SMP for ESX Server product. For more information on this product, contact VMware, Inc. or your authorized sales representative.

To configure the virtual machine's virtual processors and memory, complete the following steps.

1. In the Hardware page, under Processors and Memory, click Edit. The Processors and Memory page appears.

   

2. Depending upon the guest operating system and the number of processors with which it is configured, a message appears under Edit Processor Configuration. Provided the guest operating system is multi-processor capable, and if you want to change the number the number of processors, click the click here link, then choose the number of virtual processors in the Processors list.
3. In the Memory field, enter the amount of memory to allocate to the virtual machine. The amount must be a multiple of 4.
4. Click OK to save your change and close the window.