A VMware community post from a user named “StorageGuy_42”: “Gen9 + ESXi 8 = random PSODs (purple screens of death) during high queue depth. Found the issue? Out-of-tree driver for the Smart Array P440ar. VMware won’t backport. HP won’t write a new one. Dead end.”

Two weeks later, the Gen9s were racked—not as ESXi hosts, but as dedicated ZFS backup servers running Ubuntu. The new Gen10s purred under vSphere 8, fully green on the compatibility matrix. And Mark? He learned to check compatibility before the purchase order, not after.

His daughter still brings up that missed pizza night. But she also knows that sometimes, Dad saves the company not with heroics, but with a boring spreadsheet and the courage to say “no.”

1. Run vSphere 6.7 (end of support 2022) – security risk, compliance fail. 2. Run vSphere 7.0 (ends 2025) – possible but driver instability reported on the P440ar controller. 3. Return the Gen9s, pay restocking, buy Gen10s – extra $12k, but supported until 2029. 4. Use the Gen9s for non-production (dev/test, backup target) and buy new hosts for prod.

The four Gen9 servers cannot run vSphere 8 with full driver support. They will likely boot. They will likely fail unpredictably under load. Options:

Our use of cookies

We use necessary cookies to make our site work. We'd also like to set optional analytics cookies to help us improve it. We won't set optional cookies unless you enable them. Using this tool will set a cookie on, your device to remember your preferences.

Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions. hp proliant dl360 gen9 vmware compatibility

We'd like to set Google Analytics cookies to help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on how you use it. The cookies collect information in a way that does not directly identify anyone. A VMware community post from a user named

I accept all cookies
)