Nested Virtualization: Docker Desktop on VMware ESXi and Azure VMs

Docker support includes installing and running Docker Desktop within the VM, provided that nested virtualization is correctly enabled. The only hypervisors successfully tested are VMware ESXi and Azure, and there is no support for other VMs. For more information on Docker Desktop support, see [Get support](/manuals/desktop/troubleshoot-and-support/support.md). For troubleshooting problems and intermittent failures that are outside of Docker's control, you should contact your hypervisor vendor. Each hypervisor vendor offers different levels of support. For example, Microsoft supports running nested Hyper-V both on-prem and on Azure, with some version constraints. This may not be the case for VMware ESXi. Docker does not support running multiple instances of Docker Desktop on the same machine in a VM or VDI environment. > [!TIP] > > If you're running Docker Desktop inside a Citrix VDI, note that Citrix can be used with a variety of underlying hypervisors, for example VMware, Hyper-V, Citrix Hypervisor/XenServer. Docker Desktop requires nested virtualization, which is not supported by Citrix Hypervisor/XenServer. > > Check with your Citrix administrator or VDI infrastructure team to confirm which hypervisor is being used, and whether nested virtualization is enabled. ## Turn on nested virtualization You must turn on nested virtualization before you install Docker Desktop on a virtual machine that will not use Docker Cloud. ### Turn on nested virtualization on VMware ESXi Nested virtualization of other hypervisors like Hyper-V inside a vSphere VM [is not a supported scenario](https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2009916). However, running Hyper-V VM in a VMware ESXi VM is technically possible and, depending on the version, ESXi includes hardware-assisted virtualization as a supported feature. A VM that had 1 CPU with 4 cores and 12GB of memory was used for internal testing. For steps on how to expose hardware-assisted virtualization to the guest OS, [see VMware's documentation](https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-2A98801C-68E8-47AF-99ED-00C63E4857F6.html).

This section details Docker's support for running Docker Desktop within virtual machines, focusing on VMware ESXi and Azure, provided nested virtualization is enabled. It advises contacting the hypervisor vendor for troubleshooting issues outside Docker's control. It clarifies that Docker does not support running multiple instances of Docker Desktop on the same machine in a VM/VDI environment, and discusses the necessity of enabling nested virtualization before installing Docker Desktop. The section also includes instructions and resources on how to enable nested virtualization specifically on VMware ESXi, noting the lack of official support for Hyper-V inside a vSphere VM but acknowledging its technical feasibility.