---
title: "xNIC System Requirements"
slug: "xnic-system-requirement"
tags: ["xNIC software"]
updated: 2025-12-19T20:09:18Z
published: 2025-12-19T20:09:18Z
canonical: "docs.swxtch.io/xnic-system-requirement"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.swxtch.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# xNIC System Requirements

**WHAT TO EXPECT**

In this section, users will learn the prerequisites that a VM must meet in order to install the xNIC adaptor.

A cloudSwxtch must exist to install an xNIC adaptor. The installer will be downloaded from there. See [cloudSwXtch System Requirements](/v2/docs/cloudswxtch-prerequisites) for more information. See [what is an xNIC](/v2/docs/what-is-an-xnic) to better understand the concepts that will be used here.

## xNIC software

The xNIC software must be run on each virtual agent that is to be part of the IP multicast network, and not a cloudSwXtch or a swXtchBridge. This software can be installed on hosts that meet the following requirements:

### Supported Operating Systems

The following list shows the OS versions where xNIC was tested and is supported. The **kernel** must be **5.11 or greater** for Type 2 for Linux VMs. See [How to choose the correct xNIC type](/v2/docs/how-to-determine-the-correct-xnic-type).

| Linux | Windows |
| --- | --- |
| Debian based | RedHat based | Server | Pro/Enterprise |
| - **Debian 11** - **Debian 12** - **Debian 13** - **Ubuntu 20.04** - **Ubuntu 22.04** - **Ubuntu 24.04** | - **Red Hat 8** - **Red Hat 9** - **Rocky Linux 8** - **Rocky Linux 9** - **Alma Linux 8** - **Alma Linux 9** - **Centos 8** - **Amazon Linux 2023** | - **Windows Server 2025** - **Windows Server 2022** - **Windows Server 2019** - **Windows Server 2016** | - **Windows 11 Pro/Enterprise** - **Windows 10 Pro/Enterprise** |

> [!WARNING]
> PLEASE NOTE
> 
> Not all xNIC Types are supported by all operating systems. Refer to [How to choose the correct xNIC type](/v2/docs/how-to-determine-the-correct-xnic-type) for more information on types. Please contact [support@swxtch.io](mailto:support@swxtch.io) for more info.
> 
> swXtch.io recommends updated OSs that are still active in their life cycle.
> 
> If the underlying application that is sending/receiving multicast is a container (non Kubernetes) then the container must run in **Host mode** for the xNIC to get the data to the container.

### CPU Architecture

Currently, the xNIC can only be installed when the CPU is x86_x64. 4 cores is the recommended minimum. But consider that other programs will also be using the CPU, so more cores may be necessary.

### Memory

At least 4GB of RAM is necessary to run an xNIC properly. But since the VM will also run other software, the amount of memory may be higher.

### Network Connectivity

The agent VM can have 1 NIC or 2 NICs for higher performance (one for each subnet: ctrl-subnet and data-subnet).

NOTE

An xNIC instance may have 1 or 2 NICs, *depending on the subnet configuration of the cloudSwXtch*.

- **If a cloudSwXtch has the 2 NICs connected to the same subnet**, then the agent VM *needs* only 1 NIC to operate. But it can have more NICs for other purposes. This cloudSwXtch-related NIC will share the same single subnet for control and data plane communications to the cloudSwXtch.
- **For higher performance, a cloudSwXtch should have the 2 NICs using *2 different* subnets**. Then the agent VM will need 2 NICs connected to separate subnets:
  - A subnet for control plane traffic (referred to as the **ctrl-subnet** from here on).
  - A subnet for data plane traffic (referred to as the **data-subnet** from here on).
    - For multicast traffic to run on the data-plane, you may need to properly configure the route table if your application does not have the capability to specify the NIC to be used.

The installation process requires a simple command that downloads the assets from the cloudSwXtch and then executes the install script. This takes less than a minute per host and is very easy to automate. See the installation sections for more details.

> [!WARNING]
> NOTE
> 
> If the VM is in OCI and has a secondary adapter, chances are that the adaptar is not properly configured by default (it commonly comes without an assigned IP). If that’s the case, users can refer to the [How to configure a second NIC on OCI](/v2/docs/how-to-configure-a-second-nic-on-oci) page.