CPU Compatibility in HA Cluster and vMotion

[andersom]

WIll the following servers and processor's work together in an HA Cluster using vSphere ESXi Embedded 4.1 with vCenter 4.1?

Dell 2950 III Xeon E5410 @ 2.33GHz

Dell R610 Xeon X5550 @ 2.67GHz

Dell R710 Xeon X5650 @ 2.67 GHz

Or will I have to enable EVC Mode on the Cluster?

Is there a chart that shows you which processor work in a HA Cluster and with vMotion?

[vmroyale]

Hello.

You will need to use EVC to get these three to work together, using the info in kb 1003212 to help.

Good Luck!

[andersom]

Will there be any performance issue with enabling the evc mode?

Also my vcenter server is virtual. can you enable evc mode while vm's are running or do you have to shut them down first?

[vmroyale]

Will there be any performance issue with enabling the evc mode?

There shouldn't be. "EVC masks only those processor features that affect vMotion compatibility. Enabling EVC does not prevent a virtual machine from taking advantage of faster processor speeds, increased numbers of CPU cores, or hardware virtualization support that might be available on newer hosts." - from p.216 of the vSphere Datacenter Administration Guide. The actual Vmware hypervisor will have access to all processor functionality and will not be impacted by this.

Also my vcenter server is virtual. can you enable evc mode while vm's are running or do you have to shut them down first?

vCenter being virtual does not matter here at all. "The EVC mode must be equivalent to, or a subset of, the feature set of the host with the smallest feature set in the cluster." - p.216 of the vSphere Datacenter Administration Guide. "If virtual machines are running on hosts that have feature sets greater than the EVC mode you intend to enable, ensure that the cluster has no powered-on virtual machines." - p.218 of the vSphere Datacenter Administration Guide. It is all going to come down to what servers are already in this cluster.

[andersom]

Thanks for all the help so far. I think I have one last question on this topic. Can I might a running vm from a host outside the EVC enabled cluster to a host inside the EVC enabled cluster. This would be my vCenter Server. If i shutdown my vCenter server I make the necessary changes. Here is my strategy, will this work?

We have two hosts in a HA cluster. Shutdown all VM's except my vCenter VM.which is running on host 2. Enter host 1 into maintenance mode, and move out of the cluster and exit maintenance mode. Migrate vCenter VM to host 1. Enable EVC mode to 45nm Xeon Cere 2. Migrate vCenter back to host 2. Add host 1 back to the cluster. Turn all VM's back.on. Will this work? Or can i not migrate the vCenter VM from host to host when they are not part of the EVC enabled cluster. I would migrating with the R610 and R710 servers.

If this scenario does work, does vCenter VM need to be rebooted when this whole process is complete?

If this will not work, do you have any suggestions?

Thanks,

[Dave_Mishchenko · Accepted solution]

You would need a CPU mask on the vCenter VM to migrate it into the EVC cluster and adding one would require a restart. You could instead do this.

1) Create new cluster with appropriate EVC setting.

2) Migrate VMs from one host, put it in maintenance mode, and then move it to the new cluster.

3) Shutdown vCenter.

4) Connect to the host that was running vCenter with the vSphere client. Unregister the VM.

5) Connect to the host in the new cluster, register the vCenter VM and power it on.




Dave

VMware Communities User Moderator

Now available - vSphere Quick Start Guide

Do you have a system or PCI card working with VMDirectPath? Submit your specs to the Unofficial VMDirectPath HCL.

[andersom]

How do you unregister and register a VM?

[Dave_Mishchenko]

Right click on the VM and select Remove from Inventory. Then on the other host, browse the datastore, find the VMX file, right click and select Add to Inventory.




Dave

VMware Communities User Moderator

Now available - vSphere Quick Start Guide

Do you have a system or PCI card working with VMDirectPath? Submit your specs to the Unofficial VMDirectPath HCL.

[andersom]

Thanks I was thinking I can do it this way if I had to shut the vCenter VM off. I just like some comformation, i am still very new to this and learning as we go. I appreciate all the help you guys give.

[R3dRider]

Hi;

I have the same problem with 5x R610 Intel X5550 and 3x R610 Intel X5650.

I integrate the X5650 to the cluster of the X5550 and enable EVC. I apply the "Intel® Xeon® Core™ i7 EVC Mode" to the cluster. I only be able to migrate VMs from X5550 to X5650, when i try to migrate from X5650 i have this error message:

Host CPU incompatible with the virtual machine's requirements at CPUID level 0x1 register 'ecx'.

Host bits: 0000:0000:1001:1000:0010:0010:0000:0001

Required: x000:0x10:10x1:1x10:xxx0:0x1x:xxxx:xx11

I have ESX 4.0

esx01 Vmware ESX, 4.0.0, 171294

esx02 Vmware ESX, 4.0.0, 171294

esx03 Vmware ESX, 4.0.0, 164009

esx04 Vmware ESX, 4.0.0, 171294

esx05 Vmware ESX, 4.0.0, 171294

esx06 Vmware ESX, 4.0.0, 164009

esx07 Vmware ESX, 4.0.0, 164009

esx08 Vmware ESX, 4.0.0, 164009

The last 3 servers are the X5650.

Thanks.

[andersom]

My problem was resolved, once I enabled Intel Xeon 45 nm Core 2 EVC mode.