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Atze247
Contributor
Contributor

EVC and CPU compatibility

Hi, we want to add a new node to our existing cluster.

I checked http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=100321... for CPU compatibility, but I have to confess, that I didn't understand that Matrix.

We have 2 ESX 3.4 Update 4 Nodes with Intel Xeon 5355 CPUs and want to add one of those:

Intel Xeon Quad Core E5405

Intel Xeon Quad Core E5420

Intel Xeon Quad Core E5440

Intel Xeon Quad Core X546

Can someone tell me if this combination and/or how to read that charts?

Thanks, Alex

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avlieshout
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

Since you have ESX 3.5U4 EVC will create a Intel® Xeon® CoreTM2 baseline. Your current processors 5355 are supported in this EVC baseline.

Your new CPUs 54xx all support this Intel® Xeon® CoreTM2 baseline too. So you can add any of those new processors to your EVC cluster.

-Arnim van Lieshout

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john23
Commander
Commander

To understand this matrix ,EVC will work -->

intel® Xeon® 3000 Series and Intel® Xeon® 5300 Series between these processors ,with this baseline only intel® Xeon® Core™2 (means these all registers will be used from the CPU.

-@m!t

Thanks -A Read my blogs: www.openwriteup.com
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Atze247
Contributor
Contributor

eh, sorry, didn't get that sentence

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john23
Commander
Commander

For example..

if you have two ESX host

Host A with Processor intel® Xeon® 3000 Series

Host B with Processor ntel® Xeon® 5300 Series

If you want to perform EVC between these ESX hosts ,you have the only one baseline option according to that matrix : intel® Xeon® Core™2

-@m!t

Thanks -A Read my blogs: www.openwriteup.com
Atze247
Contributor
Contributor

Ah, OK, the features of all CPUs is reduced to that baseline, in your Example to Intel® Xeon® Core™2.

Thanks!

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bmacias
Contributor
Contributor

Hello Atze247,

EVC is till considered experimental in ESX 3.5, vCenter 2.5 U4. Looking at the EVC Cluster Baseline you can see that vCenter 2.5 U4 is not support on Xeon 54XX series processors. However vCenter 4.0 does provide support.

The 53xx series (Group B) and 54xx(Group C) series processors are VMotion Compatible but you will need to be on vCenter 4.0.

You can cheat by manually masking CPUID to avoid VMotion CPU generation issues. This option is not support or recommenced by VMware.

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1991

http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/vmotion_info_guide.pdf

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=100321...

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