Who knows how to create a ESXi 6.7 VM in WS12 with a host with XEON CPU

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Who knows how to create a ESXi 6.7 VM in WS12  with a host with XEON CPU ?
I hope that masking the CPU may help but dont know the correct parameter.
Thanks Ulli

[bluefirestorm · Accepted solution]

Having looked previously at a vmware.log on the Workstation 2017 Tech Preview, IIRC, your Xeon is a Bloomfield Xeon (Nehalem) (CPUID leaf 1 EAX: 0x106a5).

The ESXi 6.7 Release Notes seems to have excluded Nehalem/Westmere generations of Xeon as well as putting a warning on Sandy Bridge E3 Xeon (0x206a7).

https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.7/rn/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-67-release-notes.html#i...

It is tricky as Sandy Bridge Xeons can have features (e.g. AVX instruction set, 1GB pages) that are not even available on Westmere. Most Westmere also has the AES instruction set that Nehalem does not have. Then of course there is the Unrestricted Guest not available in Nehalem.

You could try masking it as to make it appear like a Sandy Bridge E3 first as that is probably the closest (single socket Xeon) to a Bloomfield Xeon. But if the installation looks or uses specific CPU features; masking just the CPUID leaf 1 EAX may not work at all or might result in a PSOD.

https://newsroom.intel.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/04/microcode-update-guidance.pdf#page=12...

#Sandy Bridge E3 masking

cpuid.1.eax = "0000:0000:0000:0010:0000:0110:1010:0111"

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Thank you very much - you nailed it.

Your hack really works.
I dont know if functions like vSAN or nested VMs will work but for my use-case - study of the new VMFS-version - it can do all that I need for now.
This also gives me some hope to install WS14 inside a VM ....
Thanks again - I owe you one.
Regards Ulli

[coppsi]

koennt ihr mir bitte genauer erklären wo ich was machen muss damit ich das installieren kann das esxi 6.7

ich moechte das auf einer  THinkstation mit der genannten Xeon w3565 cpu installieren und fuer kleine zwecke nutzen.

mache das zum ersten mal.

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Hi Wolfgang

das ist ganz einfach.

Du brauchst nur die Zeilen

monitor.allowLegacyCPU = "true"

cpuid.1.eax = "0000:0000:0000:0010:0000:0110:1010:0111"

in die vmx-Datei deiner ESXi VM eintragen.
Kannst du einfach am Ende der Datei hinzufuegen.

Gruss Ulli

Ach ja ... ehe ich es vergesse ....
Damit kann ich noch keine VM starten - das brauche ich aber in meinem Fall auch nicht.