Intel FlexMigration

[pearlyshells]

Anyone heard when VMWare will support Intel's FlexMigration CPUs so that we can get away from the CPU compatibility problems?

[i4004]

We have three servers using Penryn class processors (Xeon 5450's / 3Ghz / 12mb L3 *support for FlexMigration*) and STILL cannot migrate/ vmotion live hosts from a Dual Core Xeon 5160 which is also within the Core 2 Duo family. Our Xeon 5450/Penryn servers are Dell 2950's series III running ESX 3.5u1/patched and our Xeon 5160 based servers are Dell 2950's series I running ESX 3.0.2 also [patched to the hilt.

The idea was to replace our Dell 2950 Series I DC/16GB RAM servers with Dell 2950 Series III QC/32GB RAM servers and vmotion machines off the slightly older Dell onto the ESX farm and back again. All possible with FlexMigration, right? WRONG!!!

The issue deals with SSE4.1 and the fact that VMware ESX 3.5u1 is supposed to fully support it - experimental support was included in ESX 3.0.1 via a binary module (as seen here: http://forums.amd.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=203&threadid=92023 *password required for reference*).

What exactly is going on here? Do we need to enable something to get the so-called FlexMigration CPU compatibility method that VMotion under VC 2.5 supposedly supports? We know all to well VMware's KB article 1993 ( http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1993 ) but changing CPU masks at the VM level requires the machine to be off and once a machine is off/powered down we can migrate it ANYWAY to another server in our farm without issue.

Any idea what's going on here?

Thanks,

Gerson Ricardo

[mreferre]

It was/is my understanding that FlexMigration requires VMware software support which is not yet available in the lastest shipping GA version.

Massimo.

[meistermn]

Intel's flex Migration will come with ESX 3.5 Update 2

[pearlyshells]

thanks for the information

[i4004 · Accepted solution]

The Official VMware Answer corresponds to a "future release" (likey the aformentioned ESX 3.5 Update 2 previously referenced) which would support FlexMigration:

"FlexMigration is a technology that will be used in the upcoming release of ESX. The ecx mask still needs to be hidden on a per VM basis and the VM needs to be powered off and back on to have Vmotion work."

---

Regards,

VMware Tech Support

Hope this cements the fact that FlexMigration, though metioned as available earlier in user posts and not contradicted by VMware as listed earlier, is infact currently inoperable on any GA ESX version.

/gjr

[pearlyshells]

thanks very much

[stoale]

Hello,

please, check the "what's new" for ESX 3.5 update 2.

Regards

[pearlyshells]

many thanks