evc cluster westmere and nehalem

[Anton_Lebedev_N]

hi everyone.

I have a cluster with 2 hosts running in a cluster with EVC Westmere configuration.

Recently I wanted to add another host into the cluster that came from another datacenter which used to be in a Nehalem EVC cluster.

Aftering trying to add it, I get an error that EVC is incompatible and it doesnt get admited.

What are my options, and powering off VM's is not an option.

Thank you.

[Troy_Clavell]

What are my options, and powering off VM's is not an option.

Well, I would start by powering off the guests.  With that said, the new host being added to the existing EVC cluster may not be compatible with the baseline the cluster is running under.  If that is the case, you'll need to find a common baseline for all your hosts.

[Anton_Lebedev_N]

Troy, I cannot power off the guests on the existing cluster is what I wanted to convey.

The new host that is to be admited does not have any VM's.  You cannot admit a host into the cluster with running VM's.

As far as a common baseline goes, can I switch from Westmere to Nehalem EVC without the guest being impacted ?

[admin]

Is the new host a Westmere or later?

[Troy_Clavell]

sorry, I misread the part about NOT being able to power off guests.  With that said then, if the empty host is not compatible with the current EVC baseline you'll have to change the baseline.  You may even have to create a new cluster and move the hosts into that.  Sometimes this can be done with no downtime, but you may end up having to power off some guests.

see below for comptabile baselines

http://http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003212

[a_p_]

That won't work. Consider what would happen in case you bring a host with less CPU features into an existing cluster. Any live migrated VM (vMotion/DRS) would most likely crash, because the additional host does not provide the CPU features which are exposed to to the VM when it was powered on.

André

[Anton_Lebedev_N]

the new host is a Nehalem,  and comes from another datacenter / cluster in which it was a part of a nehalem set of hosts.

Its my understanding that Nehalem is below the Westmere config.

1) if I turn off EVC for the current Westmere cluster, can I then join my Nehalem host and re-enable the cluster with Westmere baseline?

Im asking this because if I look at the guests in my cluster and the column EVC mode is checked, I see guests with Westmere config and a Nehalem config existing on my 2 hosts in the cluster.

2) if 1 is possible, what is the risk of vm guests being powered off or impacted in a way that would cause production loss?

[admin]

Anton Lebedev wrote:

1) if I turn off EVC for the current Westmere cluster, can I then join my Nehalem host and re-enable the cluster with Westmere baseline?

No.  The Nehalem host can't be part of a Westmere-baseline cluster.  It doesn't have the necessary CPU features.

[RamirezKIV]

Hello everyone!

I have the very similar issue on virtual environment one of our customer.

I have tested this configuration:

1. one blade server on westmere architecture: CPU Intel Xeon E5649.

2. one blade server on sandy bridge architecture: CPU Ontel Xeon E5-2440.

3. they both are in one HA-cluster without EVC.

4. When I try to vMotion test VM from Westmere to Sandy -> everything is ok and without problems.

5. When I try to vMotion test VM in backward, from Sandy to Westamere -> host on Sandy architecture became unresponsible until Mgmt network restarted from console at vMotion progress 65%. But VM has migrated very well.

6. I created turned on EVC feature on this cluster but it wasn't a better decision. The result was the same.

7. And one more interesting thing: when I shutdown my guest OS the host with Sandy architecture has gone unresponsible too )))

Very strange situation.

Anybody knows, can be two hosts Westmere and Sandy bridge in one cluster?