Unable to add memory to a VM when Latency Sensitivity is high from vCenter error: "A specified parameter was not correct: spec.memoryAllocation"

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

Trying to add memory to a powered OFF VM which has Latency Sensitivity set to high, you get an error error: "A specified parameter was not correct: spec.memoryAllocation"

 

In vpxd.log you will see entry similar to

[YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS] error vpxd[61775] [Originator@6876 sub=vpxLro opID=ltcwhx1o-16179-auto-chg-h5:70006847-8c-01] [VpxLRO] Unexpected Exception: N5Vmomi5Fault15InvalidArgument9ExceptionE(Fault cause: vmodl.fault.InvalidArgument
--> )
--> [context]zKq7AVECAQAAAHNYHQEldnB4ZAAA2uc3bGlidm1hY29yZS5zbwAA64gsAHN7LQBB+DIB700abGlidm1vbWkuc28AAVMjDgLbBnF2cHhkAIK5o2ABgjioYAGC5ZgrAYIA/y8BghgQLQGCUmQsAYKjgiwBgsGILAGC+6tgAYI8rWABgmq8YAGCzelfAYKcQmABgqq1KgGCS7YqAQK4NPQCzTf0Akw49IMB9QUBbGlidmltLXR5cGVzLnNvAIIAqWEBgvurYAGCPK1gAYJqvGABgs3pXwGCmJNgAQCXWiMAP7AjAJhzNwSHfwBsaWJwdGhyZWFkLnNvLjAABe81D2xpYmMuc28uNgA=[/context]
[YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS] info vpxd[61775] [Originator@6876 sub=vpxLro opID=ltcwhx1o-16179-auto-chg-h5:70006847-8c-01] [VpxLRO] -- FINISH lro-329035
[YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS] info vpxd[61775] [Originator@6876 sub=Default opID=ltcwhx1o-16179-auto-chg-h5:70006847-8c-01] [VpxLRO] -- ERROR lro-329035 -- vm-10003 -- vim.VirtualMachine.reconfigure: vmodl.fault.InvalidArgument:
--> Result:
--> (vmodl.fault.InvalidArgument) {
--> faultCause = (vmodl.MethodFault) null,
--> faultMessage = (vmodl.LocalizableMessage) [
--> (vmodl.LocalizableMessage) {
--> key = "msg.hostd.configSpec.latencySensitivity.memory",
--> arg = <unset>,
--> message = "The latency-sensitive virtual machine must have the memory reservation set to the memory size."
--> }
--> ],
--> invalidProperty = "spec.memoryAllocation"
--> msg = "A specified parameter was not correct: spec.memoryAllocation"
--> }
--> Args:
-->

 

In hostd.log will have these entries

[YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS] warning hostd[264143] [Originator@6876 sub=Vmsvc.vm:/vmfs/volumes/########-####-########4326/vm/vm.vmx opID=ltcwhx1o-16179-auto-chg-h5:700068##-##-##-##-##d4 user=vpxuser:VSPHERE.LOCAL\Administrator] Insufficient memory reservation for latency-sensitive VM. Expected memory reservation: 4096 MB, actual: 2048 MB
[YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS] info hostd[264143] [Originator@6876 sub=Vmsvc.vm:/vmfs/volumes/########-####-########4326/vm/vm.vmx opID=ltcwhx1o-16179-auto-chg-h5:700068##-##-##-##-##d4 user=vpxuser:VSPHERE.LOCAL\Administrator] Reconfigure failed: N5Vmomi5Fault15InvalidArgument9ExceptionE(Fault cause: vmodl.fault.InvalidArgument
--> )
--> [context]zKq7AVICAgAAAAd9HAEUaG9zdGQAAOJCF2xpYnZtYWNvcmUuc28AAd/bDmxpYnZtb21pLnNvAAHCSB8CdtdRaG9zdGQAAguMUQJl3sIC2uLCAt4UxALrIcQCSyHAAqf6wAIrCMECGgzBA0KJ8WxpYnZpbS10eXBlcy5zbwACsH9SAJzFLQAkAS4A0g4/BDt9AGxpYnB0aHJlYWQuc28uMAAFvacObGliYy5zby42AA==[/context]
[YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS] warning hostd[264143] [Originator@6876 sub=Vmsvc.vm:/vmfs/volumes/########-####-########4326/vm/vm.vmx opID=ltcwhx1o-16179-auto-chg-h5:700068##-##-##-##-##d4 user=vpxuser:VSPHERE.LOCAL\Administrator] Exception thrown during reconfigure: (vim.vm.ConfigSpec) {
--> changeVersion = "[YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS].726145Z",
--> createDate = "[YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS].518999Z",
--> memoryMB = 4096,
--> memoryReservationLockedToMax = true,
--> }
--> N5Vmomi5Fault15InvalidArgument9ExceptionE(Fault cause: vmodl.fault.InvalidArgument
--> )
--> 

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 7.0.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0
VMware vCenter Server 6.7.x
VMware vSphere 6.7.x

Resolution

This is a known issue currently impacting vSphere 6.7 and 7.0.

The issue is fixed in the ESXi version: ESXi 7.0 Update 3v 

Workaround:

• Set Latency Sensitivity to Normal and then increase the memory
• Once done, set the Latency Sensitivity back to High and power ON the VM
• The settings are available under (VM → Edit Settings → VM Options → Advanced → Latency Sensitivity)
• Refer below snip for a reference only.

Additional Information

vSphere 6.5 and vSphere 8.0 are not impacted with this issue.