Netware virtual machines report high CPU usage after upgrading to 4.1

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• After upgrading to ESX 4.1, Netware 5.1 SP8 virtual machines report a considerably high CPU usage
• An increase in CPU usage is seen in the virtual machine, esxtop, and the vCenter performance graphs
• In the vmware.log file, you see entries similar to:
  
  Sep 21 09:37:57.379: vcpu-0| Vix: [104948 guestCommands.c:2488]: Error VIX_E_UNRECOGNIZED_COMMAND_IN_GUEST in VMAutomationTranslateGues
  tRpcError(): Tools failed to recognize guest command op code=62, result string="Unknown Command".

esx-upgrade high-cpu-usage

Environment

VMware ESX 4.1.x

Resolution

This issue occurs when the virtual machine’s instruction stream is run using binary translation (BT).

To workaround this issue, for all affected ESX/ESXi 4.1 hosts, configure the virtual machines to use hardware CPU/MMU virtualization.

To change the virtualization to hardware CPU/MMU:

1. Log in to vCenter Server using the vSphere Client.
2. In the virtual machine inventory, right-click the virtual machine and click Edit Settings.
3. Click the Options tab.
4. Under Advanced, click CPU/MMU Virtualization.
5. Select the Use Intel VT-X/AMD-V for instruction set virtualization and Intel EPT/AMD RVI for MMU virtualization option.
6. Click OK to save your changes.

For more information, see:

• How to change the virtual machine monitor mode (1036775)
• Virtual Machine Monitor Execution Modes in VMware vSphere™ 4.0
• Software and Hardware Techniques for x86 Virtualization

Additional Information

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