Diagnosing slow deployment of templates or clones from vCenter Server

Products

VMware vCenter Server VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This document guides you through the process of troubleshooting slow deployment of templates from vCenter Server. It helps you eliminate the common causes for your problem by verifying the scope of the problem as well as the networking and storage configuration of the ESX/ESXi.

Symptoms:

Slow deployment of templates from within vCenter Server
Slow deployment of clone in vCenter Server
You are experiencing high CPU utilization on an ESX/ESXi host
You are experiencing high memory utilization on an ESX/ESXi host
Slow response when administering an ESX/ESXi host
Slow performance when copying files between shared VMFS storage (fibre-channel SAN) and local VMFS storage

Environment

VMware ESX 4.1.x
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Embedded
VMware vCenter Server 5.0.x
VMware ESX 4.0.x
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded
VMware VirtualCenter 2.0.x
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Embedded
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware ESX Server 3.5.x
VMware VirtualCenter 2.5.x
VMware ESX Server 3.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 4.1.x
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware vCenter Server 4.0.x

Resolution

Validate that each troubleshooting step below is true for your environment. Each step will provide instructions or a link to a document, in order to eliminate possible causes and take corrective action as necessary. The steps are ordered in the most appropriate sequence to isolate the issue and identify the proper resolution. Do not skip a step.

Verify if the slow deployment is specific to one template or if it affects all templates. To properly test this, VMware recommends to create a brand new template and test the deployment. This provides a clean test of the environment. For more information if template deployment is slow for a single template, see Deploying a single template is slow in vCenter Server (1004028).
If you are using ESX (not applicable to ESXi), verify that no processes are over utilizing the resources on the ESX Service Console. For more information, see Checking for resource starvation of the ESX Service Console (1003496).
Verify that the network configuration on the ESX/ESXi host is optimized for the best performance, including speed and duplex settings. For more information, see Configuring the speed and duplex of an ESX/ESXi host network adapter (1004089).
Verify that the firmware on the RAID controller or HBA is up to date. For more information, see Checking your firmware and BIOS levels to ensure compatibility with ESX/ESXi (1037257).
Verify that the local storage or SAN array is configured correctly. For more information, see Slow ESX/ESXi performance caused by misconfigured local storage or SAN array (1006602).
Verify on ESX/ESXi 4.1 and above if the storage array devices in the environment support the hardware acceleration functionality and if they are responding correctly to VAAI primitives. If there is no VAAI support on the array cloning or Storage vMotion may fail at 18%. For more information see Cloning or Storage vMotion fails at 18% with the error: Failed to clone: Connection timed out (1029244).

For further information on VAAI, see:
- vStorage APIs for Array Integration FAQ (1021976)
- Disabling the VAAI functionality in ESX/ESXi (1033665)

Note: If your problem still exists after trying the steps in this article, please:

Gather the VMware Support Script Data. For more information, see Collecting diagnostic information for VMware products (1008524).
File a support request with VMware Support and note this KB Article ID in the problem description. For more information, see How to Submit a Support Request.

Additional Information

Deploying a single template is slow in vCenter Server
Slow ESX/ESXi performance caused by misconfigured local storage or SAN array
Slow performance caused by out of date firmware on a RAID controller or HBA
Collecting diagnostic information for VMware products
Frequently Asked Questions for vStorage APIs for Array Integration
Disabling the VAAI functionality in ESXi/ESX
Checking your firmware and BIOS levels to ensure compatibility with ESX/ESXi
诊断出从 vCenter Server 部署模板或克隆缓慢
テンプレートのデプロイまたは vCenter Server のクローンのデプロイが遅い場合の診断
Diagnóstico de implantação lenta de modelos ou clones no vCenter Server