Linux guest OS with kernel version since 5.8 in ESXi 7.0U1 Server based on Ice Lake CPU keep booting or hanging.

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article will help in avoiding this issue when installing Linux guest OS with Linux kernel since 5.8 when installed on ESXi 7.0U1 Server based on Intel Ice Lake CPU.

The following are the affected Linux guest OS.

1. Ubuntu20.04.2 with kernel version of "5.8.0-43-generic"
2. SLE15SP5 with kernel version of "5.14.21-150500.34"
3. Oracle Linux 9.2 with kernel version of "5.15.0-101.103.2.1.el9uek"
4. Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Server)
5. RHEL 8.10
6. Debian 11.10
7. Oracle Linux 9.5

Symptoms:
Linux guest OS with kernel version from 5.8 in ESXi 7.0U1 Server based on Ice Lake CPU is hung on boot

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0.1
VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0.2

Cause

Incorrect behaviour in Linux guest OS with Linux kernel since 5.8 enabled fast string optimisation to work with short strings but disabled on ESXi 7.0U1 hardware version 18 based on a physical server using Intel Ice Lake CPU.

Resolution

The issue has been resolved in ESXi 7.0.1 Update 1c.

To resolve the issue, please upgrade ESXi 7.0U1 to 7.0.1P02 (ESXi 7.0 U1c) or later.
This issue affects Linux Virtual Machines with kernel version since 5.8 and virtual hardware version 18 based on Intel Ice Lake CPU.