Enable EVC in vCenter Server 6.5/6.7/7.0/8.0 if VC VM is part of the same cluster

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vCenter Server 4.x - View
• VMware vCenter Server 5.0
• VMware vCenter Server 6.0
• VMware vCenter Server 7.0
• VMware vCenter Server 8.0

Issue/Introduction

This article provides steps to enable Enhanced vMotion Capability (EVC) on a cluster when vCenter Server is installed on a virtual machine running in the cluster.

Symptoms:

• While enabling EVC mode for a cluster, hosts are reported with below compatibility status:

The host cannot be admitted to the cluster's current Enhanced vMotion Compatibility mode. Powered-on or suspended virtual machines on the host may be using CPU features hidden by that mode.

• vCenter Server Virtual Machine managing the cluster is part of the same cluster

Environment

• VMware vCenter Server 6.5.x
• VMware vCenter Server 6.7.x
• VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.5.x
• VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.7.x
• VMware vCenter Server Appliance 7.0.x
• VMware vCenter Server Appliance 8.0.x

Resolution

To enable EVC on a cluster when vCenter Server is installed on a virtual machine running in the cluster:

1. Connect to vCenter Server using the vSphere Web Client.
2. Right-click a data center in the inventory and select New Cluster.
3. Type a name for the cluster.
4. Expand EVC and select a baseline CPU feature set from the EVC mode drop-down
5. Migrate all virtual machines from one of the ESXi host in the existing cluster.
6. Put the host into Maintenance Mode.
7. Drag and drop the ESXi host into the EVC cluster.
8. Exit from Maintenance Mode.
9. Using the VMware Host Client, directly connect to the ESXi host that is hosting the vCenter Server virtual machine.
10. Right-click the vCenter Server virtual machine and click Edit Settings.
11. Click the VM Options tab.
12. Click General Options.
13. Make a note of the host (vCenter virtual machine is running), location, and name of the virtual machine configuration file (.vmx) on the datastore. This information is required in step 18 and later.
14. Power off the vCenter Server virtual machine.
15. Connect to the host noted in # step 13 using the Host Client.
16. Right-click the vCenter Server virtual machine and click Unregister.
17. Using the Host Client, connect directly to the ESXi host that is in the EVC cluster.
18. Browse the datastore that contains the virtual machine configuration file for the vCenter Server virtual machine as noted in # step 13.
19. Right-click the virtual machine configuration file and click Register VM.
20. Power on the vCenter Server virtual machine.
21. Using the vSphere Web Client, connect to the vCenter Server.
    
    vCenter Server is running in a virtual machine on an ESXi host that is part of an EVC cluster. All other virtual machines are running on ESXi hosts outside of the EVC cluster.
22. To add the ESXi hosts that are outside the EVC cluster into the EVC cluster, move the virtual machines from hosts.
    
    Note: It is possible to attempt migrating those virtual machines (while powered on) to an ESXi/ESX host already in the EVC cluster. If this migration fails (for example, due to the EVC baseline configuration), power off the virtual machines and then migrate them to an ESXi host in the EVC cluster.
23. After all the virtual machines are moved from the ESXi host, right-click the host and click Disconnect to disconnect it from the vCenter Server Inventory.
24. Drag and drop the disconnected host into the EVC cluster.
25. Right-click the ESXi host and click Connect to connect it to the vCenter Server Inventory.
26. Repeat steps 22-25 for each ESXi host until all hosts are part of the EVC cluster.

Additional Information

EVC and CPU Compatibility FAQ

Impact/Risks:
Caution: VMware does not recommend using these steps for a vCenter Server virtual machine that is running on a Virtual Distributed Switch (VDS). Move the vCenter Server virtual machine to a standard vSwitch or to an ephemeral port group on the distributed switch before completing the steps outlined in this article. More information on ephemeral port groups can be found in KB Static (non-ephemeral) or ephemeral port binding on a vSphere Distributed Switch (324492)

Caution: The steps above cannot be run if the cluster in question is a vSAN enabled cluster. If this is a vSAN cluster and need to enable EVC in an existing cluster see KB How to enable EVC in vCenter Server 6.5/6.7/7.0/8.0 if VC VM is part of the same vSAN cluster (326970)

Note: VMware recommends considering and enabling EVC for the cluster prior to putting it into production.