vCenter Server 7.0 services fails to start in an EVC enabled cluster

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• After unregistering and reregistering a vCenter Server 7.0 U1 VM from a 6.5 U3 host to a 7.0 U1 host, vCenter services fails to start
• In the vpxd.log file, you see similar to:

2020-11-05T17:07:12.021+13:00 error vpxd[05640] [Originator@6876 sub=LSClient] Caught exception while creating LS client adapter: N7Vmacore15SystemExceptionE(Connection refused: The remote service is not running, OR is overloaded, OR a firewall is rejecting connections.)

• Running cat /var/log/vmware/lookupsvc/lookupsvc_stream.log.stdout returns the error:

Starting service process with pid: 2383.
Error occurred during initialization of VM
Unknown x64 processor: SSE2 not supported

• Both ESXi 6.5 and 7.0 hosts are in an EVC enabled cluster with the same baseline
• vCenter services start when disabling EVC on the 7.0 U1 cluster 

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 7.0.x
VMware vSphere 7.0.x

Cause

The 7.0 EVC baseline's vmFeature mask computes incorrect CPU Family.and JVM fails to recognize family 0x0 and hence fails to initialize.

In the virtual machines vmware.log, you see:
2020-11-05T03:41:28.965Z| vmx| I125: Full guest CPUID with differences from hostCPUID highlighted.
2020-11-05T03:41:28.965Z| vmx| I125: guest vs. host CPUID guest vendor: AuthenticAMD
2020-11-05T03:41:28.965Z| vmx| I125: guest vs. host CPUID guest family: 0x10 model: 0x2 stepping: 0x3

On the 7.0 host:
2020-11-05T04:08:37.115Z| vmx| I005: Full guest CPUID with differences from hostCPUID highlighted.
2020-11-05T04:08:37.115Z| vmx| I005: guest vs. host CPUID guest vendor: AuthenticAMD
2020-11-05T04:08:37.115Z| vmx| I005: guest vs. host CPUID guest family: 0x0 model: 0x2 stepping: 0x3

Resolution

This issue is resolved in ESXi 7.0 Update 1c, available at VMware Downloads.

Workaround:
To workaround this issue, either:

• Disable EVC on the 7.0 cluster or Register the VM to on a non EVC cluster/Host
• Manually mask the affected VM's by updating the .vmx file.
  1. Connect to the ESXi host with and SSH session and root credentials.
  2. Navigate to the VM's location.
  3. Edit the .vmx file and add:

cpuid.1.eax = 0000:0000:0001:0000:0000:1111:0010:0011

cpuid.80000001.eax = 0000:0000:0001:0000:0000:1111:0010:0011

Notes:

• This is a temporary workaround as it changes the CPU family to 0x10.
• Tips for editing a .vmx file

Additional Information

“The target host does not support the virtual machine’s current hardware requirements” error vMotioning a VM
VMware EVC and CPU Compatibility FAQ
Skylake EVC virtual machines fail to power on
How to enable EVC if vCenter Server Virtual Machine is part of the same cluster

Impact/Risks:
Applications not supporting family 0x0 would fail.