CPU usage in virtual machines running Windows 2003 spikes to 100% randomly every few minutes

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• CPU usage in virtual machines running these Windows 2003 Editions spikes to 100% randomly every few minutes:
   
  • Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
  • Enterprise Edition (32-bit x86)
  • Web Edition
  • Datacenter Edition (32-bit x86)
  • Standard x64 Edition
  • Enterprise x64 Edition
  • Enterprise Edition for Itanium-based Systems
  • Datacenter Edition for Itanium-Based Systems

 

• If a resource limit is not set on the virtual machine, the ESX/ESXi host on which the virtual machine is running also reports a spike in CPU usage to 100%
• If the issue is reported in several Windows 2003 virtual machines, spanning across multiple hosts in a cluster, all the hosts in the cluster also show the CPU usage spiking to 100%
• ESX/ESXi hosts with spiking CPU usage trigger the Host CPU Usage alarm.
• Virtual Machines with spiking CPU usage trigger the Guest CPU Usage alarm.

Environment

VMware ESX 4.0.x
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded
VMware ESX 4.1.x
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Embedded

Cause

This is a known issue with these Windows 2003 Editions.

 

This issue occurs due to an incorrect algorithm in the Wldap32.dll module, which copies the memory frequently, resulting in the process consuming up to 99 percent of the CPU resources every few minutes.

 

Note: The preceding link was correct as of February 19, 2014. If you find the link is broken, provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.

Resolution

This issue is resolved in the latest service pack from Microsoft for these Windows 2003 Editions.

 

Also, Microsoft has released a hotfix to resolve this issue.

 

Note: The preceding link was correct as of February 19, 2014. If you find the link is broken, provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.

Additional Information

CPU usage on ESXi hosts spikes to 100 % for a few minutes
Windows 2003 を実行している仮想マシンの CPU 使用率が、数分おきに突然 100% に達する
运行 Windows 2003 的虚拟机中的 CPU 使用量随机每隔几分钟激增至 100%