vmware-hostd may use a lot of CPU or has generated a core dump on an ESX host

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• ESX host is slow or sluggish
• The top command shows vmware-hostd is using a lot of CPU
• vmware-hostd generates a core dump
• This issue can occur when any ESX host managed by VirtualCenter/vCenter Server has a DRS / HA cluster that contains virtual machines that were originally built on an ESX 2.x host.

Environment

VMware ESX 4.1.x
VMware ESX Server 3.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 4.1.x
VMware vCenter Server 4.0.x
VMware ESX 4.0.x
VMware VirtualCenter 2.0.x

Resolution

Note: Before you begin, see Restarting the Management agents on an ESX or ESXi Server (1003490) for important information on restarting the mgmt-vmware service.

To adjust resource allocation for vmware-hostd:

1. Right-click the virtual machine and choose Edit Properties.
2. Select Resources.
3. Ensure you "touch" each CPU and memory resource:
   • Change Shares from Normal to Low.
   • Set Reservation to 1.
   • Set Limit to a limit (for example, 1 less than the current value).
   • You might need to deselect the Unlimited check box at the bottom.
     
     
4. Log into the ESX service console as the root user. At the command line, type:
   
   service mgmt-vmware restart
   
   
5. Repeat steps 1-4 for each virtual machine.