"The total number of virtual CPUs present or requested in the virtual machines' configuration has exceeded the limit on the host" occurs when attempting to power on the Virtual Machine in vCenter Server.
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"The total number of virtual CPUs present or requested in the virtual machines' configuration has exceeded the limit on the host" occurs when attempting to power on the Virtual Machine in vCenter Server.

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Article ID: 344239

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vCenter Server VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms :

  • Unable to power On VMs from vCenter server with DRS enabled.
  • Will be able to power on the VM once DRS is disabled.
  • Can power on the VM directly from ESXi host.
  • You see an error message similar to: The total number of virtual CPUs present or requested in virtual machines' configuration has exceeded the limit on the host:XXX
  • In the /var/log/vmware/vmware-vpxd/vpxd.log, you see entries similar to:

    YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSinfo vpxd[08244] [Originator@6876 sub=vpxLro opID=PowerOnResolver-applyOnMultiEntity-4254-ngc-84] [VpxLRO] -- BEGIN task-480576 -- datacenter-2 -- vim.Datacenter.powerOnVm -- 5202822e-70ec-6b64-3997-4b5264cbe89c(5207f478-6fe3-fe7f-db7c-d3012798ff84)
    YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS info vpxd[08244] [Originator@6876 sub=vpxLro opID=PowerOnResolver-applyOnMultiEntity-4254-ngc-84-01] [VpxLRO] -- BEGIN lro-3315 -- -- DrmClusterVmPowerOn --
    YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS error vpxd[08244] [Originator@6876 sub=drmLogger opID=PowerOnResolver-applyOnMultiEntity-4254-ngc-84-01] DrmFault: reason powerOnVm, vm DRTEST11, host 192.168.12.14, fault [class Vim::Fault::NumVirtualCpusExceedsLimit:0x000000f7b4e14860]

    Note: The preceding log excerpts are only examples. Date, time, and environmental variables may vary depending on your environment.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 6.x

VMware vCenter Server 7.x

VMware vCenter Server 8.x

Cause

  • The issue occurs because it violates the DRS maximum vCPUs per cluster.
  • CPU overcommitment ratio is configured at cluster level under DRS. This is an option to enforce a maximum vCPU:pCPU ratios in the cluster. Once the cluster reaches this defined value, no additional VMs will be allowed to power on.

Resolution

  • Disable the CPU over-commitment (or) increase the limit to accommodate more vCPUs per cluster:
    • Navigate to Cluster > Configure > DRS > Edit cluster settings > Additional options > Uncheck CPU overcommitment ratio or modify the ratio.

Note:

  • Similar issue is observed when VCHA is configured. Passive node fails to power on due to CPU overcommitment ratio.

  • Maximum vCPUs per DRS cluster is calculated as below : Total pCPU in the cluster x (CPU over-commitment /100)

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