vMotion failed due to EVC settings

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0
• VMware vSphere ESXi 8.0

Issue/Introduction

 

When vMotion a VM in vCenter Web GUI , it returns an error:

"The target host does not support the virtual machine’s current hardware requirements. To resolve CPU incompatibilities, use a cluster with Enhanced vMotion Compatibility (EVC) enabled"

Environment

vSphere 7.0.x

vSphere 8.0.x

Cause

The EVC  mode of  running VMs are not compatible with cluster  EVC settings . 

Need to configure cluster EVC settings, and need to reboot VMs.

 

 

Resolution

1) Check the VM EVC mode  of  running VMs:

  a) Choose  a host in the vCenter Server inventory.
  b) Click the VMs -> Virtual Machines tab.
  c) A list of all virtual machines  on the selected host appears.
  d) To verify the status of the CPU mode, check the EVC CPU Mode column.
  e) Some VMs show  "Intel  Cascade Lake Generation", and some other VMs show  "Intel Sapphire Rapids Generation"

 

2) Edit the cluster EVC setting, change it to "Intel  Cascade Lake Generation".

   Alternatively , create a new cluster with EVC setting, and move ESXi host to this new cluster.

   "Intel  Cascade Lake Generation"  needs less CPU features than "Intel Sapphire Rapids Generation".

 

3) Power off the VMs with "Intel Sapphire Rapids Generation"  EVC mode, then power on them again.

 These VMs will use "Intel  Cascade Lake Generation"  instead when they are powered on.

 

4) All VMs in this cluster use the same EVC settings, so they can be vMotioned to any ESXi host in this cluster.

 

This is only an example, for more supported EVC modes, please reference kb 313545: 

VMware EVC and CPU Compatibility FAQ