vCenter 8.0.3 UI hangs with out of memory error during VM template deployment

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

The vSphere Client UI becomes unresponsive and crashes with an "out of memory" error when selecting the "Customize this virtual machine's hardware" option during VM deployment from a template.

Symptoms

• Browser consumes excessive RAM (90%+) until the page crashes.
• "The page isn't responding" or "Out of memory" errors appear in Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Edge).

• Issue is specific to vCenter Server 8.0.3 and certain templates.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 8.0.3

VMware vSphere ESXi 8.0.3

Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge

Cause

A UI defect in vCenter 8.0.3 prevents the hardware customization wizard from correctly parsing stale or inconsistent metadata in specific templates, leading to an infinite processing loop in the browser.

Resolution

Fixed in vCenter Server 8.0.3 P05 and higher. See Download Broadcom products and software for steps to download this release.

Workarounds:
If an immediate upgrade is not possible, use one of the following methods:

• Method 1: Post-Deployment Hardware Configuration 

The most reliable way to bypass the UI hang is to avoid triggering the customization wizard during the initial deployment phase.

1. 1. Launch the Deploy from Template wizard.

   2. Do not check the box for "Customize this virtual machine's hardware."

   3. Complete the deployment wizard and click Finish.

   4. Once the VM is created, right-click the VM, select Edit Settings, and modify the hardware (CPU, RAM, Network) before powering it on.

• Method 2: Template Refresh (Resetting Metadata)

Refreshing the template state can often clear the underlying configuration glitch causing the browser to hang.

1. 1. Locate the affected template in the vSphere inventory.

   2. Right-click the template and select Convert to Virtual Machine.

   3. Right-click the VM again and select Template > Convert to Template.

   4. Attempt deployment with hardware customization enabled.

• Method 3: Temporary Memory Reduction

In some instances, the crash is triggered by high memory values defined in the template's VMX file that the 8.0.3 UI fails to parse correctly.

1. 1. Convert the Template back to a Virtual Machine.

   2. Go to Edit Settings and reduce the configured Memory (e.g., if it is set to 16 GB, reduce it to 8 GB).

   3. Convert the VM back into a Template.

   4. Run the deployment wizard with the "Customize hardware" option selected.

   5. Once the wizard loads successfully, increase the memory back to the desired value within the "Customize hardware" screen.

Additional Information

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• For further assistance, see Contact Broadcom Support. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on your respective region.