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

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• When deploying a Virtual Machine from a template and selecting the [Customize this virtual machine's hardware] option, the vSphere Client UI becomes unresponsive.
• The browser consumes high amounts of RAM (up to 90%+) until it crashes.
• Errors encountered include:
  • Out of memory
  • The page isn't responding
  • Page ran out of memory
• This behavior typically occurs after upgrading to vCenter 8.0.3 and affects specific templates.

Environment

• vCenter Server 8.0.3 (including build 8.0.3.0.0700)
• vSphere ESXi 8.0.3
• Browser: Chromium-based (Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge)

Cause

This issue is caused by a known UI bug where the hardware customization wizard fails to correctly parse stale or inconsistent metadata within certain VM templates, leading to an infinite loop and browser memory exhaustion.

Resolution

This issue is 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 (Recommended)

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) as needed 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. (Optional) Right-click the resulting VM and select Edit Settings to ensure all hardware settings are valid.

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

   5. Attempt to deploy a new VM using the "Customize hardware" option to verify the fix.

• 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

• To receive updates on this issue, Subscribe to this Article.
• For further assistance, see Contact Broadcom Support. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on your respective region.