| To ensure production-system stability during migration with VMotion, VirtualCenter requires the source and target CPUs to be compatible, as defined in these documents: If the source and target CPUs are incompatible for VMotion, you can: - Perform a cold migration (rather than a VMotion migration), thereby removing VMotion CPU requirements as an issue.
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Remove VMotion compatibility constraints by modifying the default bit-mask used by VirtualCenter. Note that some modifications discussed in this knowledge base article are neither supported nor recommended by VMware for production environments. In general, any CPU feature (or extended feature) that circumvents the virtualization layer (such as SSE3) is not supported for VMotion. Here are some resources that can help you obtain information about a host system's CPU: -
VMware's ESX Server 3.x CD-ROM includes an ISO image file (\images\cpuid.iso.gz ) that can be uncompressed and used to create a bootable CD-ROM that provides CPU information about a given host prior to operating system (or ESX Server) installation. If you have questions about obtaining or using this tool, contact VMware Technical Support. -
VMotion Compatibility Groups for Intel Processors To guarantee successful migrations with VMotion, VMware has defined several compatibility groups based on processor family (Pentium 4, Core) and implementation of SSE3 and SSSE3 instructions. By default, VirtualCenter supports VMotion migrations within each CPU compatibility group. For example, migration within group A is allowed, but migration from group A to group B or from group B to group C is not, as shown in the tables. Intel Pentium 4 CPU Family | VMotion CPU Compatibility Group | CPU Details | ESX Server 3.x | ESX Server 2.x | | | Group A | Without SSE3, without XD (eXecute Disable) bit. Models include: -
Early Intel P4s prior to Model 3, Stepping 1.
For example, Willamette and Northwood. -
Early Xeon and Xeon MP CPUs (prior to Nocona, Q3 2004).
For example, Foster, Prestonia, and Gallatin. | For A <-> B VMotion, apply SSE3 mask (not supported). |
For A <-> B VMotion, apply SSE3 mask (not supported). | | | Group B
(Group B and C are the same for VC 1.x) | With SSE3, without XD (eXecute Disable) bit. Models include: - P4s from Model 3, Stepping 1 onward (introduced in early 2004).
For example, Prescott, or numbered 5x0, 5x5, 5x9. - Xeon with 64-bit (EM64T) enabled.
For example, Nocona. | | | For B <-> C VMotion, apply NX mask (supported).
| | | Group C
(Group B and C are the same for VC 1.x) | With SSE3 and XD (eXecute Disable) bit. Models include: - P4s from Model 3, Stepping 1 onward (introduced in early 2004).
For example, Prescott, or numbered 5x0j, 5x5j, 5x9j. -
P4s with 64 bit (EM64T) enabled.
For example, Prescott 2M, Cedar Mill, or numbered 5x1, 5x6, 6x0, 6x1, 6x2. -
P4s with dual-core (marketed as Pentium D).
For example, Smithfield, Pressler, or numbered 8x0. - Xeon and Xeon MP with 64-bit (EM64T) enabled.
For example, Irwindale, Cranford, and Potomac.Xeon and Xeon MP.
For example, Paxville, Dempsey, and Tulsa, or numbered 50xx, 70xx, and 71xx. | | | VMotion CPU Compatibility Group | CPU Details | ESX Server 3.x | ESX Server 2.x | | | Group A | Without SSSE3. Models include: Dual-core Xeon LV based on Intel Core Microarchitecture.
For example, Sossaman. | For A <-> B VMotion, apply SSSE3 mask (not supported). | For A <-> B VMotion, apply SSSE3 mask (not supported). | | | Group B | With SSSE3. Models include: Intel Dual-core Xeon family based on Intel Core Microarchitecture.
For example, Woodcrest, Clovertown, or numbered 51xx. | Intel Core CPU Family | | For B <-> C VMotion, apply SSE4.1 mask (not supported) | For B <-> C VMotion, apply SSE4.1 mask (not supported) | | | Group C | With SSE4.1 Models include: Penryn-based CPUs, for example Harpertown, Wolfdale | | Applying the Masks For information about how to apply masks referenced in the tables, see the appropriate sections in the "Migrations with VMotion Prevented Due to CPU Mismatch—How to Override Masks" (KB 1993 http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1993), as follows: Note that for production environments, VMware neither supports nor recommends modifying VMotion masks for SSE3, SSSE3, or SSE4.1 because of the risk of failure of the application or guest operating system after migration. VMotion Between Single-Core and Multi-Core Processors Support for dual-core processors was introduced in VirtualCenter version 1.3.0 and ESX Server version 2.5.2 (not shown in table above). Migrations between some single-core and multi-core Intel processors are supported, as long as the source and target CPUs have compatible CPU features (or the features are masked) as outlined in the tables above. For More Information For more information about the Intel Pentium 4 CPU family, go to: For more information about the Intel Core CPU family, go to: For more information about SSE3, SSSE3, and SSE4, go to: Note: Knowledge base articles 1991, 1992, and 1993 replace article 1377.
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