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I have a Windows 2008 R2 Enterprise Exchange server currently running 4 sockets and 1 core per socket. CPU usage hovers around 75-85% so I was going to add more power. I think I found that cores vs sockets were the same in VMWare so it doesn't make a difference if I go to 8 sockets and 1 core or keep the 4 sockets and up it to 2 cores per socket. I also saw where Enterprise will support 8 sockets. <br />
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The real question: is there a preferable way so that the Windows software doesn't balk at the change? I've seen articles saying that some OS's do not like changes to the CPU. <br />
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Second question: if I change it and Windows blows up, is it reversible just by backing the sockets back down to what they were? Would a snap before shutting the VM down and adding more CPU help in this case? Thanks
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I have a Windows 2008 R2 Enterprise Exchange server currently running 4 sockets and 1 core per socket. CPU usage hovers around 75-85% so I was going to add more power. I think I found that cores vs sockets were the same in VMWare so it doesn't make a difference if I go to 8 sockets and 1 core or keep the 4 sockets and up it to 2 cores per socket. I also saw where Enterprise will support 8 sockets. 

The real question: is there a preferable way so that the Windows software doesn't balk at the change? I've seen articles saying that some OS's do not like changes to the CPU. 

Second question: if I change it and Windows blows up, is it reversible just by backing the sockets back down to what they were? Would a snap before shutting the VM down and adding more CPU help in this case? Thanks

VMWare vCPU / Windows OS change question

VMware, a software company founded in 1998,  was one of the first commercially successful companies to offer x86 virtualization. The storage company EMC purchased VMware in 1994. Dell Technologies acquired EMC in 2016. VMware’s parent company is now Dell Technologies.

VMware has many software products that run on desktops, Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS, which allows the virtualizing of the x86 architecture.  Its enterprise software hypervisor for servers, VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi), is a bare-metal hypervisor that runs directly on the server hardware and does not require an additional underlying operating system.

VMware

Virtualization is the act of creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, including (but not limited to) a virtual computer hardware platform, operating system (OS), storage device, or computer network resources. Virtualization is usually the creation of a system that executes separate from the underlying hardware resources, or the creation of an entire desktop for systems located elsewhere, similar to thin clients.

Virtualization

Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, based on the Microsoft Vista codebase, is the last 32-bit server operating system released by Microsoft. It has a number of versions, including including Foundation, Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, Web, HPC Server, Itanium and Storage; new features included server core installation and Hyper-V.