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MJB2011

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EVC and clusters

Hi all,

Wonder if you clever chaps can help find best solution.

ESX 5.5
Single cluster with EVC disabled.
Vcenter server on different cluster.

Want to add a new host to our existing cluster of 3 hosts. The new server has to have EVC enabled,  I have been advised to add the new server to a new cluster, and bring the host across one by one. Bu tthis means powering off 40 VMs.

In this scenario is there a way of brining the host together into one cluster without powering off VM.

We have vmotion network.
I also have capacity to run all VM on 2 hosts.

Thanks
Avatar of Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)
Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)
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Im afraid if you have VMs in USE e.g. ON, that are using the CPU (e.g. because they are powered UP), you'll need to power off the VMs, for them to use the new host.

You can migrate to new hosts if they are OFF, because they are not using the CPU.

It's a little bit like the game of "towers of hanoi", so that hosts do you have, what VMs are where, and what EVC mode needs to be enabled....
You can disconnect hosts at more functional level with machines running and connect them back inside low-function EVC cluster.
What CPUs we are talking about? Maybe time for 2nd cluster?
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MJB2011

ASKER

old cluster HP Gen 8 Intel Xeon E5-2640

New host HP Gen 9 Xeon E5-2683
this should be fine to add in the new host, and create a EVC baseline for the old hosts, and all will work.

What versions are they ? v1,  2, v3, v4...

Because they could be Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge or Haswell....

So the old CPU are they v1, v2, v3 ?
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ASKER

I dont understand, you mean into the existing cluster where EVC is off? or bring older host across to EVC enabled cluster without having to power off?
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
Avatar of Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)
Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)
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Sometimes no-evc is bad (think 3dnow)
You can use sandy bridge EVC for ivy bridge, sort of zero gain from DSP instructions added...
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ASKER

So, new cluster set to intel sandybridge and I can perform a vmotion to new cluster from old without a problem. Should I be surprised, I am a little considering Ive had a consultant the whole day tellign me to power down the all VMs to achieve goal.

Does that mean I can pop the existing hosts out of old cluster and add to the new one?
Okay, you have two clusters here ?

can you list clusters and hosts, and CPUs....

and what is old and what is new...

I thought you had....

old cluster, and were adding a single host to it.
Avatar of MJB2011

ASKER

3 hosts (gen8) in old cluster (EVC disabled)

New cluster 1 host (gen9) with EVC enabled intel Sandy.

Can i drop the old hosts into new cluster? rather than having to vmotion (hot) all servers.
AH, hang on.....is your EVC correct ? I worked out it was Ivy Bridge ?

if you Gen8 processors are v1 - Sandy, v2 - Ivy Bridge, both will work, but you might as well have the later instruction set for VMs, which is Ivy Bridge.

Check processors.

Yes, you can add the old hosts to to the new cluster.

all four hosts will then work in new cluster with EVC enabled, without powering off any VMs.

Because Sandy Bridge instruction set is already in use on the other older CPU in those hosts, and the new instructions in the Haswell will be masked because of the EVC baseline.

Edit:- Some Gen8 did ship with Xeon E3 v1.....so Sandy Bridge!
I sort of mentioned than ivy bridge adds completely useless instructions and you can clamp all vsphere to sandy bridge.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_Bridge_(microarchitecture)#Ivy_Bridge_features_and_performance
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