What’s VMware Enhanced vMotion Compatibility (EVC)?

VMware Enhanced vMotion Compatibility (EVC) allows virtual machines (VMs) to be moved between several types of processors without powering them down. This may be extremely useful when performing maintenance in your host servers or migrating your VMs to recent hardware.

EVC was introduced in VMware vSphere 4.1 and has been available in all subsequent releases. It’s compatible with each Intel and AMD processors.

Enhanced vMotion Compatibility works by making a baseline of processor compatibility across all of the hosts in a cluster. This baseline is then used to find out which VMs may be moved between hosts with none issues. EVC may even mechanically configure the proper Central Processing Unit (CPU) settings for any recent VMs which can be added to the cluster, ensuring they’re compatible with the opposite VMs within the environment.

EVC is transparent to the tip user and requires no changes to the VM or its operating system. It is also possible to live-migrate between hosts with different processors using vMotion, although this requires the VM to be off.

If you happen to are using VMware vSphere, then EVC is an awesome method to keep your VMs running whilst you perform maintenance or migrate to recent hardware. It is usually compatible with various processors, making it a flexible tool in your virtualization needs.

Enabling Enhanced vMotion Compatibility in your VMware hosts and guests is a comparatively easy process.

First, you will want to create a brand new cluster in vCenter Server. Next, you will want so as to add your hosts to this cluster and configure them with the proper CPU settings. Finally, you will want so as to add any VMs that you would like to be compatible with the cluster.

Once you’ve got configured EVC, you may move your VMs between hosts without powering them down. This will prevent significant time, as you won’t have to wait for the VMs as well up afterward.

EVC is a beneficial tool for any VMware administrator. It will probably greatly reduce the period of time required for maintenance and make it easier to migrate VMs to recent hardware. If you happen to are using vSphere, then EVC is certainly something that it’s best to consider enabling in your environment.

There are several advantages to using Enhanced vMotion Compatibility in your VMware environment.

First, EVC can greatly reduce the period of time required for maintenance tasks equivalent to patching and upgrading. When it’s good to patch or upgrade your hosts, you may simply migrate the VMs to a different host within the cluster and perform the duty while the VM is offline. 

Second, EVC could make it easier to migrate your VMs to recent hardware. If it’s good to add recent hosts to your environment or migrate your existing hosts to recent hardware, you may simply add the brand new hosts to the cluster and use vMotion to maneuver the VMs. This process is way simpler than performing a standard migration, as you won’t have to reconfigure the networking or storage in your VMs.

Third, EVC is transparent to the tip user and requires no changes to the VM or its operating system. This may be extremely helpful if it’s good to quickly add recent VMs or migrate existing VMs to recent hardware.

Finally, Enhanced vMotion Compatibility can improve your environment’s overall stability by stopping incompatible VMs from running on the identical host. This will reduce the danger of problems equivalent to CPU or memory contention, which might result in performance issues.

As with most technology, there are also potential challenges to navigate in contrast to the clear advantages. There are a number of, potential downsides to using Enhanced vMotion Compatibility in your environment.

First, EVC can add some complexity to your vCenter Server configuration. It’s because you will want to create a brand new cluster and add your entire hosts to this cluster. If you happen to will not be accustomed to vCenter Server, then this may be somewhat difficult.

Second, EVC can even impact performance. It’s because the baseline compatibility level is ready on the cluster level, meaning that each one cluster hosts must use the identical style of processor. This will potentially result in some wasted CPU cycles, as not all VMs will give you the option to utilize the total potential of the host’s processors.

Third, it is feasible for VMs to turn into stuck in an Enhanced vMotion Compatibility cluster in the event that they will not be compatible with the baseline CPU settings. This will occur if you happen to upgrade your host’s processors and don’t update the EVC cluster settings. Consequently, it’s possible you’ll be unable to live-migrate these VMs to other hosts within the cluster.

Finally, Enhanced vMotion Compatibility is probably not essential if your entire hosts use the identical style of processor. On this case, you may simply configure your VMs to make use of the proper CPU settings and live-migrate them between hosts without having to enable EVC.

If you happen to are using VMware vSphere, then Enhanced vMotion Compatibility is certainly something that it’s best to consider enabling in your environment. It will probably greatly reduce the period of time required for maintenance tasks and make it easier to migrate VMs to recent hardware. Enabling EVC is a comparatively easy process, and it might provide a major profit to your virtualization infrastructure. It is usually compatible with a wide range of processors, making it a flexible tool in your virtualization needs.

If you’ve got any questions on whether or not EVC is correct for you, contact the team at Liquid Web. For 25 years, they’ve helped businesses and entrepreneurs get probably the most out of their infrastructure and technology investments.