Installation guide

Table Of Contents
Prerequisites
Before you create an EVC cluster, ensure that the hosts you intend to add to the cluster meet the requirements
listed in “EVC Requirements,” on page 192.
Procedure
1 Create an empty cluster, and enable EVC.
Select the CPU vendor and feature set appropriate for the hosts you intend to add to the cluster. For
information on configuring EVC, see the vSphere Client online Help.
Other cluster features such as VMware DRS and VMware HA are fully compatible with EVC. You can
enable these features when you create the cluster. For information on specific cluster options, see the
vSphere Client online Help.
2 Select a host to move into the cluster.
3 If the host feature set is greater than the baseline feature set that you have enabled for the EVC cluster, do
one of the following:
n
Power off all the virtual machines on the host.
n
Migrate the host’s virtual machines to another host using VMotion.
4 Move the host into the cluster.
You can power on the virtual machines on the host, or migrate virtual machines into the cluster with
VMotion, if the virtual machines meet CPU compatibility requirements for the cluster’s baseline feature
set. Virtual machines running on hosts with more features than the EVC cluster baseline must be powered
off before migration into the cluster.
5 Repeat Step 3 and Step 4 for each additional host that you want to move into the cluster.
Enable EVC on an Existing Cluster
Enable EVC on an existing cluster to help ensure VMotion compatibility between the hosts in the cluster.
Prerequisites
Before you enable EVC on an existing cluster, ensure that the hosts in the cluster meet the requirements listed
in “EVC Requirements,” on page 192.
Procedure
1 Select the cluster for which you want to enable EVC.
2 If virtual machines are running on hosts that have feature sets greater than the baseline feature set you
intend to enable, do one of the following tasks:
n
Power off all the virtual machines on the hosts with feature sets greater than the EVC baseline.
n
Migrate the cluster’s virtual machines to another host using VMotion.
Because these virtual machines are running with more features than the EVC cluster baseline you
intend to set, power off the virtual machines to migrate them back into the cluster after enabling EVC.
3 Ensure that the cluster contains hosts with CPUs from only one vendor, either Intel or AMD.
4 Edit the cluster settings and enable EVC.
Select the CPU vendor and feature set appropriate for the hosts in the cluster.
vSphere Basic System Administration
194 VMware, Inc.