6.0

Change CPU Hot-Plug Settings in the vSphere Client
The CPU hot plug option lets you add CPU resources for a virtual machine while the machine is powered
on.
The following conditions apply:
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For best results, use virtual machines with hardware version 8 or later.
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Hot-adding multicore virtual CPUs is supported only with hardware version 8 or later.
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Not all guest operating systems support CPU hot add. You can disable these settings if the guest is not
supported.
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To use the CPU hot-add feature with hardware version 7 virtual machines, set Number of cores per
socket to 1.
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Adding CPU resources to a running virtual machine with CPU hot plug enabled disconnects and
reconnects all USB passthrough devices connected to that virtual machine.
Prerequisites
Verify that the virtual machine is running under the following conditions:
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VMware Tools is installed. This condition is required for hot plug functionality with Linux guest
operating systems.
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The virtual machine has a guest operating system that supports CPU hot plug.
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The virtual machine is using hardware version 7 or later.
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The virtual machine is powered off.
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Required privileges: Virtual Machine.Configuration.Settings on the virtual machine
Procedure
1 In the vSphere Client inventory, right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings.
2 Click the Options tab and under Advanced, select Memory/CPU Hotplug.
3 Change the CPU Hot Plug setting.
4 Click OK to save your changes.
What to do next
You can now add CPUs to the powered on virtual machine.
Change the Number of Virtual CPUs
You can configure a virtual machine that runs on an ESXi host to have up to 128 virtual CPUs. You can
change the number of virtual CPUs while the virtual machine is running or powered off.
Virtual CPU hot add is supported for virtual machines with multicore CPU support that are running on
hardware version 8 or later. When the virtual machine is powered on, and CPU hot add is enabled, you can
hot add virtual CPUs to the running virtual machine. You can add only multiples of the number of cores per
socket. For multicore CPUs, the host must have a license for vSphere Virtual Symmetric Multiprocessing
(Virtual SMP).
IMPORTANT When you configure your virtual machine for multicore virtual CPU settings, you must ensure
that your configuration complies with the requirements of the guest operating system EULA.
vSphere Administration with the vSphere Client
144 VMware, Inc.