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>nobody is going to say "but we've used Intel for a decade, how can we suddenly switch to AMD?!". Maybe not those exact words, but people will say "We are addi

>nobody is going to say "but we've used Intel for a decade, how can we suddenly switch to AMD?!". Maybe not those exact words, but people will say "We are adding a server to our VMWare ESXi cluster, so if want it to be compatible with our existing hardware we better stick with Intel." VMWare's high availability feature (a highly desired feature for any data center) won't work across different CPU architectures, so unless you are replacing your entire stack and not just adding server(s) then you have to stick with the architecture you already have in place.

neuromancer2701 8y ago
These aren't "different CPU architectures". They would all be x86-64 so unless VMware uses some specific Intel feature it shouldn't be a problem.
- hitpointdrew 8y ago
  I have been a Sys Admin for 7 years. It is a problem, vmotion won't work going from AMD to Intel or vice versa (at least not in any official way). In fact it is highly suggested when building ESXi stacks that you get the exact same model CPU for each server. https://communities.vmware.com/thread/305792 https://communities.vmware.com/thread/305792 https://www.v-front.de/2013/04/how-to-vmotion-from-intel-to-amd-and.html https://www.v-front.de/2013/04/how-to-vmotion-from-intel-to-...
- nl 8y ago
  No, Intel FlexMigration and AMD-V Extended Migration architectures are different, and vMotion isn't supported across them. EVC does not allow for migration with vMotion between Intel and AMD processors.[1] This isn't really that surprising. x86-64 is standard, but extensions aren't. Eg, here's some of the new extrnsion in Zen vs Steamroller: Compared to the AMD Opteron™ "Steamroller" EVC mode, this EVC mode exposes additional CPU features including RDRAND, SMEP, AVX2, BMI2, MOVBE, ADX, RDSEED, SMAP, CLFLUSHOPT, XSAVES, XSAVEC, SHA, and CLZERO [1] [1] https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1003212 https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1003212
ocdtrekkie 8y ago
Indeed, AMD's best in would be at the larger scale end, where someone might add whole sites at a time and choose AMD for a new datacenter, since inter-site live vMotion is pretty unusual.

neuromancer2701 8y ago

These aren't "different CPU architectures". They would all be x86-64 so unless VMware uses some specific Intel feature it shouldn't be a problem.

hitpointdrew 8y ago
I have been a Sys Admin for 7 years. It is a problem, vmotion won't work going from AMD to Intel or vice versa (at least not in any official way). In fact it is highly suggested when building ESXi stacks that you get the exact same model CPU for each server. https://communities.vmware.com/thread/305792 https://communities.vmware.com/thread/305792 https://www.v-front.de/2013/04/how-to-vmotion-from-intel-to-amd-and.html https://www.v-front.de/2013/04/how-to-vmotion-from-intel-to-...
nl 8y ago
No, Intel FlexMigration and AMD-V Extended Migration architectures are different, and vMotion isn't supported across them. EVC does not allow for migration with vMotion between Intel and AMD processors.[1] This isn't really that surprising. x86-64 is standard, but extensions aren't. Eg, here's some of the new extrnsion in Zen vs Steamroller: Compared to the AMD Opteron™ "Steamroller" EVC mode, this EVC mode exposes additional CPU features including RDRAND, SMEP, AVX2, BMI2, MOVBE, ADX, RDSEED, SMAP, CLFLUSHOPT, XSAVES, XSAVEC, SHA, and CLZERO [1] [1] https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1003212 https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1003212

ocdtrekkie 8y ago

Indeed, AMD's best in would be at the larger scale end, where someone might add whole sites at a time and choose AMD for a new datacenter, since inter-site live vMotion is pretty unusual.