ESXi

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  • 1.  Enable EVC for AVX on free ESXi

    Posted Dec 22, 2023 12:39 PM

    Hi, I'm running the free version of ESXi 6.5 on my home lab. I need to enable AVX.

    I know my version of ESXi supports the EVC mode i need for AVX, but there is no mention of EVC anywhere in the free ESXi GUI, and online searches are all about doing it on vcenter/vsphere.

    Its frustrating as i know my version of ESXi can do what i need it to do, it's just not there in the free GUI. I'm wondering if i need to manually configure something in the vm config file?

     

    thanks



  • 2.  RE: Enable EVC for AVX on free ESXi

    Posted Dec 22, 2023 01:03 PM

    EVC is a compatibility for vMotion and being able to mix CPU's between host. It is a cluster feature and not generally seen as needed on a single ESXi host. There is not anyway to my knowledge to enable it on a single host. Similar questions have been posted on here over the years. 



  • 3.  RE: Enable EVC for AVX on free ESXi

    Posted Dec 22, 2023 02:52 PM

    For a standalone ESXi, EVC is not needed for AVX to be available. The purpose of EVC is really to mask off CPU features (i.e. make a newer CPU look like it is an older model such masking off AVX to run a VM on a host CPU that does not AVX).

    Two basic requirements for ESXi standalone home lab to have AVX, the CPU needs to have the AVX instruction set and the virtual hardware version of the VM(s).

    For Intel Xeon/i3/i5/i7, minimum is Sandy Bridge to have AVX. Haswell or newer is required for AVX2
    The virtual hardware version minimum is 8 for AVX to be present and version 11 is the minimum for AVX2.

    Question is what is the CPU of the machine in the home lab? And check the virtual hardware version of the VM(s).