To simplify vMotion across CPU generations VMware has introduced Enhanced vMotion Compatibility (EVC). EVC automatically configures server CPUs with Intel FlexMigration or AMD-V Extended Migration technologies to be compatible with older servers. In vSphere 6.7 a now EVC mode has been introduced.
Intel Skylake Generation
Compared to Intel "Broadwell " EVC mode, the Skylake EVC mode exposes additional CPU features:
For more information about EVC Modes see Intel CPU EVC Matrix
Today VMware made vSphere 6.7 bits available for everyone to download. VMware vSphere 6.7 is now GA.
VMware vSphere 6.7 Release Notes and Download Links
Development time
Since vSphere 6.0 VMware started to extend their major release cycles. With 518 days, the development time of vSphere 6.7 was 3 months shorter than the previous version but is still much longer than the release cycles in the vSphere 5 era. Let's hope for smooth upgrades in the next couple of weeks.
| ESX | Release Date | Days since prior release |
| 6.7 | 2018-04-17 | 518 |
| 6.5 | 2016-11-15 | 614 |
| 6.0 | 2015-03-12 | 536 |
| 5.5 | 2013-09-22 | 376 |
| 5.1 | 2012-09-11 | 384 |
| 5.0 | 2011-08-24 | 407 |
| 4.1 | 2010-07-13 | 418 |
| 4.0 | 2009-05-21 | 456 |
| 3.5 | 2008-02-20 | 615 |
| 3.0 | 2006-06-15 | 563 |
| 2.5 | 2004-11-29 | 244 |
| 2.1 | 2004-03-30 | 253 |
| 2.0 | 2003-07-21 | 434 |
| 1.5 | 2002-05-13 | 416 |
| 1.0 | 2001-03-23 |
VMware ESX History Diagram
Download the latest Perl SDK for your vSphere version from code.vmware.com and copy it to the system. The download is free, but an My VMware account is required.
Make sure that your system up to date:
# apt-get update && apt-get upgrade -y
After Hewlett Packard Enterprise has missed offering a Microserver in their 9th Generation, it is now back in Gen10. The Microserver series provides affordable servers intended to be used in SMB and as home servers. Due to its low price and power consumption, you can find this system in many virtualization home labs as ESXi hosts or Storages.
The HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 is available with two different CPUs - AMD Opteron X3216 and X3421. Both models a SoC which means that the CPU cannot be changed like the Intel CPUs in Gen8. They support up to 32GB of unbuffered DDR RAM. The server can be equipped with 4 hard drive from the front.
When you try to install FreeNAS 11 on the new HPE ProLiant MicroServer Gen10 X3216, the installer stops booting and appears to be stuck at:
pcib0: <ACPI Host-PCI bridge> port 0xcf8-0xcff on acpi0
pcib0: _OSC returned error 0x10
pci0: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib0
This article explains how to fix the issue during the installation and how to apply the fix at an installed system using the FreeNAS Web Interface.
The Get-VMLatencySensitivity, Get-VMLatencySensitivityBulk and Set-VMLatencySensitivity PowerShell functions configure can return and set the latency sensitivity level of a virtual machine. You can adjust the latency sensitivity of a virtual machine to optimize the scheduling delay for latency sensitive applications.
The function is part of my Virten.net.VimAutomation module, which is a set of PowerShell function built for managing, troubleshooting and automating VMware based platforms. The module can be easily obtained from the PowerShell Gallery and is available on GitHub.
VMware has released a critical patch for vSAN 6.0 and 6.5. This patch contains a fix for a highly critical vSAN issue that might cause IO read errors and in some cases severe symptoms such as inaccessible VMs, host failures, or stuck resyncs. The issue manifests itself only under highly specific operations and IO patterns.
The bug only affects All-Flash vSAN configurations with deduplication enabled.
Symptoms for this issues are the following messages in the Events tab:
The following versions are affected according to KB2151042 and KB2151081.
| Name | Patch | Date | Build |
|---|---|---|---|
| ESXi 6.5 Update 1 | ESXi650-update1 | 2017-07-27 | 5969303 |
| ESXi 6.5 Update 1 (Security only) | ESXi650-update1 | 2017-07-27 | 5969300 |
| ESXi 6.5d (vSAN 6.6 Patch) | ESXi650-201704001 | 2017-04-18 | 5310538 |
| ESXi 6.5 Express Patch 1a | ESXi650-201703002 | 2017-03-28 | 5224529 |
| ESXi 6.5 Patch 1 | ESXi650-201703001 | 2017-03-09 | 5146846 |
| ESXi 6.5 Patch 1 (Security Only) | ESXi650-201703001 | 2017-03-09 | 5146843 |
| ESXi 6.5a | ESXi650-201701001 | 2017-02-02 | 4887370 |
| ESXi 6.5 GA | 2016-11-15 | 4564106 | |
| ESXi 6.0 Update 3a (Patch 5) | ESXi600-201706001 | 2017-06-06 | 5572656 |
| ESXi 6.0 Update 3a (Patch 5) (Security Only) | ESXi600-201706001 | 2017-06-06 | 5485776 |
| ESXi 6.0 Express Patch 7a | ESXi600-201703001 | 2017-03-28 | 5224934 |
| ESXi 6.0 Update 3 | ESXi600-update3 | 2017-02-24 | 5050593 |
| ESXi 6.0 Update 3 (Security Only) | ESXi600-update3 | 2017-02-24 | 5047589 |
| ESXi 6.0 Patch 4 | ESXi600-201611001 | 2016-11-22 | 4600944 |
| ESXi 6.0 Patch 4 (Security Only) | ESXi600-201611001 | 2016-11-22 | 4558694 |
VMware states that all vSAN customers using All-Flash with deduplication enabled must upgrade to this patch immediately:
The Get-VMHostVersion and Get-VMHostLatestVersion PowerShell functions are aimed at helping you to identify the version at which your ESXi is currently running, and whether updates are available. Both are using a JSON based ESXi Build database which is also the backend for the ESXi Build Number History provided by virten.net.
The function is part of my Virten.net.VimAutomation module, which is a set of PowerShell function built for managing, troubleshooting and automating VMware based platforms. The module can be easily obtained from the PowerShell Gallery and is available on GitHub.
The Convert-ScsiCode PowerShell function decodes SCSI sense codes found in the vmkernel.log from ESXi hosts. It uses a JSON based SCSI Code database provided by virten.net. The function works just like my web-based SCSI Sense Code Decoder but allows you to integrate it in your automation scripts.
The function is part of my Virten.net.VimAutomation module, which is a set of PowerShell function built for managing, troubleshooting and automating VMware based platforms. The module can be easily obtained from the PowerShell Gallery and is available on GitHub.
In vSphere 6.7 the command line interface esxcli has been extended with new features. This post introduces the new and extended namespaces.
