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Virtual machine does not power on when there is high CPU reservation
Details
- Unable to power on virtual machine
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The following error messages are displayed:
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operation is not allowed in current state
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CPU min outside valid range
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Failed to find a host for powering on the virtual machine
- Invalid CPU allocation requested for VM
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- A message similar to the following may be reported in /var/log/vmware/hostd.log
msg = 'Group host/user: Invalid cpu allocation requested for VM vmm0:V0D0-MVCSSA0-01. (min: 6400 mhz, max: 4294967295, minLimit: 4294967295, shares: 4294967292)\nCould not power on VM : CPU min outside valid range.\nFailed to power on VM',
faultCause = <unset>,
faultMessage = (vmodl.LocalizableMessage) [],
reason = 'Group host/user: Invalid cpu allocation requested for VM vmm0:V0D0-MVCSSA0-01. (min: 6400 mhz, max: 4294967295, minLimit: 4294967295, shares: 4294967292)\nCould not power on VM : CPU min outside valid range.\nFailed to power on VM',
messageInfo = (vim.vm.Message) []
Solution
This issue occurs when the CPU reservation of a virtual machine is greater than the total CPU available on a single processor.
To resolve this issue from vSphere Client:
- Connect to the ESX or vCenter Server host with appropriate administrative credentials.
- Select the virtual machine from the inventory.
- Right-click on the virtual machine and click Edit Settings.
- On the Virtual Machine Properties dialog, click the Resources tab.
- Select CPU from list under the Settings column.
- Use the slider or the Reservation text box to lower the CPU reservation value.
To resolve this issue from the service console:
- Establish an SSH session to your ESX host. For more information, see Opening a command or shell prompt (1003892).
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Log in as root.
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Run the following command to list the location of the configuration files for the virtual machines registered on that ESX host:
vmware-cmd -l
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Record the location of the .vmx file (configuration file) for the virtual machine you are troubleshooting.
For example:
/vmfs/volumes/46b2f3eb-ced4c7d8-c1d2-111122223333/<vm-name>/<vm-name>.vmx -
If the virtual machine is not registered on the ESX host and you want to search its configuration file, run the following command and press Enter:
find /vmfs -name "*.vmx” -
Make a backup copy of the <vm-name>.vmx file.
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Open the <vm-name>.vmx file in a text editor and locate the line:
sched.cpu.min = "3230"
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The value identified in the quotes exceeds the amount of physical CPU for one core. Lower the reservation by changing this value.
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Save the file and exit the editor.
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Power on the virtual machine.
For related troubleshooting information, see Troubleshooting a virtual machine that is unresponsive because of a configuration issue (1007814).
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