Monitoring software shows incorrect system uptime for Windows 2008 R2 or later on hardware version 10
search cancel

Monitoring software shows incorrect system uptime for Windows 2008 R2 or later on hardware version 10

book

Article ID: 340299

calendar_today

Updated On:

Products

VMware vCenter Server VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:
  • Third-party monitoring software displays an incorrect uptime for a virtual hardware 10 virtual machine.
  • The guest operating system is Windows Server 2008 R2 / Windows 7 or later.


Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware vCenter Server 5.5.x

Cause

VMware virtual hardware 10, does not reset the TSC CPU registers which is read by third-party products as a QueryPerformanceCounter but leaves them unmodified during a soft-restart. This is by design and is an expected behavior.
With the addition of virtual hardware 10 in vSphere 5.5, a different hardware clock mechanism was introduced for up-to-date support with the Microsoft Server Virtualization Validation Program. For more information, see VMware Blog article: Microsoft Operating System Time Sources and Virtual Hardware 10.

For a similar issue with Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, see Windows 8 and Windows 2012 Server virtual machines fail upon reboot (2092807).

Resolution

This feature is by design in VMware virtual hardware version 10 and is in compliance with the Microsoft Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP) at the time of the initial release of this hardware version.

If the third-party software relies on the QueryPerformanceCounter to reset during a soft-reboot, add the monitor_control.enable_softResetClearTSC = TRUE to the virtual machine's advanced configuration.

To add the monitor_control.enable_softResetClearTSC = TRUE to the virtual machines advanced configuration in the vSphere Web Client:
  1. Log in to the vSphere Web Client.
  2. Ensure that the virtual machine has been shutdown and is powered off.
  3. Right-click on the virtual machine.
  4. Click Edit Settings to open the Virtual Machine Edit Settings window.
  5. Click VM Options.
  6. From the list on the left, expand the Advanced option.
  7. Click Edit Configuration.
  8. Click Add Row.
  9. Type monitor_control.enable_softResetClearTSC in the new Name column.
  10. Type true in the new Value column.
  11. Click OK to save the change to the virtual machine.



Additional Information

To be alerted when this document is updated, click the Subscribe to Article link in the Actions box
Windows 2008 R2 以降が稼働するハードウェアバージョン 10 の仮想マシンのシステム稼動時間を、監視ソフトウェアが間違った値で表示する
7Windows 8 and Windows 2012 Server or later virtual machines fail upon reboot
在硬件版本 10 上，监控软件显示的 Windows 2008 R2 或更高版本的系统正常运行时间不正确
Softwares de monitoramento mostram um tempo de ativação do sistema incorreto para o Windows 2008 R2 ou versões posteriores na versão de hardware 10
El software de supervisión muestra un tiempo de actividad del sistema incorrecto para Windows 2008 R2 o posteriores con hardware versión 10

Powered by Wolken Software