What is MultiCore Virtual CPU?

VMware multicore virtual CPU support lets you control the number of cores per virtual CPU in a virtual machine. This capability lets operating systems with socket restrictions use more of the host CPU's cores, which increases overall performance.

You can configure how the virtual CPUs are assigned in terms of sockets and cores. For example, you can configure a virtual machine with four virtual CPUs in the following ways:

* Four sockets with one core per socket
* Two sockets with two cores per socket
* One socket with four cores per socket

Using multicore virtual CPUs can be useful when you run operating systems or applications that can take
advantage of only a limited number of CPU sockets. Previously, each virtual CPU was, by default, assigned
to a single-core socket, so that the virtual machine would have as many sockets as virtual CPUs.

When you configure multicore virtual CPUs for a virtual machine, CPU hot Add/remove is disabled.
For more information about multicore CPUs, see the vSphere Resource Management Guide. You can also search the VMware KNOVA database for articles about multicore CPUs.

CAUTION You must assign a value to configuration parameter keywords. If you don't assign a value, the
keyword can return a value of 0, false, or disable, which can result in a virtual machine that cannot power on.

Prerequisites

IMPORTANT To use the VMware multicore virtual CPU feature, you must be in compliance with the
requirements of the operating system EULA.

* Verify that the virtual machine is powered off.
* Verify that you have virtual machine hardware version 7 or later.
* Verify that the total number of virtual CPUs for the virtual machine divided by the number of cores per
   socket is a positive integer.