Enhanced vMotion Compatibility (EVC) Upgrade to Skylake on Clusters FD1 - FD4

TL;DR: We've upgraded EVC to Skylake on compute clusters FD1-FD4 for Windows 11 security updates; power cycle (power off/on) your virtual instance to apply.

We are excited to announce the upgrade of Enhanced vMotion Compatibility (EVC) to Skylake on compute clusters FD1, FD2, FD3 and FD4. This update unlocks the features of Intel Skylake CPU architecture and is pivotal for maintaining compatibility with Windows 11 updates, ensuring a secure and high-performing infrastructure at the ITS Private Cloud.

More information about deploying Windows 11 or upgrading existing Windows 10 workloads on the ITS Private Cloud refer to:

Action Optional

In order to benefit from this change, virtual machine (VM) administrators need to power cycle (power off/on) their virtual instances. If you do not need an immediate EVC increase, your instance will continue to run unaffected.

Key Benefits

Improved Performance: Leverages Skylake's advanced capabilities for better VM performance.
Increased Compatibility: Ensures seamless VM migration across our infrastructure.
Enhanced Security: Aligns with the latest Windows 11 updates.

As always, please contact vss (at) utoronto dot ca if you have any questions or comments and we will be happy to help.