Why might an administrator fail to configure EVC on a cluster containing both AMD and Intel hosts?

The correct choice highlights an important aspect of Enhanced vMotion Compatibility (EVC) in VMware environments. EVC allows for a homogeneous virtual CPU feature set across a cluster of hosts, enabling VMs to be vMotioned seamlessly as they move between hosts. However, EVC has limitations when it comes to mixing different processor types.

When a cluster contains both AMD and Intel hosts, the different architectures and instruction sets of these processor families can lead to incompatibilities. The EVC feature is designed to ensure that all hosts in a cluster can present a consistent set of CPU features to the virtual machines. In environments where both AMD and Intel processors are present without proper separation, the heterogeneity can cause the EVC settings to fail to configure because EVC offers support tailored to specific CPU families.

This means that without segregating hosts by processor type—ensuring either AMD or Intel processors are exclusively contained in the designated EVC-enabled cluster—it becomes impossible for EVC to function correctly. As a result, the administrator’s failure to separate hosts by processor type is a correct identification of why EVC configuration may not succeed in a mixed environment.