6.0.1

Table Of Contents
Administering CPU Resources 4
You can configure virtual machines with one or more virtual processors, each with its own set of registers
and control structures.
When a virtual machine is scheduled, its virtual processors are scheduled to run on physical processors. The
VMkernel Resource Manager schedules the virtual CPUs on physical CPUs, thereby managing the virtual
machine’s access to physical CPU resources. ESXi supports virtual machines with up to 128 virtual CPUs.
This chapter includes the following topics:
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“View Processor Information,” on page 21
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“Specifying CPU Configuration,” on page 21
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“Multicore Processors,” on page 22
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“Hyperthreading,” on page 22
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“Using CPU Affinity,” on page 24
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“Host Power Management Policies,” on page 25
View Processor Information
You can access information about current CPU configuration in the vSphere Web Client.
Procedure
1 Browse to the host in the vSphere Web Client navigator.
2 Click the Manage tab and click Settings.
3 Select Processors to view the information about the number and type of physical processors and the
number of logical processors.
NOTE In hyperthreaded systems, each hardware thread is a logical processor. For example, a dual-core
processor with hyperthreading enabled has two cores and four logical processors.
Specifying CPU Configuration
You can specify CPU configuration to improve resource management. However, if you do not customize
CPU configuration, the ESXi host uses defaults that work well in most situations.
You can specify CPU configuration in the following ways:
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Use the attributes and special features available through the vSphere Web Client. The
vSphere Web Client allows you to connect to the ESXi host or a vCenter Server system.
VMware, Inc.
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