6.0

Changing Resource Allocation Settings—Example
The following example illustrates how you can change resource allocation settings to improve virtual
machine performance.
Assume that on an ESXi host, you have created two new virtual machines—one each for your QA (VM-QA)
and Marketing (VM-Marketing) departments.
Figure 25‑1. Single Host with Two Virtual Machines
VM-QA
host
VM-Marketing
In the following example, assume that VM-QA is memory intensive and accordingly you want to change the
resource allocation settings for the two virtual machines to:
n
Specify that, when system memory is overcommitted, VM-QA can use twice as much memory and CPU
as the Marketing virtual machine. Set the memory shares and CPU shares for VM-QA to High and for
VM-Marketing set them to Normal.
n
Ensure that the Marketing virtual machine has a certain amount of guaranteed CPU resources. You can
do so using a reservation setting.
Procedure
1 Start the vSphere Client and connect to a vCenter Server system.
2 Right-click VM-QA, the virtual machine for which you want to change shares, and select Edit Settings.
3 Select the Resources tab, and in the CPU panel, select High from the Shares drop-down menu.
4 In the Memory panel, select High from the Shares drop-down menu.
5 Click OK.
6 Right-click the marketing virtual machine (VM-Marketing) and select Edit Settings.
7 In the CPU panel, change the Reservation value to the desired number.
8 Click OK.
If you select the cluster’s Resource Allocation tab and click CPU, you should see that shares for VM-QA are
twice that of the other virtual machine. Also, because the virtual machines have not been powered on, the
Reservation Used fields have not changed.
Administering CPU Resources
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.
vSphere Administration with the vSphere Client
342 VMware, Inc.