6.0.1

Table 1‑51. Data Counters
Chart Label Description
Read Requests Number of disk read commands completed on each LUN on the host. The
aggregate number of all disk read commands is also displayed in the chart.
n
Counter: numberRead
n
Stats Type: Absolute
n
Unit: Number
n
Rollup Type: Summation
n
Collection Level: 3
Write Requests Number of disk write commands completed on each LUN on the host. The
aggregate number of all disk write commands is also displayed in the chart.
n
Counter: numberWrite
n
Stats Type: Absolute
n
Unit: Number
n
Rollup Type: Summation
n
Collection Level: 3
Chart Analysis
Use the disk charts to monitor average disk loads and to determine trends in disk usage. For example, you
might notice a performance degradation with applications that frequently read from and write to the hard
disk. If you see a spike in the number of disk read or write requests, check whether any such applications
were running at that time.
The best ways to determine if your vSphere environment is experiencing disk problems is to monitor the
disk latency data counters. You can use the advanced performance charts to view these statistics.
n
The kernelLatency data counter measures the average amount of time, in milliseconds, that the
VMkernel spends processing each SCSI command. For best performance, the value should be 0-1
milliseconds. If the value is greater than 4ms, the virtual machines on the host are trying to send more
throughput to the storage system than the configuration supports. Check the CPU usage, and increase
the queue depth.
n
The deviceLatency data counter measures the average amount of time, in milliseconds, to complete a
SCSI command from the physical device. Depending on your hardware, a number greater than 15ms
indicates probable problems with the storage array. Move the active VMDK to a volume with more
spindles or add disks to the LUN.
n
The queueLatency data counter measures the average amount of time taken per SCSI command in the
VMkernel queue. This value must always be zero. If not, the workload is too high and the array cannot
process the data fast enough.
If the disk latency values are high, or if you notice other problems with disk I/O performance, consider
taking the actions listed below.
Table 1‑52. Disk I/O Performance Enhancement Advice
# Resolution
1 Increase the virtual machine memory. This should allow for more operating system caching, which can reduce I/O
activity. Note that this might require you to also increase the host memory. Increasing memory might reduce the
need to store data because databases can utilize system memory to cache data and avoid disk access.
To verify that virtual machines have adequate memory, check swap statistics in the guest operating system.
Increase the guest memory, but not to an extent that leads to excessive host memory swapping. Install VMware
Tools so that memory ballooning can occur.
2 Defragment the file systems on all guests.
3 Disable antivirus on-demand scans on the VMDK and VMEM files.
Chapter 1 Monitoring Inventory Objects with Performance Charts
VMware, Inc. 41