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8 Replies Last post: Jan 9, 2009 5:06 AM by gmreddy
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Problem with SWAP file in ESX 3.0

Dec 9, 2008 9:07 AM

Click to view gmreddy's profile Enthusiast gmreddy 42 posts since
Oct 11, 2007

Hi,

We have one ESX 3.0.1 box on which we have hosted 15 Virtual machines. Hardware configuration is 64GB RAM and 4 quad core cpu. The swap file partition size is 1080 MB.

Now a days we are facing problem with swap file, utilization of swap file is reaching more than 90%. How can I find which VM is using more swap file and how can i rectify this issue?

GMR

Tags: 3.0.1, 3.0.2, 3.0.2_upgrade, 3.5, esx, esx3, esx3.5, esxupdate, virtual_center
Reply Re: Problem with SWAP file in ESX 3.0 Dec 9, 2008 9:12 AM
Click to view gmreddy's profile Enthusiast gmreddy 42 posts since
Oct 11, 2007

Hi,

Attached is the output of the file, when I give the 'free' command.

GMR

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Reply Re: Problem with SWAP file in ESX 3.0 Dec 9, 2008 10:41 AM
Click to view weinstein5's profile Guru weinstein5 6,211 posts since
Nov 19, 2005 VMware

It is not a VM that utilizes this swap file - it is the Service Console - you might need to increase the memory assigned to your service console which then means you will need to increase the swap space - rule of thumb is swap space needs to be 2x the size of memory assigned to the service console -

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Reply Re: Problem with SWAP file in ESX 3.0 Dec 10, 2008 1:36 AM
in response to: weinstein5
Click to view gmreddy's profile Enthusiast gmreddy 42 posts since
Oct 11, 2007

We have reserved 272MB memory for service console, screen shot attached. We have one more ESX box (same configuration and same settings) in the same environment and it is hosting same number of virtual machines, but we didn't face any issue with that server.

Both servers are not rebooted from past 100 days. Why the problem is only with this ESX, what could be the problem?

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Reply Re: Problem with SWAP file in ESX 3.0 Dec 10, 2008 1:36 AM
in response to: weinstein5
Click to view gmreddy's profile Enthusiast gmreddy 42 posts since
Oct 11, 2007

We have reserved 272MB memory for service console, screen shot attached. We have one more ESX box (same configuration and same settings) in the same environment and it is hosting same number of virtual machines, but we didn't face any issue with that server.

Both servers are not rebooted from past 100 days. Why the problem is only with this ESX, what could be the problem?

Reply Re: Problem with SWAP file in ESX 3.0 Dec 10, 2008 1:39 AM
in response to: weinstein5
Click to view gmreddy's profile Enthusiast gmreddy 42 posts since
Oct 11, 2007

We have reserved 272MB memory for service console, screen shot attached. We have one more ESX box (same configuration and same settings) in the same environment and it is hosting same number of virtual machines, but we didn't face any issue with that server.

Both servers are not rebooted from past 100 days. Why the problem is only with this ESX, what could be the problem?

Attachments:
Reply Re: Problem with SWAP file in ESX 3.0 Dec 11, 2008 1:03 AM
in response to: gmreddy
Click to view wilson94t's profile Enthusiast wilson94t 95 posts since
Oct 28, 2004

We found that with the 272MB config, we were always running low on memory, and swapping in the console even without any agents or additional software. Add some agents or monitoring software and this becomes a real problem. Our default? 800MB console. Always.

Before starting with ESX 3.0.1, we contacted VMware and had some lengthy discussions about using RAM configuration. We went over in painful detail exactly what we do, and they recommended that unlike 2.5.x, an 800MB console would not be needed, 272 was the perfect number. We continued to swap, and crashed ESX a few times. Since moving to 800, ESX has returned to a stable condition.

We did run 512MB in some of our smaller systems with success for a few months, that worked well enough. I did not continue to persue this option because I wanted to run audits across hundreds of ESX servers, and it was easier to just check for 800, rather than build in exceptions for my audits. call me lazy, but 800MB works quite well and while swapping can occur, it is rare.

Reply Re: Problem with SWAP file in ESX 3.0 Dec 31, 2008 2:53 PM
Click to view wilson94t's profile Enthusiast wilson94t 95 posts since
Oct 28, 2004
So, did you bump up the memory in your service console to resolve the swapping?
Reply Re: Problem with SWAP file in ESX 3.0 Jan 9, 2009 5:06 AM
in response to: wilson94t
Click to view gmreddy's profile Enthusiast gmreddy 42 posts since
Oct 11, 2007
It worked for me. Thanks for your help.
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