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TheVMinator
Expert
Expert

Meaning of CPU attribute Kinds in Custom UI

In the Custom UI there are multiple attribute kinds to choose from for CPU when you are creating supermetric.

For example, if you are trying to get the average CPU usage in MHz for a VM there is:

CPU:
Demand(MHz)
Usage (MHz)

Is there a reference that explains the different attribute kinds?

I want to see how much CPU a VM has been averaging so that I can plan enough capacity on the host it will go on, along with all the other VMs.

Which attribute is most appropriate?

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mark_j
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

For CPU, use Demand (Mhz) for CPU util%.

For averaging CPU on a VM for planning, you would be best-off leveraging the capacity planning features of vCOps.

Hit-up the vCenter Adapter docs for specific on the collected metrics (it's towards the end of the doc):

ftp://ftp.integrien.com/VCOPS-VMware_Product_Adapters/VMware-vCenter/vCenter-Adapter-Install-and-Con...

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William22
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Hi

Welcome to the communities.

Through advance settungs you will able to manage.

  

  

http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/index.jsp#com.vmware.vsphere.monitoring.doc_50/GUID-9729880E-BF7E-...

"Whoever is happy will make others happy too."
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TheVMinator
Expert
Expert

Thanks for replies.  I'm not able to see anything in any of these places that really describes the different attributes and what they mean.  Mark.J's thanks for the ftp link - it is helpful and has some "descriptions" of VM usage metrics.  But These are mostly 5 word descriptions and they are better than nothing, but still don't give enough information. As far as William22's link I don't see the descriptions there I was hoping for.  For example in vCOps I'll see the following VM metrics for memory:

Memory:

Consumed (KB)

Granted (KB)

Guest Demand (KB)

Guest Usage (KB)

Usage (KB)

So if I'm going to use these, I've got to have a reference point to show the differences between them, to know in what scenario I need to use "Guest Demand" and in what scenario I need to use "Guest Usage".  I need to determine the difference between them, and why one works better for a given scenario.  Where in VMware documentation is this explained in any kind of detail for all the metrics?

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mark_j
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

If you look at the vCOps "What does this mean?" section inside the vCOps Advanced UI, there is a good description for these items in the workload area. So view a VM, then go to "Operations" > "Details", then click on the workload badge and see the "What does this mean?" link.

When you open that area, it includes interpretations and recommendation in addition to best practices. The product is made to make it so you don't 'need' to know the extended meaning of every single metric available from esxtop, but rather understand the key metrics that are discussed on the "what does this mean" section. More often than not if you trust the workflow of the interpretations in the "what does this mean" section you'll end up at the correct conclusion. This is why for most environment you can largely stop collecting "all attributes" and go to a package very similar to that of "default attributes" (the instanced/extended metrics just aren't necessary in most cases).

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