Getting your VMware memory allocation wrong can cost you more than just money

VMware have made some interesting changes with regard to the licensing of their vRAM technology. The previous licensing model enforced RAM restrictions and limitations on users of vSphere 5.

Now the previous vRAM licensing limits have gone and VMware have returned to a per-CPU licensing charge for the product.

So following on from VMware’s u-turn on vRAM licensing, does this mean that Memory reporting and allocation have become less important? 

No, in fact it’s as important as it’s ever been.  Faster CPUs and better information around CPU fragmentation has shifted focus away from CPU performance and onto to virtual memory allocations and performance.

Therefore, getting the most out of your VMware environment is a pre-requisite in these cash strapped days.  Getting your memory allocation wrong can cost you more than just money, it can affect service performance and the subsequent knock on effects can significantly impact the whole enterprise.

From my experience, the common questions around virtual memory are:

·    What’s the difference between Active, Consumed or Granted Memory within a      VMware environment?

·    How much virtual memory should you allocate to a virtual machine and how do you get it just right?

·    What are the benefits and disadvantages of using Memory Limits and Resource Pools?

I’ll be answering these questions and many more in my presentation at CMG, Las Vegas December 3 -7.

I plan to take you on, what I hope, will be a memorable journey.

Explaining in detail how virtual memory is used and why VMware supports memory over-allocation, I’ll help you understand how you can identify your over provisioned VMs, what memory metrics to monitor and how to interpret them.

Finally, I’ll also be providing you with some best practice guidelines on Virtual Memory and some interesting information on using Memory Limits within your VMware Environment.

If you’re going to CMG, Las Vegas make sure you register for this session and for those of you who’ll miss it I’ll be writing it up as a paper and blog series on my return.

Jamie Baker

Principal Consultant