XenServer VM CPU utilization (consecutive samples)

Summary

The utilization of CPU on a virtual machine is high.

Configuration

The following configuration parameters are customizable:

• IntervalSeconds - The recurring interval of time in seconds in which to run the script (the default value is set to 300 seconds).

• NumberOfSamples - The number of event occurrences before monitor state changes will be triggered (the default value is set to 3).

• Threshold - The value that defines the warning threshold to be used in the comparison (the default value is set to 85 percentage).

Causes

The virtual machine may be highly utilized.

Resolutions

Consider the following solutions to reduce the utilization of CPU:

• Check whether the utilization of other CPUs is high or if the average CPU utilization of the virtual machine is high for longer periods of time. This may indicate the overloaded virtual machine, so consider adding more CPUs to it or migrate it to a more powerful server.

• Check whether an application running on a virtual machine is unnecessarily consuming resources.

Additional

Occasional utilization peaks of individual CPUs are okay as long as the average CPU utilization of the virtual machine is not more than 80%. The average virtual machine’s CPU utilization higher than 80% with high frequency of CPU utilization spikes typically indicates the overloaded virtual machine.

External

For more information on how to add more CPUs to the virtual machine or how to migrate virtual machines to other servers, see the “Citrix XenServer Administrator’s Guide”.