Understand the VMware Terms

Understanding how VMware vCenter works and the terms used could come in handy when you run diagnostics and monitor your virtual machines’ performance.

Capacity (Host Level)

Refers to the available physical memory on the host machine.

Consumed Memory (Host Level)

Includes memory used up by the virtual machine kernel, system processes, critical applications services, service console, and the overall memory utilized by the running VMs.

Memory Allocated For Each VM (VM Level)

This is the amount of allocated memory to each VM that includes the additional memory required for VM management as well. This memory will have a maximum limit set to it beyond which the VM cannot be granted any additional memory by the hypervisor. It is usually called the provisioned memory for each specific VM.

Memory Consumed At VM Level

Indicates the level of memory currently consumed by a specific VM.

Active Guest memory (VM level)

The estimate of memory that is currently being utilized by the Guest OS of a VM. As the hypervisor does not directly communicate with the guest OS, it estimates the memory consumption by the guest OS with the help of a random sample of VM’s allocated memory.

Minimum Free Memory

This value gives the threshold value for free memory, which will start the memory reclamation process. The variable used to indicate the free memory level is named mem.minFree

Vmware Memory Reclamation Techniques

When the minimum memory threshold is reached, VMware tries to reclaim memory to make some free space available.

Find below the techniques used to reclaim memory. The techniques are listed down in the order of their impact on performance.

TPS

TPS stands for transparent page sharing and works by removing duplicate memory pages. Memory pages of size 2MB and more are split into smaller sized memory pages. Then these are checked for any redundancy. This method has the least impact on the memory used by the guest OS of the VM and is only executed to be used within the VMs only.

VMware Memory Ballooning

Unused memory from the guest OS is reclaimed and is allocated back to the host system. This results in a reduction in the available memory amount for the VM machine’s OS while the total memory remains unchanged. Hence VM machine’s OS starts paging and experiences a significant degradation in performance as a result.

Memory Compression

Memory pages that can be reduced in size are compressed to be at least 50% of the original size.

Swapping

Memory pages are swapped to disk.

Based on the mem.minFree threshold value, any of the above reclamation techniques can be used in combination. Out of all the methods used, the TPS method ensures the best VM performance while other techniques like swapping and compression can cause serious performance issues. You will have to monitor your VM guest OS for paging and try to clear out idle memory before you reach the threshold value. If you need fast memory, you will have to use swapping as TPS and ballooning are relatively slower in freeing up memory.


What is Virtualization, and How Does it Relate to VMware?

Virtualization refers to creating a virtual version of something, such as hardware platforms, storage devices, or network resources. It allows multiple virtual systems, or virtual machines (VMs), to run on a single physical system. This technology is essential for maximizing the efficiency and flexibility of computing resources. It’s also the way cloud computing can exist as it does today.

VMware is a leading provider of virtualization software. VMware’s products, including VMware Workstation, enable users to create and manage VMs, thus allowing multiple operating systems to run simultaneously on a single physical machine. This capability is crucial for developers, IT professionals, and anyone who needs to test and deploy software across different environments.

Also Read: Industry Perspective: Cloud Computing in Healthcare

What is a Hypervisor?

A hypervisor is software, firmware, or hardware that creates and runs VMs. It sits between the hardware and the operating systems, enabling multiple OSs to share a single hardware host. VMware was the first company to develop a hypervisor that works at scale on commodity servers, revolutionizing IT and enabling cloud computing. There are two types of hypervisors:

    Type 1 Hypervisors: Also known as bare-metal hypervisors, they run directly on the host’s hardware. Examples include VMware ESXi and Microsoft Hyper-V.Type 2 Hypervisors: These run on a host operating system and provide virtualization services. VMware Workstation is an example of a Type 2 hypervisor.

Introduction

VMware Workstation 12 is a powerful tool that allows users to create, manage, and run virtual machines on their local computers. Whether you are a developer, IT professional, or an enthusiast looking to experiment with different operating systems, VMware Workstation provides a convenient and efficient solution.

However, as you start working with multiple virtual machines or running resource-intensive applications, you may notice a decrease in performance. Slow virtual machine startup times, sluggish response, and high CPU usage can hinder your productivity. To overcome these challenges, it is important to optimize your VMware Workstation setup and make the most out of your host system’s resources.

In this guide, we will explore various methods to speed up VMware Workstation 12 and optimize its performance. We will cover system requirements and prerequisites, host and virtual machine configuration tweaks, enabling virtualization technology, optimizing storage performance, and keeping your software up to date.

By implementing these optimization techniques, you can significantly enhance the performance and responsiveness of your virtual machines, allowing you to work more efficiently and effectively.

So, without further ado, let’s dive into the details and discover how to speed up VMware Workstation 12!

System Requirements and Prerequisites

Before diving into the optimization techniques, it is important to ensure that your host system meets the necessary hardware and software requirements for running VMware Workstation 12 smoothly. By meeting these requirements, you lay a solid foundation for achieving optimal performance.

Here are the recommended system requirements for VMware Workstation 12:

In addition to meeting the system requirements, there are a few prerequisites that you should consider:

  1. Ensure Hardware Virtualization is Enabled: Enable hardware virtualization technology (Intel VT-x or AMD-V) in your computer’s BIOS. This feature allows virtual machines to directly access the CPU, resulting in better performance.
  2. Keep Host System Drivers Updated: Regularly update your host system’s drivers, especially the graphics and network drivers. This helps improve overall stability and compatibility with VMware Workstation.
  3. Allocate Sufficient Disk Space: Make sure you have enough free disk space to accommodate the virtual machines you plan to run. Lack of disk space can impact performance and may lead to errors during the virtual machine creation process.
  4. Disable Resource-Hungry Applications: Close any unnecessary applications running in the background, as they can consume system resources and affect VMware Workstation performance. It is also advisable to disable antivirus and other security software temporarily, as they might interfere with virtual machine operations.

By meeting the system requirements and addressing the necessary prerequisites, you create an optimal environment for running VMware Workstation 12, ensuring smooth and efficient virtual machine operations.

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