[ale] VM load average stays around 4.5 and jumps as high as 8 or 9

Brian Mathis brian.mathis+ale at betteradmin.com
Mon May 14 13:17:08 EDT 2012


This goes in the guest.  If you have many VMs running on a host, you
will notice a significant drop in host CPU usage.  This does not apply
to newer CentOS 6 or any other distros that use a tickless kernel.

I'm not sure if it will help much of anything on the host.  Maybe
lower power usage.


❧ Brian Mathis


On Mon, May 14, 2012 at 10:25 AM, Jim Kinney <jim.kinney at gmail.com> wrote:
> Is this a setting for the host or the guest?
>
>
>
> On Mon, May 14, 2012 at 10:08 AM, Brian Mathis
> <brian.mathis+ale at betteradmin.com> wrote:
>>
>> CentOS 5 uses a default timer interrupt frequency of 1000Hz.  This
>> puts a bit of a load on the host system, and can be changed to 100Hz
>> with no issues.
>>
>> To change this value, update the kernel line in /etc/grub.conf with
>> the parameter "divider=10", like this:
>>    kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.18-274.3.1.el5 ro root=/dev/sda1 divider=10
>> and reboot.  You will probably notice your host to be a bit more
>> responsive, and if you're on a laptop your battery life should improve
>> when running the VM.
>>
>> VMware has an article about this if you want more information:
>>
>> http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1005802
>>
>>
>> ❧ Brian Mathis
>>
>>
>> On Fri, May 11, 2012 at 11:39 AM, Geoffrey Myers
>> <lists at serioustechnology.com> wrote:
>> > So, I've got a Centos VM that is installed on Mac.  I had a Mac OSX
>> > update and a gcc update on the VM.
>> >
>> > Now my load average sits at 4.5 and every now and then jumps to 8 or 9.
>> >  when it does that, the VM freezes until it drops back down.
>> >
>> > Any clues as to what is causing this?  I'm sure the gcc is not an issue.
>> >  Do I need to reinstall virtual box?
>> >
>> > --
>> > Until later, Geoffrey
>>
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>
>
>
>
> --
> --
> James P. Kinney III
>
> As long as the general population is passive, apathetic, diverted to
> consumerism or hatred of the vulnerable, then the powerful can do as they
> please, and those who survive will be left to contemplate the outcome.
> - 2011 Noam Chomsky
>
> http://heretothereideas.blogspot.com/
>
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