Editing Cluster Cost Calculation Methods

You can edit the cluster cost calculation method based on your business requirement. The cost of a cluster is derived from cost drivers. Virtual machine cost is calculated by multiplying base rates with the utilization of the VMs.

Procedure

From the left menu, click Configure and then click Cost Drivers.
In the Cluster Cost tab, click CHANGE.
The Cluster Cost Calculation Methods dialog box is displayed.

Select any one of the Cluster Cost Calculation methods.

Option	Description
Cluster Usable Capacity After HA and Buffer	The cluster cost calculated total capacity minus resources needed for High Availability (HA) and the capacity buffer setting. Base rates are calculated based on the total cost of the cluster and Usable Capacity after HA and Buffer. Virtual machine costs are calculated from these base rates. Things to note: A lower buffer reduces the base rates and causes the virtual machines to become cheaper. A higher buffer increases base rates and causes the virtual machines to become more expensive. Base rates and virtual machine costs do not change with the utilization of the cluster. The difference between Usable Capacity after HA and Buffer and actual utilization is used to compute unallocated costs.
Cluster Actual Utilization	To calculate the base rates using the month to date average utilization of the cluster resources, select this option. Base rates are calculated based on the total cost of the cluster and average utilization. Virtual machine costs are calculated from these base rates. Things to note: Lower utilization level causes base rates to be high and virtual machines also become more expensive. Higher utilization level causes base rates to be lower and virtual machines to become cheaper. Base rates and virtual machine costs can change frequently based on the utilization of the cluster. Unallocated cost of the cluster is near to zero. The costs for unused resources are distributed across all virtual machines based on their actual utilization within the cluster.

Option

Description

Cluster Usable Capacity After HA and Buffer

The cluster cost calculated total capacity minus resources needed for High Availability (HA) and the capacity buffer setting.

Base rates are calculated based on the total cost of the cluster and Usable Capacity after HA and Buffer. Virtual machine costs are calculated from these base rates. Things to note:

A lower buffer reduces the base rates and causes the virtual machines to become cheaper.
A higher buffer increases base rates and causes the virtual machines to become more expensive.
Base rates and virtual machine costs do not change with the utilization of the cluster.
The difference between Usable Capacity after HA and Buffer and actual utilization is used to compute unallocated costs.

Cluster Actual Utilization

To calculate the base rates using the month to date average utilization of the cluster resources, select this option.

Base rates are calculated based on the total cost of the cluster and average utilization. Virtual machine costs are calculated from these base rates. Things to note:

Lower utilization level causes base rates to be high and virtual machines also become more expensive.
Higher utilization level causes base rates to be lower and virtual machines to become cheaper.
Base rates and virtual machine costs can change frequently based on the utilization of the cluster.
Unallocated cost of the cluster is near to zero.
The costs for unused resources are distributed across all virtual machines based on their actual utilization within the cluster.

Click SAVE.