When you create a virtual machine (VM) sizing policy, you can specify a subset of all available attributes. The only mandatory attribute is the VM sizing policy name.

There are two types of parameters in a VM sizing policy.
  • Individual VM sizing configuration - You preconfigure the specified RAM, vCPU count, and cores per socket for the VMs under the current policy.
  • Constraints on the maximum resources - You preconfigure a limitation for consumption of memory and CPU by a single VM under the current policy.
The following table lists all attributes that you can define within a VM sizing policy.
Table 1. VDC Compute Policy Attributes
VDC Compute Policy Attribute API Parameter Description
Name name Mandatory parameter that is used as an identifier for the VM sizing policy.
Description description Represents a short description of the VM sizing policy.
vCPU Speed cpuSpeed Defines the vCPU speed of a core in MHz or GHz.
vCPU Count cpuCount Defines the number of vCPUs configured for a VM. This is a VM hardware configuration.

When a tenant assigns the VM sizing policy to a VM, this count becomes the configured number of vCPUs for the VM.

Cores Per Socket coresPerSocket The number of cores per socket for a VM. This is a VM hardware configuration.

The number of vCPUs that is defined in the VM sizing policy must be divisible by the number of cores per socket.

If the number of vCPUs is not divisible by the number of cores per socket, the number of cores per socket becomes invalid.

CPU Reservation Guarantee cpuReservationGuarantee Defines how much of the CPU resources of a VM are reserved.

The allocated CPU for a VM equals the number of vCPUs times the vCPU speed in MHz.

The value of the attribute ranges between 0 and one. Value of 0 CPU reservation guarantee defines no CPU reservation. Value of 1 defines 100% of CPU reserved.

CPU Limit cpuLimit Defines the CPU limit in MHz or GHz for a VM.

If not defined in the VDC compute policy, CPU limit is equal to the vCPU speed multiplied by the number of vCPUs.

CPU Shares cpuShares Defines the number of CPU shares for a VM.

Shares specify the relative importance of a VM within a virtual data center. If a VM has twice as many shares of CPU as another VM, it is entitled to consume twice as much CPU when these two virtual machines are competing for resources.

If not defined in the VDC compute policy, normal shares are applied to the VM.

Memory memory Defines the memory configured for a VM in MB or GB. This is a VM hardware configuration.

When a tenant assigns the VM sizing policy to a VM, the VM receives the amount of memory defined by this attribute.

Memory Reservation Guarantee memoryReservationGuarantee Defines the reserved amount of memory that is configured for a VM.

The value of the attribute ranges between 0 and 100%.

Memory Limit memoryLimit Defines the memory limit in MB or GB for a VM.

If not defined in the VM sizing policy, memory limit is equal to the allocated memory for the VM.

Memory Shares memoryShares Defines the number of memory shares for a VM.

Shares specify the relative importance of a VM within a virtual data center. If a VM has twice as many shares of memory as another VM, it is entitled to consume twice as much memory when these two virtual machines are competing for resources.

If not defined in the VDC compute policy, normal shares are applied to the VM.

Extra Configurations extraConfigs Represents a mapping between a key and value pairs that are applied as extra configuration values on a VM.

You can create a policy with extra configurations only through the vCloud API. Existing extra configurations appear in the Service Provider Admin Portal UI under Extra Configurations in the detailed VM sizing policy view.