This section provides configuration information, including the one discussed within the body of the document and the information provided within some of the additional resources included here.

Note: Before applying any of the configuration parameters, it is strongly recommended that you test them in a lab while measuring the effect on the environment and the VNF performance.

BIOS Configuration

Different BIOS manufacturers use different names for their BIOS functions. This document attempts to reflect general naming conventions where possible. Consult your server documentation for exact configuration details.
Parameter Value
Power Management Maximum Performance / High Performance
Hyperthreading Enable
Turbo Boost Enable
C States Disable
Intel VT Technology Enable
QPI Power Management Disable
Execute Disable Bit Enable
Node Interleaving Disable

Hypervisor

Parameter Value Configuration
N-VDS Enhanced NIC Driver Search for your NIC's driver in the VMware compatibility list. Search for N-VDS Enhanced Data Path in the feature column Not relevant
Rx Descriptor 2048 (example) nsxdp-cli ens uplink ring set -r 2048 --uplink <vmnic#>
Tx Descriptor 4096 (example) nsxdp-cli ens uplink ring set -t 4096 --uplink <vmnic#>
Software Tx Queue Descriptor 6000 esxcli system settings advanced set -i 6000 -o /Net/MaxNetifTxQueueLen

Virtual Machine (VNF-C) Configuration

Table 1. Virtual CPU
Parameter Value Configuration
Shares High VM Settings > Virtual Hardware > CPU

CPU Shares set to High.

Reservation Maximum VM Settings > Virtual Hardware > CPU

Reservation set to the number of vCPUs multiplied by the processor base frequency.

Limit Unlimited VM Settings > Virtual Hardware > CPU

Limit set to Unlimited.

Table 2. Memory
Parameter Value Configuration
Shares High VM Settings > Virtual Hardware > Memory

Shares set to High

Reservation Maximum VM Settings > Virtual Hardware > Memory

Reservation set to Maximum as needed.

Limit Unlimited VM Settings > Virtual Hardware > Memory

Limit set to Unlimited.

Table 3. VM Level Configuration
Parameter Value Configuration
Hardware Version 14 for ESXi 6.7 Right-click the VM, select Compatibility > Upgrade VM Compatibility
Virtual NIC for Data Plane Interfaces VMXNET3 Set VMXNET3 as the vNIC adapter type.
Latency Sensitivity High

Edit Settings > VM Options > Advanced > Configuration Parameters

sched.cpu.latencySensitivity = High