ESXi 4.1 - Windows 7 - 4 cores assigned - 2 cores in OS

[ralexgolden]

I've assigned 4 CPUs to a Windows 7 VM in ESXi. Task Manager only shows the OS as using two cores... Not four...

Why is this?

Please see the attached images for more details.

[DSTAVERT · Accepted solution]

Windows 7 license only allows 2 CPUs. You can change the cores per processor count setting so that Windows is presented with 2 dual core processors.

[DSTAVERT]

In ESX(i) a physical core is treated as a virtual processor.

[mittim12]

If I'm not mistaken Windows 7 is limited to two Cpu.   You can try tricking it by using the method described in the blog post below.

http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2009/06/04/per-processor-licenses-for-your-application/

[DSTAVERT]

Here is the KB article http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1010184

[a_p_]

As David said add cpuid.coresPerSocket = 2 to the configuration. This will present the CPUs as two DualCore CPUs to the VM.

see http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1010184

André

PS: David was faster

[ralexgolden]

Tweaking the settings as mentioned above... Will that actually improve performance much? Benchmarking can be painfull..

The application running can utlize up to 4 threads at once...

[DSTAVERT]

The recommended process is start with one vCPU and increase as necessary.

[DSTAVERT]

You want to provide the resources that the application requires. Since it is possible to adjust settings in small increments in a virtual environment it is possible to tailor the resources to just what is needed and no more.

[ralexgolden]

If anyone runs accross any benchmarking please let me know. Otherwise I'll run benchmarks in the next 7 days... 

[DSTAVERT]

PS: David was faster

Only time that happened.

[DSTAVERT]

A benchmark would only be useful if it benchmarked your process in your expected workload. A Ferrari isn't going get to the corner store any faster than the station wagon (you will look much cooler though). Your application may be able to use 4 cores but if your use patterns don't, it is a huge waste and you reduce possible VM density. http://www.vmware.com/products/vmmark/overview.html