VMware Certified Professional - Data Center Virtualization (VCP-DCV) Practice Exam

Which option would improve application performance for the SlowVM virtual machine?

1. Increase the number of vCPUs provided to SlowVM.

2. Decrease the number of vCPUs provided to SlowVM.

3. Move SlowVM to another ESXi host with more physical CPU resources available.

4. Increase the CPU limit assigned to SlowVM.

The correct answer is: Increase the CPU limit assigned to SlowVM.

Increasing the CPU limit assigned to SlowVM can directly enhance its performance. In virtualized environments, each virtual machine (VM) is allocated resources based on the configuration set by the administrator, including CPU limits which restrict the maximum amount of CPU resources a VM can utilize, regardless of the physical hardware's availability. When a CPU limit is too low, SlowVM may not be able to access all the CPU resources it needs during peak demand, resulting in degraded performance. By raising the CPU limit, the VM can leverage additional computational resources whenever available, helping it to handle workloads more efficiently and improving overall application responsiveness. While increasing the number of vCPUs could seem like a valid approach, if the VM is already being limited by its CPU settings, just increasing the vCPU count without adjusting the limit may not lead to performance improvements. Additionally, relocating the VM to a host with better resources can help, but it introduces additional complexity and depends on the underlying load on the original host. Reducing the number of vCPUs would likely lead to further performance declines, which is counterproductive. Thus, increasing the CPU limit effectively allows SlowVM to perform at its best based on available resources.