Multi-CPU usage

[withanh]

My backup server is a VM and is running 2008R2. I originally had it configured for 4 CPUs (3.0GHz Xeon E5450s) and 4GiB of Ram. I haven't been seeing the performance I've been expecting so I bumped it up to 8 CPUs and 8GiB of Ram to see if that would make a difference. When I look at my Performance monitor in VMware, it shows that I am only using 4 CPUs.

So is there a functional limit to the number of CPUs that Veeam uses? I know that in the job configuration it tells you when you put the compression to best it recommends an 8 CPU machine...

Space isn't entirely an issue for me, would I be better off backing the compression to Optimal instead of Best? Right now I'm more concerned that my backups are rolling into the next business day. I have one that starts at 7pm and is still running right now at 9:15am.

Thoughts? Comments?

Thanks!

d

[lohelle]

Is the VM running Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition? That edition is limited to 4 CPU's. The solution is to modify the VM so that Vmware is reporting 2 x 4-core CPU's and not 8 x 1-core CPU's.
Look here:
http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2009/06/04 ... plication/

[withanh]

Lars,

That must be it, it is 2008R2 Standard.

I'll check out your link about tricking VMware about CPU cores.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Darhl

[withanh]

Well, mixed success. It did work for me, however when I shut down the machine and made the setting change, VMware now tells me:

Virtual machine has 8 virtual CPUs, but the host only supports 4. The number of virtual CPUs may be limited by the guest OS selected for the virtual machine or by the licensing for the host.

Is this a licensing thing on VMware? If so, why did it let me put 8 single CPUs, but now that the cpuid.coresPerSocket is set to 2 it won't let me set the vCPUs to 8?

d

[withanh]

Did some research, found that this is a licensing thing in VMware, and mine says "Up to 4-way virtual SMP" Oh well, guess I'll wait to up the vCPU to 8 when we up our VMware licensing to Enterprise Plus later this year.

Thanks again Lars, that link is very helpful!

Darhl