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

How is the memory slot size calculated for a virtual machine in vSphere High Availability?

1. Virtual machine memory reservation + overhead of largest virtual machine

2. Virtual machine memory reservation - overhead of largest virtual machine

3. Virtual machine memory reservation + overhead of smallest virtual machine

4. Virtual machine memory reservation - overhead of smallest virtual machine

The correct answer is: Virtual machine memory reservation + overhead of largest virtual machine

The calculation of memory slot size for a virtual machine in vSphere High Availability (HA) is based on ensuring that there is enough reserved memory to effectively restart virtual machines in the event of a host failure. The key components to consider in this context are the virtual machine memory reservation and the overhead associated with the largest virtual machine. When determining the memory slot size, it's essential to incorporate the memory reservation set for each virtual machine because this guarantees a certain amount of memory will always be allocated to that VM when it is powered on, regardless of whether the host is under memory pressure. However, it is also crucial to factor in the overhead of the largest virtual machine, as this overhead represents the additional memory consumed by the hypervisor to manage the virtual machine’s resources. By summing the virtual machine memory reservation and the overhead of the largest virtual machine, you ensure that adequate resources are provisioned for the successful failover and operation of the virtual machine in a High Availability scenario. This calculation helps maintain the desired performance and reliability across the virtualized environment during failover events. Hence, option A is accurate in reflecting this necessary calculation.