I would like to submit a feature request related to VMware host CPU metric collection in DPA.
Current Limitation:
DPA currently displays only the Host CPU Usage counter for VMware hosts. This metric is based on MHz consumed and, in environments where Hyper-Threading (HT) is enabled, it can report values exceeding 100% — making it unreliable and misleading for capacity analysis and alerting purposes.
Feature Request:
Please add support for collecting and displaying the following three VMware host-level CPU counters, which provide an accurate and normalized view of CPU consumption:
- Core Utilization (
cpu.coreUtilization.average) — CPU utilization of physical cores, excluding the contribution of Hyper-Threading. This is the most accurate representation of true physical CPU demand. - Usage (
cpu.usage.average) — Average CPU usage as a percentage of the total available CPU capacity, normalized across all logical CPUs including HT. - Utilization (
cpu.utilization.average) — CPU utilization across all physical cores, useful for comparing actual vs. available capacity without HT inflation.
Why This Matters:
The distinction between these counters is critical in HT-enabled hosts. cpu.coreUtilization reflects actual physical core saturation, while cpu.usage accounts for HT logical CPUs. Relying solely on the current Host CPU Usage counter can lead DBAs to underestimate or overestimate real CPU pressure on the host, resulting in incorrect capacity decisions and missed contention diagnoses.
Having these three counters available in DPA would allow for a much more accurate assessment of whether a SQL Server performance issue is related to genuine physical CPU saturation on the VMware host.
Thank you for considering this request.
Best regards
