CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1201)Virtualization and Cloud ComputingMedium
A system administrator is configuring a new virtual machine for a critical database server. The host machine has 128GB of RAM. If the database VM requires 32GB of RAM, and the hypervisor itself consumes 4GB, what is the maximum amount of RAM that could be allocated to other virtual machines on this host, assuming no overcommitment?
- A92GB
- B88GB
- C124GB
- D96GB
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. 92GB
To calculate the remaining available RAM, subtract the RAM used by the critical database VM and the hypervisor from the total host RAM. So, 128GB (Total) - 32GB (Database VM) - 4GB (Hypervisor) = 92GB. This is the maximum available for other VMs without overcommitment.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. This would be correct if the hypervisor consumed 8GB (128 - 32 - 8 = 88).
- C. This only subtracts the hypervisor's RAM, not the database VM's RAM.
- D. This would be correct if the hypervisor consumed no RAM, or only 32GB for the database VM.
VM Resource Allocation (RAM)
The process of assigning a specific amount of physical RAM from the host machine to a virtual machine.
- Total host RAM must accommodate hypervisor and all running VMs.
- Overcommitment allows allocating more RAM than physically available, but can lead to performance issues.
- Critical VMs should have dedicated, non-overcommitted RAM.
Memory trick: Total minus Hypervisor minus VM equals Remaining.