Granted memory not same as configured memory for VM
Article ID: 407259
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
Virtual machine (VM) in ESXi does not show the same value for granted memory as it has for assigned (configured) memory.
Environment
VMware vSphere 7.x
VMware vSphere 8.x
Cause
This behaviour is by design. In vSphere though "granted" refers to the physical memory granted to a virtual machine, what is more relevant is the "consumed" metric.
ESXi dynamically allocates memory to VMs based on actual usage, not just what was configured. Memory is not fully backed by physical RAM unless needed.
For a VM, it is the amount of guest physical memory granted to the group, i.e., mapped to machine memory. The overhead memory, "OVHD" is not included in GRANT. The shared memory, "SHRD", is part of "GRANT".
Resolution
No action is needed unless:
The VM is under memory pressure or performance issues.
You require full reservation (e.g., for real-time apps), in which case set a memory reservation equal to the assigned memory.
Additional Information
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