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Working with resource quotas for virtual machines - Managing VMs | Virtualization | OKD 4
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Working with resource quotas for virtual machines

Setting resource quota limits for virtual machines by using the CLI

By default, OKD Virtualization automatically manages CPU and memory limits for virtual machines (VMs) if a namespace enforces resource quotas that require limits to be set. The memory limit is automatically set to twice the requested memory and the CPU limit is set to one per vCPU.

You can customize the memory limit ratio for a specific namespace by adding the alpha.kubevirt.io/auto-memory-limits-ratio label to the namespace. For example, the following command sets the memory limit ratio to 1.2:

$ oc label ns/my-virtualization-project  alpha.kubevirt.io/auto-memory-limits-ratio=1.2

Avoid managing resource quota limits manually. To prevent misconfigurations or scheduling issues, rely on the automatic resource limit management provided by OKD Virtualization unless you have a specific need to override the defaults.

Resource quotas that only use requests automatically work with VMs. If your resource quota uses limits, you must manually set resource limits on VMs. Memory resource limits, defined by the spec.template.spec.domain.resources.limits.memory value, must be at least 500 MiB, or 2% larger than the spec.template.spec.domain.memory.guest value.

Procedure

  1. Set limits for a VM by editing the VirtualMachine manifest. For example:

    apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
kind: VirtualMachine
metadata:
  name: with-limits
spec:
  runStrategy: Halted
  template:
    spec:
      domain:
        memory:
          guest: 128Mi
        resources:
          limits:
            memory: 256Mi

    where

    spec.template.spec.domain.memory.guest

    Specifies the actual amount of RAM that is shown to the guest operating system in the VM.

    spec.template.spec.domain.resources.limits.memory

    Specifies the hard limit for total memory consumption by the virt-launcher pod that hosts the VM. This limit must account for the guest operating system RAM plus the hypervisor runtime resource consumption.

    This example configuration is supported because the spec.template.spec.domain.resources.limits.memory value is at least 100Mi larger than the spec.template.spec.domain.memory.guest value.

  2. Save the VirtualMachine manifest.

Understanding the Application Aware Quota Operator

The Application Aware Quota (AAQ) operator extends Kubernetes native ResourceQuota to measure virtual machine (VM) resource consumption in mixed pod and VM environments.

AAQ provides quota enforcement designed for virtualization workloads:

Kubernetes ResourceQuota

Measures and enforces resource limits at the pod level. When applied to VMs, it measures the entire VM pod’s resource consumption, including hypervisor overhead and pod infrastructure, which does not reflect actual VM resource allocation.

Application Aware Quota (AAQ)

Extends ResourceQuota functionality to accurately measure and enforce VM resource consumption. AAQ understands the virtualization layer and can measure actual virtual CPU and memory allocated to VMs, separate from pod overhead.

AAQ supports two types of quotas:

Project-scoped quotas

Apply resource limits to a specific namespace or project. These are the most common use case for virtualization workloads.

Cluster-scoped quotas

Apply resource limits across the entire cluster. These are useful for advanced scenarios where you need cluster-wide resource enforcement.

When you enable AAQ, you must configure a quota calculation method. This setting determines how AAQ measures VM resource consumption across your cluster:

Virtual resources

Measures only the virtual CPU and memory allocated to virtual machines (VMs), excluding pod runtime overhead. This is the default option for virtualization workloads.

Virtual Machine Instance (VMI) pod usage

Measures the total virtual CPU and memory consumption of the VM pod, including both the virtual machine and pod runtime overhead.

Dedicated virtual resources

Measures the virtual CPU and memory resources assigned to virtual machines and their associated pods, tracking quota usage separately for each type.

Enabling the Application Aware Quota Operator

Enable the Application Aware Quota (AAQ) operator to manage resource quotas to extend native resource management capabilities. Enabling AAQ from the web console eliminates the need to manually edit the HyperConverged custom resource by using the CLI.

Prerequisites

  • You have cluster administrator privileges.

  • The OpenShift Virtualization operator is installed and running.

Procedure

  1. In the OKD web console, click Virtualization → Settings.

  2. Under Resource Management, toggle the Application Aware Quotas (AAQ) to On.

    The operator deployment begins automatically. The status changes from Disabled to Enabled after the operator pods are running.

  3. Optional: Click the Edit icon next to the Quota calculation method field to change the calculation method.

    A modal dialog is displayed with the following options:

    • Virtual resources: Measures only the virtual CPU and memory allocated to virtual machines (VMs), excluding pod runtime overhead. This is the default option for virtualization workloads.

    • Virtual Machine Instance (VMI) pod usage: Measures the total virtual CPU and memory consumption of the VM pod, including both the virtual machine and pod runtime overhead.

    • Dedicated virtual resources: Measures the virtual CPU and memory resources assigned to virtual machines and their associated pods, tracking quota usage separately for each type.

  4. Select your preferred quota calculation method and click Save.

Verification

  1. Verify that a new Quotas option is displayed in the left navigation menu under Virtualization. This indicates that AAQ is ready for quota creation and management.

Creating virtual machine quotas using the web console

You can create Application Aware Quota (AAQ) quotas that limit virtual machine resource consumption by using the guided form in the OKD web console. The form is the recommended approach for simple virtualization quota use cases.

Prerequisites
Procedure

  1. In the OKD web console, click Virtualization → Quotas.

  2. Click Create quota.

  3. In the dropdown menu, select With form.

    The create quota form is displayed.

  4. Enter a name for your quota in the Name field.

    The name must be unique within the project.

  5. Select the project where you want to apply this quota.

    By default, the current project is selected. You can click the dropdown to select a different project if needed.

    If a Kubernetes ResourceQuota already exists in the selected project, an alert is displayed with a link to view the existing ResourceQuota. You can still create the AAQ quota, but both quotas will apply to the project.

  6. Configure CPU, memory, and VMI limits for the quota:

    The fields displayed vary based on the selected quota calculation method. For example:

    • For the Virtual resources or Dedicated virtual resources quota calculation method, the quotas exclude pod overhead:

      • Use the vCPU allocation field to set the maximum number of virtual CPUs permitted for all VMs in the project, excluding infrastructure overhead.

      • Use the Virtual memory allocation field to set the maximum memory capacity, in GiB, excluding infrastructure overhead.

      • Use the VMI limits field to set the maximum number of virtual machine instances.

    • For the Virtual Machine Instance (VMI) pod usage quota calculation method, the quotas include pod overhead:

      • Use the CPU allocation field to set the maximum number of CPU cores for pods that run VM workloads

      • Use the Memory allocation field to set the maximum memory capacity, in GiB, for pods that run VM workloads.

      • Use the VMI limits field to set the maximum number of virtual machine instances.

        Live migration overhead is excluded from the Virtual Machine Instance (VMI) pod usage quota calculation method.

  7. Review the configuration and click Create.

    The quota is created and you are redirected to the quota details page. The new quota is now active and enforcing resource limits on virtual machines in the selected project.

Verification

  1. In the OKD web console, click Virtualization → Quotas.

  2. In the quotas list, locate your newly created quota.

  3. Verify that the quota name is displayed in the list with the correct project and resource limits configured.

  4. Click the quota name to open its details page and confirm all settings are correct.

Managing virtual machine quotas using the list view

The Application Aware Quota (AAQ) quotas page in the OKD web console provides a centralized view of all quotas managed by the AAQ operator. From this page, you can view quota status, usage, and perform management actions such as editing and deleting quotas.

Prerequisites

  • You have cluster administrator privileges.

  • The Application Aware Quota operator is enabled in your cluster.

  • At least one Application Aware Quota exists in a namespace that matches the label selector configured in the HyperConverged Operator (HCO).

Procedure

  1. In the OKD web console, click Virtualization → Quotas.

    The quotas list view is displayed, showing all project-scoped AAQ quotas by default.

  2. Click the Cluster-scoped quotas tab to view cluster scoped quotas.

    This tab is displayed only if cluster-scoped quotas have been defined in your cluster.

    Cluster-scoped quotas can only be created or edited using YAML. The form-based creation option is not available for cluster-scoped quotas due to their complexity.

  3. To view detailed information about a specific quota, click the quota name to open the quota details page.

  4. To edit a quota, click the Options menu kebab at the end of the quota row

    1. Select Edit quota.

      The edit form is displayed with the current quota configuration.

    2. Click Save after you have completed modifying the resource limits.

      If the quota was initially created with advanced settings via YAML, clicking Edit quota opens the YAML editor instead of the form.

  5. To delete a quota, click the Options menu kebab at the end of the quota row and select Delete quota. A confirmation dialog is displayed.

    1. Click Delete to remove the quota.

      Deleting a quota removes all resource enforcement for the quota. Virtual machines in the affected project are no longer subject to the quota limits.

  6. To create a new quota from the list view, click Create quota.

    1. Select an option from the dropdown menu:

      • With form: Opens the form-based creation experience for simple VM quota use cases.

      • With YAML: Opens the YAML editor for advanced quota configurations that include pod limits or other resource types.

Managing virtual machine quota details using the web console

The quota details page in the OKD web console provides information about an Application Aware Quota (AAQ), including resource limits, current usage, and visualizations of how quota capacity is being consumed.

Cluster scoped quotas show only the YAML definition due to the complexity that these quotas require.
Prerequisites

  • You have cluster administrator privileges.

  • The Application Aware Quota operator is enabled in your cluster.

  • An Application Aware Quota exists in your cluster.

Procedure

  1. In the OKD web console, click Virtualization → Quotas.

  2. Click the quota name to open the Quota details view.

    The Quota details view displays visual indicators, quota metadata, and tabulated data:

    • Circular utilization charts visually represent resource consumption in your project

    • The Details element provides metadata such as the Quota name, scope, applied labels and project.

    • The Quota details element provides a tabulated views that display the current and maximum utilization of each resource type.

      If a Kubernetes ResourceQuota also exists in the same project as this AAQ quota, an alert is displayed at the top of the details page with a link to view the ResourceQuota. Both quotas apply simultaneously to the project.

  3. Optional: Click the YAML tab to review the resource configuration of the quota.

  4. Optional: Use the Actions panel to edit or delete the quota.

Additional resources