9/2/23, 10:08 Memory reservation on VM | Imperva

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Memory reservation on VM
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Memory reservation on VM
Updated Dec 28, 2020

On-Premises WAF Database Activity Monitoring File Activity Monitoring Management Server Manager Version 12.6 Version 13.6 Version 14.1

Version 14.2 Version 14.3 Customer Hardware Management Platform

Introduction 
To ensure maximum uptime and optimal operations, Imperva On-Premises customers must allocate a minimum
amount of memory and system resources to On-Premises virtual appliances. The VMware memory reservation
requirements are defined in the On-Premises Virtual Appliance VMware ESX Configuration guide available in the
Imperva FTP repository. The purpose of this article is to explain why memory must be reserved and the impact
it will have on On-Premises operations and stability if these minimum requirements are not met.
Memory Reservation on VM & On-Premises
When configuring the memory type of On-Premises VM appliance, there are two options:
Reserved Memory - pre-allocated memory for this specific VM, which is always available for it
Dynamic Memory - pre-defined available memory for this specific VM, which is actually allocated only when
the machine requires it

Why it's so important

As the majority of the work performed by On-Premises is done within the kernel space, the system requires
extremely quick times from the supporting hardware. When the VM is configured to use Dynamic Memory
Allocation, the host machine (hypervisor) fails to provide requires resources in the given time, as it first has to
allocate required memory to this machine.
When using the Reserved Memory Allocation this issue will not happen
Memory Reservation for the VM is a must which many of our customers in the field tend to miss. It is important
to ensure that On-Premises virtual appliances have properly configured the VM Memory Reservation
parameters.
Reserve memory for the Virtual appliance
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1. Shutdown the Virtual appliance.

2. In the VMware vSphere client, right-click the On-Premises Virtual Appliance.
3. Select Edit Settings from the menu. 

4. Click on the Resources tab.

5. In the Resources tab, click Memory. 
6. On the right side of the Resources tab, in the Resource Allocation section, enter the number of MB to
reserve as provided in the Imperva On-Premises Virtual Appliance Configuration Guide.
7. Click on the OK button and start the Virtual appliance. 

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