ESXi host memory usage seems high with no VMs running

Question

I have set up an ESXi 6.0 Update 1 installation on a HP ProLiant Microserver Gen8. This is using the HP-provided image for ProLiant servers.

With no VMs running the host memory usage is 1714 MB, which seems high to me. The only config changes I have made on the ESXi host are SSH was enabled and NTP client was configured.

I've run esxtop in memory (M) mode and the two processes using the most memory are hostd and vpxa - I don't see any custom HP processes in the list eating RAM.

I've tried disabling CIM and memory usage dropped to 1666 MB, which still seems high for a bare ESXi server! Is this normal and if not, how can I reduce the memory usage?

Answer 1

The memory load seems normal to me. I don't have an empty ESXi to check it out, but the main processes (hostd, sfcb, vpxa) don't defer much from mine.

Your HP-tailored image will bring a bit more memory consumption than a "clean" image. Also, keep in mind that the host has some memory overhead which is hardware dependent.

Just a remark. Extra services like a VCenter connection for example, can increase the memory consumed by the vpxa and other processes.

Answer 2

Why does this seem high to you?
Do you have anything to compare against?
Is this causing a specific problem to you, or are you just curious?

This is what an empty ESXi node in my network looks like... So what you're seeing is very normal. I suggest just using/enjoying your system and not worrying about this.