VMware ESXi and vSphere Cluster Management

Using Overview and Advanced Performance Charts in vCenter Server

Learn how to access, interpret, customize, and use vCenter Server performance charts for ESXi hosts and virtual machines.

vCenter Server provides performance charts for investigating the behavior of managed inventory objects. These charts display collected resource-usage measurements for objects such as ESXi hosts and virtual machines.

This lesson explains how to use Overview charts for quick assessment and Advanced charts for detailed counter-level analysis. It also presents a practical workflow for investigating CPU, memory, storage, and network conditions.

What vCenter Server Performance Charts Show

vCenter Server is the central management platform for managed ESXi hosts and virtual machines. Its performance charts are visual displays of collected performance data used to assess resource utilization and workload behavior over time.

Performance charts have two main purposes:

Finding possible resource constraints: Charts can reveal sustained high utilization, contention-related behavior, or unusual changes that justify further investigation.
Reviewing trends: Historical data can reveal recurring peaks, workload changes, gradual growth, or increasing capacity pressure.

A chart is evidence, not a complete diagnosis. Interpret chart data together with workload behavior, application timing, virtual machine configuration, host configuration, and other operational information.

Performance Monitoring Scope

The primary objects discussed here are ESXi hosts and virtual machines.

An ESXi host is a physical virtualization host. Its charts show aggregate resource behavior across the workloads and services running on that host.
A virtual machine is an individual guest workload object. Its charts show the resource behavior observed for that workload.

The available metrics depend on the selected inventory object. A host-level view helps determine whether a condition affects the broader host, while a VM-level view helps determine whether the behavior is concentrated in one workload. Reviewing both views can help separate a VM-specific issue from a host-wide condition.

Overview Charts

Overview charts are predefined, summary-level performance views. The administrator selects an available predefined view from a drop-down list rather than building the chart counter by counter.

Use an Overview chart when you need to:

Perform a fast health check.
Begin initial triage of a slow virtual machine or host.
Review high-level CPU, memory, storage, or network behavior.
Decide whether a more detailed investigation is necessary.

Opening an Overview Chart

Select the affected virtual machine or ESXi host in the vSphere inventory.
Open Monitor.
Open Performance.
Select an available predefined Overview view from the chart selector.

For example, to perform a quick VM performance check, select the virtual machine, open Monitor > Performance, and inspect the relevant Overview chart. If the summary suggests a resource problem but does not explain it, continue with an Advanced chart.

Advanced Charts

Advanced charts are customizable performance views. They can display performance counters that are not included in predefined Overview charts and can be used to examine one or more counters in greater detail.

A performance counter is a specific collected measurement that can be selected for display. The available counters depend on the selected inventory object and the data available for that object.

Opening and Configuring an Advanced Chart

Select the virtual machine or ESXi host that you want to investigate.
Open Monitor.
Open Performance.
Open Advanced.
Select Chart Options.
Choose counters relevant to the suspected resource domain.
Configure the chart to display one or more selected counters.
Review the chosen time period and granularity.

Chart Options is the interface control used to configure a custom Advanced chart. Use it when the predefined summary lacks the measurement needed to test a troubleshooting hypothesis.

Advanced charts can be exported or printed. This is useful when findings must be documented, shared with another administrator, attached to an escalation, or retained for a capacity review.

Overview Charts vs. Advanced Charts

Characteristic	Overview Charts	Advanced Charts
Primary purpose	Fast, summary-oriented monitoring	Focused troubleshooting and detailed trend analysis
Level of customization	Limited to predefined views	Customizable through Chart Options
Counter availability	Uses the counters included in the selected predefined view	Can show additional available performance counters
Best use case	Health checks and initial triage	Validating a suspected issue and correlating detailed behavior
How the view is selected or configured	Select an available view from the drop-down list	Open Advanced, select Chart Options, and choose counters
Export and print capability	Use the view for review; detailed evidence may require an Advanced chart	Charts can be exported or printed for analysis, reporting, or escalation

A useful rule is to start with an Overview chart. Move to Advanced charts when the summary indicates a possible issue or does not provide enough detail to confirm or reject your hypothesis.

Navigation by Inventory Object

Object	Overview Path	Advanced Path	Typical Investigation Goal
Virtual machine	Select the VM, then Monitor > Performance	Select the VM, then Monitor > Performance > Advanced	Determine whether a workload has unusual resource behavior or is affected by a host condition
ESXi host	Select the host, then Monitor > Performance	Select the host, then Monitor > Performance > Advanced	Assess aggregate host utilization and determine whether multiple workloads may be affected

Interpreting Resource Constraints

A resource constraint is a condition in which CPU, memory, storage, or network resources may limit workload performance. High utilization alone does not always prove a bottleneck. The duration, timing, related indicators, workload behavior, and configuration must also be considered.

Look for sustained elevated utilization, contention-related indicators, or abnormal changes over time. A short spike may be normal for a workload, while repeated or sustained behavior during reported slowdowns deserves closer analysis.

Correlate multiple relevant observations instead of relying on a single metric:

CPU: Check whether high demand or contention occurs when the workload is slow. Compare VM behavior with the containing host.
Memory: Look for signs that memory demand or contention coincides with degraded workload behavior.
Storage: Examine storage-related activity and timing when applications experience slow reads, writes, or response times.
Network: Review network behavior when the symptom involves communication delays, transfers, or connectivity-dependent applications.

Resource Investigation Guide

Resource Area	What to Look For	Why Advanced Charts May Be Needed
CPU	Sustained demand, contention-related behavior, and peaks that match workload timing	The Overview may not contain the specific CPU counters needed to distinguish demand from contention
Memory	High demand, abnormal changes, and behavior that matches application slowdowns	Additional counters can help validate whether memory pressure is relevant
Storage	Repeated activity peaks or abnormal behavior during slow storage operations	Custom counters and a suitable time range can help correlate storage behavior with the symptom
Network	Peaks or changes that coincide with communication or transfer problems	Additional counters may be required to examine the suspected network behavior in detail

Trend Analysis Workflow

Trend analysis means reviewing performance data over time to identify recurring patterns, growth, changes, or anomalies.

Choose a time range that includes the period when the issue occurred.
Compare an abnormal period with a known normal period when possible.
For intermittent issues, include both affected and unaffected periods and look for repeated patterns.
For persistent issues, use a sufficiently broad range to determine when the behavior began and whether it is worsening.
Choose chart granularity appropriate to the question. Fine detail helps examine short events; a broader view helps reveal recurring peaks and longer-term capacity pressure.
Compare related resource observations and workload timing.
Export or print the relevant Advanced chart when the result must be documented or reviewed later.

Historical charts can reveal daily or weekly peaks, changes after a workload or configuration change, and gradual increases that may not be visible during a single live check.

Practical Monitoring Workflow

Select the affected VM or ESXi host from the inventory.
Open Monitor > Performance and review the relevant Overview view.
Identify the resource area that may be constrained.
Open Monitor > Performance > Advanced.
Use Chart Options to select additional counters needed to test the suspected cause.
Review the selected time period for trends, repeated peaks, and correlation with workload timing.
Export or print the findings when they need to be shared or retained.

Practical Examples

Quick VM Performance Check

Select a virtual machine from the inventory.
Open Monitor > Performance.
Use an Overview chart to inspect high-level resource behavior.
If the summary appears normal, compare the chart period with the user-reported symptom and workload timing.
If the summary suggests a possible issue or lacks the required detail, move to Advanced charts.

Investigating Suspected CPU Pressure

Begin with the host or VM Overview performance view.
Move to Advanced charts when more detailed CPU-related counters are needed.
Use Chart Options to select suitable counters.
Compare the suspected problem period with a normal period.
Correlate the chart behavior with workload timing and the containing host.
Export or print the resulting chart if escalation or capacity review is required.

Building a Custom Chart for a Recurring Slowdown

Select the affected host or virtual machine.
Navigate to Monitor > Performance > Advanced.
Open Chart Options.
Choose counters relevant to the suspected resource domain.
Select a time range containing repeated slowdown events.
Review repeated peaks and compare them with unaffected periods.
Export the chart for review and follow-up.

Host-versus-VM Comparison

Review the affected VM and its containing ESXi host separately. If unusual behavior appears only in the VM view, the issue may be specific to that workload or its configuration. If similar behavior appears at host level and across multiple VMs, investigate the broader host resource condition. Use Advanced counters when the predefined summaries do not distinguish these possibilities.

Troubleshooting Common Situations

The VM Appears Slow, but the Overview Chart Does Not Identify the Cause

Use the Overview chart as the initial summary.
Open the Advanced performance view.
Use Chart Options to display counters relevant to the suspected resource domain.
Review the data over the period when the slowdown occurred.
Compare the VM view with the host view and correlate the result with workload behavior.

A Performance Issue Seems to Affect Multiple VMs

Review the charts for one affected VM.
Review the performance charts for the ESXi host containing the VMs.
Compare whether the behavior is isolated to the VM or visible at host level.
Use additional Advanced counters if the predefined summary is insufficient.

The Issue Occurs Only at Certain Times

Use a time range that includes affected and unaffected periods.
Look for repeated patterns rather than a single point-in-time value.
Adjust chart granularity to show either the short event or the longer recurring pattern.
Export the relevant Advanced chart to preserve evidence for comparison or review.

A Required Metric Is Not Visible in the Overview Chart

Switch to the Advanced performance view.
Open Chart Options.
Select the relevant available performance counter.
Create the custom chart and review it over the time period of interest.

Exam-Relevant Notes

Overview charts are predefined and summary-oriented.
Advanced charts are customizable and begin with the Chart Options control.
The navigation path for Overview charts is inventory object > Monitor > Performance.
The navigation path for Advanced charts is inventory object > Monitor > Performance > Advanced.
Available metrics depend on whether the selected object is an ESXi host or a virtual machine.
Performance charts support investigation and capacity planning, but a single metric should not be treated as conclusive proof of a bottleneck.
Advanced charts can be exported or printed for documentation, reporting, and escalation.