Question 408 of 498
VCP-DCV vSphere Performance and Scaling Practice Question
A company has a cluster with DRS set to Fully Automated. A VM named VM1 has a reservation of 4 GHz and a limit of 8 GHz on a host with 10 GHz available. The VM is running a batch job that requires as much CPU as possible. The administrator notices that the VM's CPU usage never exceeds 4 GHz. What is the most likely reason?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse CPU reservation with CPU limit, assuming a reservation restricts maximum usage, when in fact a reservation only guarantees a minimum and a separate limit must be explicitly set to cap usage.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The VM has a CPU limit set to 4 GHz via a resource pool or VM override.
A CPU limit explicitly caps the maximum CPU usage a VM can consume, regardless of available resources. In this scenario, the VM has a reservation of 4 GHz and a limit of 8 GHz on the host, but the administrator observes usage never exceeding 4 GHz, indicating a more restrictive limit is applied via a resource pool or VM override. This overrides the host-level limit, effectively capping the VM at 4 GHz, which matches the observed behavior.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The CPU reservation is preventing the VM from using more than the reserved amount.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: Reservation guarantees a minimum, not a maximum.
- ✗
The CPU shares are too low, causing the VM to be starved.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: Shares determine priority, not a hard cap.
- ✓
The VM has a CPU limit set to 4 GHz via a resource pool or VM override.
Why this is correct
Correct: A limit caps the maximum CPU usage; the specified limit of 8 GHz may be overridden by a lower limit.
- ✗
DRS is not migrating the VM to a host with more resources.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: DRS migration would not cap CPU usage on the current host.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This VCP-DCV practice question is part of Courseiva's free VMware certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the VCP-DCV exam.
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