VCP-VVF Vmware Vsphere Foundation Fundamentals Practice Question
An administrator is configuring memory allocation for a memory-intensive virtual machine in a vSphere Foundation environment. The VM has 64 GB of allocated RAM, and the reservation is set to 32 GB with a limit of unlimited. The host running the VM currently has low free physical memory, and memory overcommitment is active. When the VM attempts to consume its full 64 GB, what mechanism does vSphere use first to reclaim memory if transparent page sharing (TPS) and ballooning are insufficient?
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
✓
Memory swapping of guest pages to the virtual machine's designated swap file (.vswp) on storage.
When TPS, ballooning (vmmemctl), and standard page reclamation fail to free enough memory under heavy pressure, ESXi resorts to memory swapping to disk. This involves writing guest physical memory pages to the VM's swap file (.vswp) on datastores.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Forcibly powering off the virtual machine to protect the overall ESXi host stability.
Why it's wrong here
ESXi will not arbitrarily power off VMs due to memory pressure; instead, it uses swapping and resource limits.
- ✗
vSphere vMotion to automatically migrate the VM to another cluster node with available physical memory.
Why it's wrong here
vMotion requires an explicit trigger or DRS recommendation; it does not automatically execute as a direct memory reclamation mechanism on a single host.
- ✗
Memory compression of idle memory pages stored in the host kernel memory cache.
Why it's wrong here
Memory compression occurs before memory swapping, making it an earlier step rather than the fallback when ballooning and TPS are insufficient.
- ✓
Memory swapping of guest pages to the virtual machine's designated swap file (.vswp) on storage.
Why this is correct
Swapping is the last-resort memory reclamation technique used by the ESXi kernel when ballooning and compression cannot satisfy demand.
About these practice questions
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed August 2026 · checked against the official VMware exam blueprint
This VCP-VVF 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-VVF exam.