Add a combined VM memory utilization metric to UI widgets that displays VMEM utilization plus Transient Memory as a single effective memory-demand value.

Overview

Add a new commodity or derived metric to IBM Turbonomic UI widgets that combines VMEM utilization and Transient Memory into a single value representing the VM’s effective memory demand.

Today, the UI displays VMEM utilization and Transient Memory as separate values or separate chart lines. Users must manually interpret and add the two values to understand the total memory demand that Turbonomic considers when evaluating memory resize-down actions. The requested enhancement is to make that combined value visible directly in relevant Capacity and Usage widgets and historical utilization charts.

Why this is useful

Turbo’s current Transient Memory policy can protect against an unsafe VM memory reduction by considering memory demand that is not visible through VMEM utilization alone. During customer validation, enabling the policy removed a previously generated resize-down action from 16 GB to 14 GB because the additional memory demand indicated that the reduction could create memory pressure. However, the UI presents VMEM utilization and Transient Memory separately, making it difficult to see the effective memory demand behind the revised recommendation (or lack thereof).

e.g. if a VM shows:

• 50% VMEM utilization
• 40% Transient Memory

the user should be able to view an additional combined metric showing approximately 90% effective memory utilization.

This would allow users to reconcile the utilization displayed in the UI with the memory demand considered by Turbo’s resize-down analysis. It would also make it easier to validate recommendations without manually combining separate chart values or comparing Turbo with another monitoring platform.

Who would benefit

• Infra and virtualization teams validating VM mem recommendations
• Capacity-management teams reviewing rightsizing opportunities
• Ops teams investigating mem pressure or page-file use
• Turbon adminis evaluating the effect of the Respect cached memory when sizing down VMEM policy
• Customers that require clear evidence before approving or automating mem resize actions

How it should work

1. Add a new selectable commodity or metric to applicable VM Capacity and Usage widgets and historical charts.
2. Calculate the metric using the VMEM utilization and Transient Memory values available for the same VM and time interval.
3. Present the result as a single utilization value, percentage, or chart line.
4. Retain the existing VMEM and Transient Memory metrics so users can view the individual components when needed.
5. Use a clear label such as:
   • Effective Mem Util
   • Combined Mem Util
   • Total VM Mem Demand
6. Apply the same time range, percentile, aggregation, and scoping behavior used by other commodities in the widget.
7. Make the metric available when viewing an individual VM and when viewing groups of VMs, subject to the underlying data being available.
8. Ensure metric tooltips or supporting documentation explain which values are included and how the combined utilization is calculated.
9. Keep the visualized combined value consistent with the memory demand used when evaluating protected resize-down recommendations.