All MIBs › VMWARE-VMKERNEL-MIB
Category: VMware Virtualization
Description: Monitors VMware ESX VMkernel CPU scheduling, memory ballooning, and storage I/O statistics.
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What Is VMWARE-VMKERNEL-MIB?
VMWARE-VMKERNEL-MIB is a VMware enterprise MIB for the ESX/ESXi VMkernel, the hypervisor's core operating layer, belonging to the virtualization/server infrastructure technology area. It exposes objects describing VMkernel-level resource management, including CPU scheduling activity, memory ballooning behavior used to reclaim RAM from virtual machines under contention, and storage I/O statistics for datastore access. Administrators use it to monitor the software health of the hypervisor itself -- whether the loaded VMkernel module is active, how much memory is being ballooned (indicating host memory pressure), and CPU scheduling/storage I/O load -- which can reveal an overcommitted or resource-starved ESX host before VM performance visibly degrades. It is a vendor-specific extension focused on hypervisor-internal metrics not covered by generic system MIBs, complementing rather than depending on standard host-resource MIBs. It is typically deployed on VMware ESX/ESXi hosts in virtualized data center environments for capacity planning and performance troubleshooting as part of routine VMWARE-VMKERNEL-MIB SNMP monitoring.
IPNetwork Monitor allows you to monitor SNMP objects defined in VMWARE-VMKERNEL-MIB. Use the built-in SNMP Monitoring Browser to explore available variables, view their current values and descriptions, and select the objects you want to monitor. You can then create SNMP monitors, configure thresholds, and receive alerts when monitored values change.
Supported Devices
- VMware ESX/ESXi hypervisor host
Monitoring Examples
An administrator would check vmkLoaded to confirm the VMkernel module is active under the esxVMKernel subsystem, then monitor associated memory-ballooning counters to see how much RAM has been reclaimed from guest VMs, a rising value indicating host memory pressure. Storage I/O statistics under the same VMkernel tree would be polled to detect latency or throughput anomalies on a datastore, and CPU scheduling counters would show contention when multiple VMs compete for physical cores. A steady increase in balloon memory alongside high CPU scheduling wait times would together indicate the ESX host is significantly overcommitted.
What Can Be Monitored
- VMkernel module load status
- memory ballooning amount
- CPU scheduling load
- storage I/O statistics
Imported Objects
OIDs
RFC description
Provides vmkernel-related management information for VMware ESX servers.
Start monitoring VMware ESX/ESXi hypervisor host (VMkernel CPU-scheduling/memory-ballooning/storage-I/O status) with a free 30-day trial of IPNetwork Monitor. Import MIBs, browse SNMP OIDs, create custom SNMP monitors, configure alerts, and monitor any SNMP-enabled network device from a single console.