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AWS Morning Brief

Why Your CPU-Based Utilization Metric Is Absolute Nonsense

Sep 13, 2023
This podcast discusses the limitations of using CPU utilization as the only metric for evaluating resource efficiency in the cloud. It highlights the importance of considering additional metrics like network activity, disk I/O, and memory usage for accurate resource assessment.
04:58

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • CPU utilization alone cannot accurately determine the efficiency of cloud instances as it fails to consider other important factors like network activity, disk I/O, and memory usage.
  • To gain a comprehensive understanding of cloud instance fleet efficiency, organizations should consider metrics like network IO, disk read/write speeds, and memory utilization alongside CPU usage.

Deep dives

The Limitations of CPU Utilization as a Metric

CPU utilization is often used as a standalone metric to determine the efficiency of cloud instances. However, this metric is limited in providing meaningful insights. It fails to consider other important factors such as network activity, disk I/O, and memory usage. High CPU utilization could indicate efficient application performance or strain under heavy loads, while low CPU usage may suggest instances idling or well-optimized applications. By solely relying on CPU utilization, organizations risk overlooking critical aspects of their server fleet's health and may make uninformed decisions.

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