Azure VM CPU Credit Balance

Blue Matador monitors the CPU Credits Remaining metric on your Azure B-series VMs to create events when CPU Credit Balance is going to run out. B-series Burstable Virtual Machines provide baseline CPU performance that can be exceeded for limited amounts of time. They offer a way to cut down on VM costs for workloads that do not require consistent CPU.

Effects

Running out of CPU credits on a burstable VM means the VM will no longer be able to perform above its baseline performance. If the workload no longer requires higher performance, then CPU credits will begin to accumulate again for later use.

Fixes

If your workload is not burstable, consider changing your VM to another size that provides the consistent amount of CPU that your application requires. If your application is burstable but needs more burst room during heavy workloads, you can upgrade its size within the B-series VMs to attain a higher baseline performance, higher maximum performance, and faster accumulation of CPU credits.

Resources

• B-series burstable virtual machine sizes (Microsoft Azure Documentation)
• General purpose virtual machine sizes (Microsoft Azure Documentation)
• Azure compute unit (ACU) (Microsoft Azure Documentation)