Overview
An optimization goal defines the objective of an audit. When you create an audit, you select a goal and the Resource Optimizer automatically chooses the most appropriate strategy algorithm to achieve it. Goals translate high-level operational intent — “reduce my host footprint” or “fix noisy-neighbor complaints” — into concrete migration plans.Prerequisites
- Resource Optimizer enabled on your platform
- Project access with the
memberrole or above - Metrics collected for the look-back period (typically 1 hour minimum)
Available Goals
Server Consolidation
Migrate workloads from underutilized hosts to consolidate the active footprint.
Idle hosts can enter low-power states after workloads are moved off.
Thermal Optimization
Redistribute workloads away from compute racks with high inlet temperatures,
protecting hardware and extending operational lifespan.
Workload Stabilization
Identify instances with erratic CPU or memory consumption and migrate them to
hosts where they achieve consistent, stable performance.
Energy Savings
Consolidate workloads to the minimum number of hosts during off-peak periods,
enabling idle nodes to reduce power draw.
Zone Rebalancing
Evenly redistribute workloads across availability zones after recovery events
or uneven initial placement.
Noisy Neighbor Mitigation
Detect instances causing CPU or memory contention and isolate them from
co-located workloads to restore performance for affected instances.
Goal Reference
| Goal | CLI Name | Strategy | Data Required | Trigger Scenario |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Server Consolidation | server_consolidation | Bin-packing | Compute API | High host count, low average utilization |
| Thermal Optimization | thermal_optimization | Outlet temperature heatmap | Prometheus (temperature) | High temperature alerts from monitoring |
| Workload Stabilization | workload_stabilization | Statistical variance analysis | Telemetry time-series | Sporadic guest performance complaints |
| Energy Savings | saving_energy | Consolidate + mark idle hosts | Compute API | Off-peak scheduled run |
| Zone Rebalancing | zone_migration | Even zone distribution | Compute API | Post-recovery or uneven initial placement |
| Noisy Neighbor | noisy_neighbor | CPU steal contention detection | Telemetry per-instance | Guest CPU steal complaints |
Selecting a Goal
Choose the goal that matches the problem you are solving:My cluster has too many active hosts
My cluster has too many active hosts
Use Server Consolidation (
server_consolidation). The strategy identifies hosts
running below the utilization threshold (default: 20%) and generates migrations that
pack those workloads onto fewer hosts.Some instances are performing erratically
Some instances are performing erratically
Use Workload Stabilization (
workload_stabilization). The strategy analyzes
per-instance CPU and memory time-series data to identify high-variance instances
and moves them to less-contended hosts.Requires Telemetry metrics to be collected for the look-back period (minimum 2 hours
of data recommended).A compute rack is running hot
A compute rack is running hot
Use Thermal Optimization (
thermal_optimization). The strategy reads inlet
temperature data from Prometheus and generates a plan to move workloads away from
the hottest racks.Requires Prometheus with temperature sensor metrics configured as a data source.After a failover, zones are imbalanced
After a failover, zones are imbalanced
Use Zone Rebalancing (
zone_migration). The strategy redistributes instances
evenly across availability zones without requiring external metric data.Guests are complaining about noisy neighbors
Guests are complaining about noisy neighbors
Use Noisy Neighbor (
noisy_neighbor). The strategy detects instance pairs with
high CPU contention co-located on the same host and separates them.Requires per-instance CPU steal metrics from Telemetry.Goal Availability
Not all goals may be available on your deployment. Available goals depend on the data sources and strategies enabled by your administrator.List available goals
Next Steps
Run an Audit
Create and run an audit using one of the available optimization goals.
Action Plans
Review the migration plan generated by a completed audit.
Audit History
Review past audits and track optimization trends over time.
Resource Optimizer Admin Guide
Administrator reference for configuring strategies and data sources.