> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.xloud.tech/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Run an Optimization Audit

> Create and execute Optimization audits in Xloud — select a goal, configure scope, submit the audit, and monitor progress to action plan generation.

## Overview

An audit is a point-in-time analysis of the cluster. When you create an audit, the
Optimization collects current cluster metrics, applies the selected strategy
algorithm, and generates a prioritized action plan. Audits are fast — typically 30
seconds to 2 minutes depending on cluster size and data source responsiveness.

<Note>
  **Prerequisites**

  * Optimization enabled on your platform
  * At least 1 hour of metric data collected (for telemetry-backed strategies)
  * Project access with the `member` role or above
</Note>

***

## Create and Run an Audit

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Dashboard" icon="gauge">
    <Steps titleSize="h3">
      <Step title="Navigate to Audits" icon="compass">
        Navigate to
        **Optimization → Audits**.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Create a new audit" icon="plus">
        Click **Create Audit** and fill in the parameters:

        | Field            | Description                | Example                       |
        | ---------------- | -------------------------- | ----------------------------- |
        | **Name**         | Display name for the audit | `daily-consolidation-2026-03` |
        | **Goal**         | Optimization objective     | `server_consolidation`        |
        | **Scope**        | Target scope               | `CLUSTER`                     |
        | **Strategy**     | Optional override          | Leave blank for default       |
        | **Auto Trigger** | Run on a schedule          | Optional                      |

        <Tip>
          Leave **Strategy** blank to use the default strategy for the selected goal.
          Override only if your administrator has configured custom strategies.
        </Tip>
      </Step>

      <Step title="Confirm the audit" icon="play">
        Click **Create**. The audit status progresses:

        `PENDING` → `ONGOING` → `SUCCEEDED`

        <Check>Audit reaches `SUCCEEDED` status and an action plan is generated.</Check>
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="CLI" icon="terminal">
    <Steps titleSize="h3">
      <Step title="Authenticate" icon="key">
        ```bash title="Load credentials" theme={null}
        source openrc.sh
        ```
      </Step>

      <Step title="List available goals" icon="list">
        ```bash title="List optimization goals" theme={null}
        watcher goal list
        ```
      </Step>

      <Step title="Create and run the audit" icon="play">
        ```bash title="Create audit" theme={null}
        watcher audit create \
          --goal server_consolidation \
          --name daily-consolidation-2026-03
        ```
      </Step>

      <Step title="Monitor status" icon="clock">
        ```bash title="Check audit status" theme={null}
        watcher audit show daily-consolidation-2026-03 \
          -f value -c state
        ```

        Poll until state is `SUCCEEDED`.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Verify completion" icon="circle-check">
        ```bash title="Confirm audit succeeded" theme={null}
        watcher audit show daily-consolidation-2026-03
        ```

        <Check>State is `SUCCEEDED` and an action plan UUID is listed.</Check>
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

***

## Audit States

| State       | Meaning                                                             |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `PENDING`   | Audit queued, waiting for Decision Engine capacity                  |
| `ONGOING`   | Decision Engine is collecting metrics and computing recommendations |
| `SUCCEEDED` | Audit complete — action plan generated                              |
| `FAILED`    | Audit could not complete — check error detail                       |
| `CANCELLED` | Manually cancelled before completion                                |

***

## Audit Scope Options

| Scope     | Description                                            | When to Use                 |
| --------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------- |
| `CLUSTER` | Analyze all hosts and instances in the cluster         | Full cluster rebalancing    |
| `ZONE`    | Analyze only instances in a specific availability zone | Zone-specific consolidation |

```bash title="Run zone-scoped audit" theme={null}
watcher audit create \
  --goal zone_migration \
  --scope ZONE \
  --name zone-a-rebalance
```

***

## Strategy Parameters

Override default strategy thresholds when creating an audit:

```bash title="Audit with custom consolidation threshold" theme={null}
watcher audit create \
  --goal server_consolidation \
  --parameter threshold=0.15 \
  --parameter period=7200 \
  --name low-threshold-consolidation
```

| Parameter     | Strategy               | Default | Description                                           |
| ------------- | ---------------------- | ------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| `threshold`   | `server_consolidation` | `0.2`   | Utilization ratio below which a host is underutilized |
| `period`      | All                    | `3600`  | Look-back window in seconds                           |
| `granularity` | Telemetry-backed       | `300`   | Metric sample granularity in seconds                  |

***

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Action Plans" href="/services/optimization/user-guide/action-plans" color="#197560">
    Review and approve the migration plan generated by your audit.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Execute Actions" href="/services/optimization/user-guide/execute-actions" color="#197560">
    Start a recommended action plan to rebalance workloads.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Optimization Goals" href="/services/optimization/user-guide/optimization-goals" color="#197560">
    Understand which goal to select for different operational scenarios.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Troubleshooting" href="/services/optimization/user-guide/troubleshooting" color="#197560">
    Resolve audit failures and empty action plan scenarios.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>