Service Console Memory, a common misunderstanding (ESX 4.0+)

ESX 4.x hosts – the default amount of RAM is dynamically configured to a value between 300MB and 800MB, depending on the amount of RAM that is installed in the host. For example, if the host has 32GB of memory the service console RAM will be set to 500MB, while a host which has 128GB of RAM will see the service console RAM set to 700MB. The maximum has not changed from 800MB, which would be seen on hosts with 256GB of RAM or higher, if it is being dynamically allocated.

ESX Host – 8GB RAM -> Default allocated Service Console RAM = 300MB

ESX Host – 16GB RAM -> Default allocated Service Console RAM = 400MB

ESX Host – 32GB RAM -> Default allocated Service Console RAM = 500MB

ESX Host – 64GB RAM -> Default allocated Service Console RAM = 602MB

ESX Host – 96GB RAM -> Default allocated Service Console RAM = 661MB

ESX Host – 128GB RAM -> Default allocated Service Console RAM = 703MB

ESX Host – 256GB RAM -> Default allocated Service Console RAM = 800MB