When using DRS, how does VMware manage workloads?

VMware's Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) effectively manages workloads by dynamically balancing them across multiple hosts. This feature allows DRS to assess the current utilization and demand of resources on various hosts within a cluster. When a workload, such as a virtual machine, experiences high resource usage or when a host becomes overloaded, DRS automatically migrates the virtual machine to another host with more available resources. This migration can occur seamlessly through technology like vMotion, ensuring minimal disruption to running applications.

Dynamic workload balancing helps maintain optimal performance levels, improves resource utilization, and prevents any single host from becoming a bottleneck, thus avoiding possible performance degradation or outages. By continuously monitoring and adjusting resources based on real-time usage, DRS contributes to a more efficient and resilient data center environment.

In contrast, restricting workloads to a single host would negate the benefits of resource optimization provided by a cluster. Cloning workloads for distribution typically involves creating copies instead of balancing existing workloads, and creating backups of active workloads focuses on data protection rather than optimizing resource allocation.