Guest running super slow

[Masterl1nk]

HI all,
Got a Xubuntu VM running over a 2015 Macbook Pro. Performance is incredibly low, easy things like scrolling over a website like reddit is laggy, as well as resizing or moving windows. I haven't experienced this kind of issues when running a similar Xubuntu guest on my old Thinkpad X220 Linux laptop host, using Virtualbox as well.

Host:
Macbook pro retina 2015 15"
2.5Ghz Core i7
16 GB DDR3
AMD Radeon R9 370x
MacOs High Sierra 10.13.6
VirtualBox 5.2.18 r124319 with Guest additions


Guest setup:
Base memory: 8019 MB
Processor(s): 4
Execution cap: 100%
Enable PAE/NX: Unchecked
Paravirtualization interface: Default
Hardware virtualization: Checked
Video memory: 128MB
Acceleration: Enable 3D acceleration checked
Xubuntu 18.04 64 bits


Guest VM log attached

Thanks

[andyp73]

00:00:01.054232 Host RAM: 16384MB (16.0GB) total, 7530MB (7.3GB) available
00:00:01.203927   RamSize           <integer> = 0x00000001f5300000 (8 408 530 944, 8 019 MB, 7.8 GB)
00:00:01.204246   VRamSize         <integer> = 0x0000000008000000 (134 217 728, 128 MB)

You have allocated memory to the guest that you don't have available on the host. Your options are: a) allocate less memory to the guest, b) close some applications on the host, or c) buy some more memory for the host. I would set the RAM size to be 4.0GB to give your host some breathing space.

00:00:01.418476 CPUM: Physical host cores: 4
00:00:01.203923   NumCPUs           <integer> = 0x0000000000000004 (4)

You have allocated all of your host CPU cores (remember VirtualBox cares about cores not threads) to the guest. Your host is going to be wheezing and running out of steam. Reduce this down to 2.

-Andy.

[Masterl1nk]

Thanks Andy! I reduced the memory alloc to 4096MB and CPU down to 2, but performance remains the same

[mpack]

Please provide complete logs, not logs from sessions that are still running. Also, please zip the logs to conserve server space: the server has to store a LOT of log files.

Is the VM still slow if you disable 3D acceleration?

The log file does have this note:

00:00:20.434279 AIOMgr: Host limits number of active IO requests to 16. Expect a performance impact.

Using GAs from the wrong software possibly could have an impact too.

00:00:21.507912 VMMDev: Guest Additions information report: Version 5.2.10 r121806 '5.2.10_Ubuntu'

[Masterl1nk]

Hi, thanks!
I disabled the 3d acceleration and performance remains the same. How can I get the full logs? I'm doing right-click over the vm > Show log > save.

Thanks for the input regarding the AIOMgr, I'll check!

[socratis]

To get a full, complete log:

• Start the VM from cold-boot (not from a paused or saved state) / Observe error / Shutdown the VM (force close it if you have to).
• With the VM completely shut down (not paused or saved), right-click on the VM in the VirtualBox Manager and select "Show Log".
• Save only the first "VBox.log", ZIP it and attach it to your response. See the "Upload attachment" tab below the reply form.

[clouddev]

things like scrolling over a website like reddit is laggy, as well as resizing or moving windows.

Sounds like what I've experienced moving from PC to Mac host - also described in issue 16436. Overall UI performance improved when I went down to VirtualBox 5.0.40.

[ubcadmin]

I'm experiencing problems similar to this on my Mac Pro 2.8Ghz Quad Xeon running macOS High Sierra. I've attached the relevant logs. As you can see, I tried downgrading to Virtualbox 5.0.40 from the current version to see if that would help, but it made no difference. I've tried turning off 3d and 2d acceleration, but it made no difference. This problem started after I moved my VM from a Mac Mini Core i5 to the Mac Pro. The guest is running Windows 10.
Edit: I'll add that CPU usage on both my host and guest are high. Activity Monitor on my Mac shows Virtualbox using between 100%-200% constantly, and on the guest (the few times I've left it alone long enough to finish booting) Task Manager shows 99% CPU usage all the time.

[mpack]

5.0.40 is not supported, and also not my first choice for a Win10 guest, so you should restore the latest VirtualBox version (5.2.18). Then install the Guest Additions if you want decent graphics performance (all you did so far was mount the GAs CD in the virtual drive).

[ubcadmin]

I reinstalled 5.2.18 and reinstalled GA with 3d and 2d acceleration disabled. My VM is still, however, running extremely slowly. I don't think its just slow video - it seems as if the CPU is somehow throttled or limited in some way. I know moving from a Core i5 to a Penryn Xeon processor is something of a step back, but I didn't think it would slow things down this badly. My host OS is running well, even with the increased CPU usage from the VM. I've attached a fresh log reflecting my changes. The attached image shows about what my host CPU usage runs all the time.

Screen Shot 2018-09-06 at 10.59.31.png (61.74 KiB) Viewed 10413 times

[ubcadmin]

I left the VM running all night and got a clean shutdown. It literally took several minutes each time I clicked on something for the screen to respond. I attached the log showing the shutdown states. Sorry about the size! I guess the important bits are at the beginning and the end though....

[mpack]

Have you looked at the task manager inside the guest, to see which tasks are using CPU or I/O?

[ubcadmin]

Yes. They vary, but always add up to 99%, or as near to that as makes no difference. Usually when I have task manager open it uses double digit percentages by itself. I can try to get more specific details later when I have a few hours to start up the VM and get Task Manager open.

[mpack]

Don't ignore the I/O question. I/O in a simulated guest translates to CPU use on the host.

[ubcadmin]

Here's a screen grab of the Task Manager:

Screen Shot 2018-09-11 at 12.35.46.png (81.63 KiB) Viewed 10355 times

Here's a more detailed screen grab from Resource Monitor. I'm not sure what you mean by I/O, but this view shows CPU and Disk activity.

Screen Shot 2018-09-11 at 13.26.30.png (125.98 KiB) Viewed 10355 times

If these don't give you the I/O, I'm happy to find that as well if you can point me in the right direction.