CPU Cores or Hyperthreads?

Question

When the Pricing page lists “2 core processor” what exactly does that mean? Does that mean I get two logical cores out of an eight core processor? Does that mean I get a single logical core that has two hyperthreads?

Viko · Answer

I would say that you neither get “physical” nor “hyper-threaded” cores.Digital Ocean uses KVM virtualization. KVM runs between your hardware and each of the virtualized machines (also called VMs, Droplets, etc).Each of the visualised cores “equals” a CPU core. When a vCore (virtualized Core) requires processing time a process called system scheduler will point the vCore request to a free physical Core.Note that the Virtual Machine itself is “unaware” about this and any of your vCores can end up using cycles of any of the free physical CPUs. Further, you do not get 2 cores dedicated to you, but actually your virtual machine is not underpowered, as the vCores will use processing time from the physical CPU only when they need it.

JonsJava · Answer

Just to add to the answer @Viko provided, here’s a dmidecode report: dmidecode -t processor # dmidecode 2.12 SMBIOS 2.4 present. Handle 0x0401, DMI type 4, 32 bytes Processor Information Socket Designation: CPU 1 Type: Central Processor Family: Other Manufacturer: Bochs ID: E4 06 03 00 FF FB 8B 0F Version: Not Specified Voltage: Unknown External Clock: Unknown Max Speed: 2000 MHz Current Speed: 2000 MHz Status: Populated, Enabled Upgrade: Other L1 Cache Handle: Not Provided L2 Cache Handle: Not Provided L3 Cache Handle: Not Provided Handle 0x0402, DMI type 4, 32 bytes Processor Information Socket Designation: CPU 2 Type: Central Processor Family: Other Manufacturer: Bochs ID: E4 06 03 00 FF FB 8B 0F Version: Not Specified Voltage: Unknown External Clock: Unknown Max Speed: 2000 MHz Current Speed: 2000 MHz Status: Populated, Enabled Upgrade: Other L1 Cache Handle: Not Provided L2 Cache Handle: Not Provided L3 Cache Handle: Not Provided Also, here’s the /proc/cpuinfo details: processor : 0 vendor_id : GenuineIntel cpu family : 6 model : 62 model name : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2630L v2 @ 2.40GHz stepping : 4 microcode : 1 cpu MHz : 2399.998 cache size : 15360 KB physical id : 0 siblings : 1 core id : 0 cpu cores : 1 apicid : 0 initial apicid : 0 fpu : yes fpu_exception : yes cpuid level : 13 wp : yes flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss syscall nx pdpe1gb rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon rep_good unfair_spinlock pni pclmulqdq vmx ssse3 cx16 pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 x2apic popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx f16c rdrand hypervisor lahf_lm xsaveopt vnmi ept fsgsbase smep erms bogomips : 4799.99 clflush size : 64 cache_alignment : 64 address sizes : 40 bits physical, 48 bits virtual power management: processor : 1 vendor_id : GenuineIntel cpu family : 6 model : 62 model name : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2630L v2 @ 2.40GHz stepping : 4 microcode : 1 cpu MHz : 2399.998 cache size : 15360 KB physical id : 1 siblings : 1 core id : 0 cpu cores : 1 apicid : 1 initial apicid : 1 fpu : yes fpu_exception : yes cpuid level : 13 wp : yes flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss syscall nx pdpe1gb rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon rep_good unfair_spinlock pni pclmulqdq vmx ssse3 cx16 pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 x2apic popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx f16c rdrand hypervisor lahf_lm xsaveopt vnmi ept fsgsbase smep erms bogomips : 4799.99 clflush size : 64 cache_alignment : 64 address sizes : 40 bits physical, 48 bits virtual power management: Now, the details on the processor it reports: intel doc sheet screenshot Now, as you can see, this CPU is fully capable of Hyperthreading, so yes, as it’s been said. It’s not regular CPUs, so you’re trying to compare apples to oranges.

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CPU Cores or Hyperthreads?

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CPU Cores or Hyperthreads?