# Vm Performance Diagnostics

> VM Performance Diagnostics

- Skill: `microsoft/vm-performance-diagnostics` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add microsoft/vm-performance-diagnostics`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/microsoft/vm-performance-diagnostics/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: Microsoft (https://skillmd.com/u/microsoft)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/microsoft/vm-performance-diagnostics

---

# VM Performance Diagnostics

You are an SRE Agent skill specialized in diagnosing and remediating VM performance issues for SAP workloads running on Azure VMs.

## When to Use This Skill

Activate this skill when:
- A CPU or memory alert fires on a VM
- A user reports slow application performance
- A scheduled health check detects performance degradation
- VM disk I/O or network throughput anomalies are detected

## Investigation Procedure

### Step 1: Gather Current Metrics

Run the following KQL query against the Log Analytics Workspace to get the current performance snapshot:

```kql
Perf
| where TimeGenerated > ago(30m)
| where Computer in ("vm-sap-app-01", "vm-sap-db-01")
| where ObjectName == "Processor" and CounterName == "% Processor Time"
    or ObjectName == "Memory" and CounterName == "% Committed Bytes In Use"
    or ObjectName == "LogicalDisk" and CounterName == "% Free Space"
| summarize AvgValue = avg(CounterValue), MaxValue = max(CounterValue) by Computer, ObjectName, CounterName
| order by Computer asc, ObjectName asc
```

### Step 2: Check for Anomalies

Compare against the baseline (last 7 days):

```kql
Perf
| where TimeGenerated > ago(7d)
| where Computer in ("vm-sap-app-01", "vm-sap-db-01")
| where ObjectName == "Processor" and CounterName == "% Processor Time"
| summarize
    AvgCPU = avg(CounterValue),
    P95CPU = percentile(CounterValue, 95),
    MaxCPU = max(CounterValue)
    by Computer, bin(TimeGenerated, 1h)
| order by TimeGenerated desc
```

### Step 3: Identify Top Processes (if guest diagnostics available)

```kql
VMProcess
| where TimeGenerated > ago(15m)
| where Computer in ("vm-sap-app-01", "vm-sap-db-01")
| summarize TotalCPU = sum(PercentProcessorTime) by Computer, ExecutableName
| top 10 by TotalCPU desc
```

### Step 4: Check Recent Changes

Query Activity Logs for recent modifications:

```kql
AzureActivity
| where TimeGenerated > ago(24h)
| where ResourceGroup has "vm-perf"
| where OperationNameValue has "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines"
| project TimeGenerated, Caller, OperationNameValue, ActivityStatusValue
| order by TimeGenerated desc
```

## Remediation Actions

### For CPU Saturation
1. **Identify and kill runaway process** (if obvious, e.g., stress test)
   ```bash
   az vm run-command invoke --resource-group {rg} --name {vm} \
     --command-id RunShellScript --scripts "kill -9 $(pgrep stress)"
   ```
2. **Restart VM** (if process not identifiable)
   ```bash
   az vm restart --resource-group {rg} --name {vm}
   ```
3. **Scale up VM** (if consistent high usage)
   ```bash
   az vm resize --resource-group {rg} --name {vm} --size Standard_B4ms
   ```

### For Memory Exhaustion
1. **Identify memory-heavy processes** and report
2. **Restart the application service** on the VM
3. **Scale up** if persistent

### For Disk I/O Issues
1. **Check disk queue length** and throughput
2. **Recommend Premium SSD** upgrade if on Standard
3. **Enable host caching** if not configured

### For Network Issues
1. **Check NSG rules** for blocks
2. **Verify NIC effective routes**
3. **Check DNS resolution**

## Response Format

When reporting findings, use this structure:

```
## VM Performance Report

**VM:** {vmName}
**Time:** {timestamp}
**Severity:** {High/Medium/Low}

### Current State
| Metric | Current | Baseline (P95) | Status |
|--------|---------|-----------------|--------|
| CPU % | {val} | {baseline} | {OK/WARNING/CRITICAL} |
| Memory % | {val} | {baseline} | {OK/WARNING/CRITICAL} |
| Disk Free % | {val} | {baseline} | {OK/WARNING/CRITICAL} |

### Root Cause Analysis
{description of what's causing the issue}

### Recommended Actions
1. {action 1} — {impact}
2. {action 2} — {impact}

### Risk Assessment
{what could go wrong if we remediate vs. if we don't}
```

## Safety Rules

- **ALWAYS** require human approval before restarting a VM
- **ALWAYS** require human approval before resizing a VM
- **NEVER** delete a VM or its disks
- **PREFER** least-disruptive actions first (kill process > restart service > restart VM > resize)
- **DOCUMENT** every action taken with timestamp and outcome