What does the CPU steal time indicator mean and how does it affect the operation of virtual machines?

CPU steal time — is the time during which a virtual machine (guest OS) is ready to execute instructions, but the physical processor is busy executing tasks of other virtual machines on the same host. In simpler terms, it is the time 'stolen' from the virtual machine by the hypervisor.

Impact on virtual machines:

• An increase in steal time means that the VM receives less CPU time than requested, which can lead to decreased performance.
• High steal time often indicates overload of the physical host or improper resource allocation.

For monitoring, commands like top or vmstat can be used, where steal time is displayed as %st. If this indicator is high, consider redistributing the load or increasing resources.