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Container Resource Calculator

Set Kubernetes CPU and memory requests and limits and determine QoS class.

About Container Resource Calculator

Requests drive scheduling and eviction priority while limits cap actual usage. Guaranteed QoS requires requests to equal limits, which protects the pod from eviction but wastes headroom. CPU limits cause throttling rather than failure while memory limits cause hard termination, so the two should be set with different degrees of caution.

Formula

Container Resource

Requests sit just above observed use; limits allow for peaks unless QoS is Guaranteed

Guaranteed
Requests equal limits, giving the highest eviction protection
Burstable
Limits above requests, allowing peaks but risking throttling

Worked example

With the default values below, Container Resource Calculator returns CPU Request of 300. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Observed CPU useminimum 1 m
250 m
Observed memory useminimum 1 MiB
400 MiB
Peak to average ratioaccepts 1–10 x
2.5 x
Replicasminimum 1
4
QoS targetone of Guaranteed, Burstable
Burstable

Results

CPU Request
300 m
CPU Limit
625 m
Memory Request
500 MiB
Memory Limit
1,000 MiB
Total Cluster CPU Reserved
1.200 cores

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Container Resource
  3. 3CPU Request= 300 m
  4. 4CPU Limit= 625 m
  5. 5Memory Request= 500 MiB
  6. 6Memory Limit= 1,000 MiB
  7. 7Total Cluster CPU Reserved= 1.200 cores

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 5 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Container Resource calculated?

Requests sit just above observed use; limits allow for peaks unless QoS is Guaranteed Requests drive scheduling and eviction priority while limits cap actual usage. Guaranteed QoS requires requests to equal limits, which protects the pod from eviction but wastes headroom.

Why does Container Resource matter?

CPU limits cause throttling rather than failure while memory limits cause hard termination, so the two should be set with different degrees of caution.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 5 inputs: Observed CPU use, Observed memory use, Peak to average ratio, Replicas, QoS target. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.

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Container Resource Calculator | Calcrivo