Power metering for virtual machine in cloud computing-challenges and opportunities

The virtual machine (VM) is the most basic unit for virtualization and resource allocation. The study of VM power metering is the key to reducing the power consumption of data centers. In this paper, we make a comprehensive investigation in issues regarding VM power metering, including server models, sampling, VM power metering methods, and the accuracy of the methods. We will review many up-to-date power metering methods in this paper, and analyze their efficiencies, as well as evaluate their performance. Open research issues, such as VM service billing, power budgeting, and energy saving scheduling, are discussed, with an objective to spark new research interests in this field.