Why do context switches on a RHEL6.1 KVM host increase if the virtual CPU model 'Nehalem' is used with RHEL5.6 guests?

Solution Unverified - Updated -

Issue

The context switch count on a RHEL6.1 KVM host (displayed in the 'cs' column of the vmstat command output) can increase if the virtual CPU model used with RHEL5.6 guests is changed from the default to Nehalem.

Environment

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.1 KVM host
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.6 KVM guest
  • 64-bit guest kernel (x86_64 architecture)
  • The virtual CPU model Nehalem is specified in the guest configuration data.

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