Question about cpu_count meaning vs Proxmox UI “Max CPU”

[Anakz]

Hi,

I’m trying to understand the exact meaning of the cpu_count attribute in the
proxmox_virtual_environment_node data source.

What I see

In the Proxmox UI (and API), the node shows:

• Max CPU: 16

However, using Terraform with the bpg/proxmox provider, the same node reports:

cpu_sockets = 1
cpu_count   = 8

My question

Could you clarify what cpu_count represents exactly?

Why does Terraform report cpu_count = 8 while Proxmox UI shows “Max CPU = 16”?

Is cpu_count intended to reflect a different concept than the Proxmox “Max CPU” value?

I didn’t find this distinction documented, and the field name cpu_count makes it
a bit unclear how it should be interpreted when comparing with Proxmox UI/API.

Thanks for the clarification.

[666Goofy666]

Hello, It's from API: pvesh get /nodes/{node}/status --output-format json

...
 "cpuinfo": {
     "cores": 8,
     "cpus": 16,
     "flags": "...........",
     "hvm": "1",
     "mhz": "1796.619",
     "model": "INTEL/AMD",
     "sockets": 1,
     "user_hz": 100
 }
...

And the provider maps it as:

...
CPUInfo struct {
		CPUCores   *int    `json:"cores,omitempty"`
		CPUSockets *int    `json:"sockets,omitempty"`
		CPUModel   *string `json:"model"`
	} `json:"cpuinfo"`
...

In the Proxmox API:
cores = physical CPU cores
cpus = logical CPUs (threads), which is what the Proxmox UI shows as “Max CPU”

So cpu_count reflects physical cores, while the Proxmox UI “Max CPU” reflects logical CPUs.

Hope this helps!

[Anakz]

Hi @666Goofy666, thanks for the clarification, that was very helpful.

Just to clarify for future readers, in proxmoxtf/datasource/node.go, the single node datasource reads the Proxmox API response (cores) and maps it into the Terraform attribute cpu_count

[bpg-dev]

Please also check the documentation. This behaviour in the provider has changed recently
https://registry.terraform.io/providers/bpg/proxmox/latest/docs/data-sources/virtual_environment_node#cpu_count-1