VisualVM CPU graph on multicore machines

Question

On a multicore machine, does the JVisualVM CPU usage graph show total machine CPU capacity or something else?

As an example, on a machine with 16 cores, if I see CPU usage in JVisualVM going up to 50 percent, does that mean the equivalent of 8 cores fully in use?

Answer 1

I just tested with VisualVM 1.3.2 and the CPU display is calibrated so that 100% is 100% of all cores.

I tested by creating a simple application that entered a tight while loop upon launch. I verified using Activity Monitor that Java was using 100% of one core. In VisualVM it showed approximately 12% CPU usage.