Chapter 13 - Detecting Processor Bottlenecks

The symptoms of a processor bottleneck aren't difficult to recognize:

Processor: %Processor Time often exceeds 90%.

System: Processor Queue Length is often greater than 2.

On multiprocessor systems, System: % Total Processor Time often exceeds 50%.

But these symptoms don't always indicate a processor problem. And even when the processor is the problem, adding extra processors doesn't always solve it. In this chapter, you'll learn to use Performance Monitor to analyze such symptoms, determine the likely cause of processor bottlenecks, and implement effective solutions.

Note

Before upgrading or adding processors, verify that the processor is the source of problem. Memory shortages, by far the most common bottleneck, often masquerade as high processor use. For more information see Chapter 12, "Detecting Memory Bottlenecks."

For more information on monitoring processor use on multiprocessor computers, see Chapter 16, "Monitoring Multiprocessor Computers."

Use the following counters to measure different aspects of processor use.

Object	Counter

System	% Total Processor Time
System	Processor Queue Length
Processor	% Processor Time
Process	% Processor Time
Process	% User Time
Process	% Privileged Time
Process	Priority Base
Thread	Thread State
Thread	Priority Base
Thread	Priority Current
Thread	Context Switches/Sec
Thread	% User Time
Thread	% Privileged Time

It is also useful to log Memory: Pages/sec, Logical Disk: % Disk Time and an activity count for your network to rule out problems in these components.