Novell NETWARE 6-DOCUMENTATION Manual page 2882

High Utilization Statistics
What Is Normal?
If the problem still occurs, follow the troubleshooting steps in
Troubleshooting Methodology" on page
Knowledgebase (http://support.novell.com/search/kb_index.jsp); and contact
a Novell Support Provider.
Network performance is a key concern for network administrators and for
Novell as well. Unfortunately, sometimes there is confusion about
performance indicators and what their statistics mean.
For example, the idea that processor utilization is the key performance
indicator for NetWare is much too simple. Some network administrators are
concerned when the CPU Utilization health status in NetWare Remote
Manager or the Utilization value in MONITOR's General Information screen
approaches 100%, on the assumption that the higher the percentage, the worse
NetWare's performance is. This is entirely false.
Consider first what the Utilization value represents: the average of the server's
total processing capacity that was used during the last second (update
interval). The remainder of the capacity was spent in the idle loop process. In
other words, it is an indication of how much of that time the processor had
something to do. A high utilization value means that NetWare is using that
percentage of the processor's capacity and wastes less time doing nothing.
Some processes make efficient use of the processor and as a result might cause
100% utilization. This type of utilization is entirely appropriate. Most of the
time, when utilization moves up to 100%, it means that the thread is using the
processor efficiently. It might stay at 100% for a couple of minutes; this is
normal.
It is not normal, however, when the utilization is at 100% for 15 to 20 minutes
or more, when connections are dropped, or when server performance
deteriorates noticeably. High utilization with these conditions indicates a
problem. If you're not seeing these conditions, your utilization might be
normal, even when it's at 100%.
How do you know what is normal for your server? You will recognize
problems if you "baseline" your server. Know what is normal and know the
difference between a cosmetic problem and a true performance problem. (You
can test for a cosmetic problem by loading or unloading any NLM; this will
cause the processor information to be recalculated.)
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Troubleshooting the NetWare Server 125
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