Processor Activity Alert - Low Idle time is a problem?

[wahnula]

Hello,

I have been greeted with these warning emails the past few days on my SBS 2003 SP1 server, with dual Opterons and 4GB RAM. It is running QuickBooks but other than that is a flat file/Exchange server:

The processor is experiencing a low level of idle time. Consistently low levels of idle time can cause performance problems.

Use Task Manager to view the top processes by CPU. If a service or less important process appears to be unusual, try stopping and then restarting it.

You can disable this alert or change its threshold by using the Change Alert Notifications task in the Server Management Monitoring and Reporting taskpad.

Well, when I use the Task Manager to to view the top processes, the top process by far is "System Idle Process", which bounces my dual Opterons from 67-85%.

I read up on SIP and found out it is supposed to be high, which I don't understand, but I can live with. My question is why is this all of a sudden an issue deserving email notification? While I see a way to stop the process in Task Manager I don't see any way to re-start it. Thanks as always.




Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[LWComputingMVP]

System Idle Process is like a "placeholder" process - it's basically the way Windows tracks the amount of time the CPU is not doing anything at all.

Frankly, on most systems I work on, it's 95% idle 90% of the time... so it's going between 67 and 85 percent, you probably should see what else it using the CPU. That warning occurs if there are periods when the System Idle Process is at or below 5% for extended periods of time (minutes, if I'm not mistaken).

This can occur during large Volume Shadow Copy snapshots and other periodic maintenance events, like backup.

-Lee

Those who ask why, learn

http://www.lwcomputing.com

 

[wahnula]

LWComputingMVP,

Thanks for the reply. SIP is now at 98-99% like it's supposed to be, but Task Manager still shows one CPU maxed out, the other one is behaving. What's your guess why one CPU is so heavily loaded according to Task Manager?

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[wahnula]

UPDATE

Using Process Explorer, we (myself and the folks in forum602 ) discovered a high number of Hardware Interrupts were part of the SIP. Searching Google, this was found to be related to an IDE controller reverting from DMA to PIO mode. In my case, it was one of the SATA controllers that had reverted to PIO. I had to go into the IDE controller in Device Manager, select the second SATA controller =>Propertes, choose to "Let BIOS enable Transfer mode" and changed the setting from PIO to "SATA 1-1.5".

Why my SATA controller was under "IDE" I have no idea, but this is a 2005 server. Anyway all fixed.

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[ShackDaddy]

IDE became a recognized standard in 1990 and was then immediately given a "baptised" name for didacto-geek types to use: ATA

SATA = Serial ATA

What no one seems to call it: SIDE or Serial IDE

Dave Shackelford
Shackelford Consulting