"SAR" constantly reporting 0% idle

[hellsing]

I have installed a new processor into my Sco server and have gone from a dual processor to single. Subsequently I have rolled back the SMP patch.

Since then if I run, for example, sar 5 10
It constantly reports back the idle as 0% even with no users on the system. I have checked for large processes and there are not any. The system performs perfectly well so I can only presume that sar is totally misreporting.

Anyone got any ideas whats wrong or what I need to do?

 

[RShaw]

Try this...ps -ef | grep ns_httpd see if any of the Netscape Webserver componants are running, and if you don't need them kill them and then comment them out ot hte /etc/services file.

I had an issue very much like this recently and this did the trick for me!

 

[hellsing]

RShaw,
Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunatly, its not helped. I do have the netscape webserver running but the process' arn't accumulating much time. Just in case I tried killing them anyway but sar is still showing my system as 0% idle.
Thanks anyway.

 

[Annihilannic]

Can you post a sample of the sar output? If it's 0% idle, where is all the CPU time... under %usr?

You may also consider reinstalling any patches you have installed to make sure that new packages installed with SMP are up to date. Annihilannic.

 

[hellsing]

Annihilannic,
Thanks for the reply. Here is a sar output:

402# sar 5 10

SCO_SV birmrocc 3.2v5.0.6 >PentIII 11/11/2002

09:23:45 %usr %sys %wio %idle (-u)
09:23:50 13 87 0 0
09:23:55 13 87 0 0
09:24:00 12 88 0 0
09:24:05 10 90 0 0
09:24:10 13 87 0 0
09:24:15 15 85 0 0
09:24:20 18 82 0 0
09:24:25 14 85 1 0
09:24:30 12 84 4 0
09:24:35 12 88 0 0

Average 13 86 0 0
403#

This was taken this morning when a few users were on the system. I'm going to have a look at re-doing the patches.

 

[Annihilannic]

Well, the reason you're not getting any idle time is clear then; the system is spending all its time in the kernel. Why that is may be difficult to ascertain.

It may be an idea to install the top utility from Skunkware which would probably give you some clues as to which process is keeping the system so busy. You may not see the process' CPU time increasing because that would only count the amount of time spent running the process itself, not the time servicing any system calls it makes. Annihilannic.

 

[hellsing]

Annihilannic,
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll install TOP and see what it says.
Thanks

 

[hellsing]

Strange, very strange. I haven't got round to installing top yet but as of yesterday afternoon it has just started working. The idle time is peaking and dropping and reflecting the performance I'm getting from the server.
It seems fine now.
I have no idea whats happened but thanks guys for your suggestions.