Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 00:47:11 -0600 (CST) From: Ryan Thompson <ryan@sasknow.com> To: Michael Nottebrock <michaelnottebrock@gmx.net> Cc: bsd-freak@mbox.com.au, freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Load Averages etc. Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.21.0103300037170.83111-100000@ren.sasknow.com> In-Reply-To: <01d401c0b8de$85a04ea0$0508a8c0@lofi.dyndns.org>
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Michael Nottebrock wrote to bsd-freak@mbox.com.au and freebsd-questions@Fre...: > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <bsd-freak@mbox.com.au> > Subject: Load Averages etc. > > > > What do the actual figures for Load Average mean? I know they are CPU > > usage at 1 min 5? and 15 mins but what does a load average og .6 or > 1.0 > > or 1.5 mean? are they percentages? If so how can a load average go > over > > 1.0 ? ... > > Try to imagine it this way: For every finished task, <load average > number> new tasks are created. Example: For each task that finishes, > 0.6 new tasks are created. Your machine is partially idle. For each > task that finishes, 6.0 new tasks are created. Your machine is > overloaded. As long as the load is not reduced, the load average will > continue to rise exponentially. Unless I'm really misunderstanding you in some weird way, this is wrong. In any case, I don't feel it's a very clear explanation. ;-) As someone else has pointed out (and I think we just kicked this around a week ago or so--check the archives), the load averages represent "the average number of processes in the run queue"... The number of programs currently waiting to execute code. The problem is, these numbers are--for practical purposes, anyway--highly qualitative, not quantitative. Across diverse systems, the same load average will mean different things. If you have one process that is thrashing the disk, your load average might be around 1.0, and your system very sluggish. On the other hand, it's entirely possible to have a dozen processes waiting to execute, but not witness much of a slowdown. So, the load average on one system will NOT produce the same symptoms on another system. Load averages ARE, however, good for analyzing the load of a particular system over time. > Greetings, > > Michael Nottebrock > > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org > with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message > -- Ryan Thompson <ryan@sasknow.com> Network Administrator, Accounts SaskNow Technologies - http://www.sasknow.com #106-380 3120 8th St E - Saskatoon, SK - S7H 0W2 Tel: 306-664-3600 Fax: 306-664-1161 Saskatoon Toll-Free: 877-727-5669 (877-SASKNOW) North America To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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