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My server seems to having some performance issues when it hits high utilization.

Articles and Tips: qna

01 Sep 1996


Q.

Dear Ab-end: My server seems to having some performance issues when it hits high utilization. Are there any general guidelines as to what to look for? I'm running NetWare 4.1 on 12 Compaq servers in a Token Ring topology.

--Server Concerned

A.

Dear Concerned: It's quite normal for a server's utilization to jump to 100% and stay high for short periods of time. However, if your NetWare 4.1 server is experiencing long periods of high utilization and the workstations logged into the server experience poor performance, consider the following:

  1. Install all of the patches found in the 410PT3.EXE (or higher) file and the 410IT6.EXE (or higher) file. You can find 410PT3.EXE at http://support.novell.com/search/patlst.htm on the Internet. You can find 410IT6.EXE by going to http://support.novell.com/nsd.htm and typing in the file name to download the file. These patches address and correct all known utilization problems with the operating system.

  2. Ensure that Directory Services replica synchronization is not having problems. You can determine this by running the "Replica Synchronization" option in DSRepair. If this option shows errors, the replicas are not synchronizing properly. If replicas have not been able to synchronize for a long period of time, the servers may experience performance degradation.

    Once replica synchronization has been properly reestablished, the performance problems will disappear after all replicas have been updated. The updating process may take time to complete, depending on the number of updates that have been made.

  3. You can determine which process is taking up most of the CPU's time by running the "Processor Utilization" option in Monitor. Pressing F3 will display the running processes and the percentage of CPU load they are using. Identify the process or processes that have the highest percentages. Then check to ensure you have the latest version of the corresponding NLM.

    NetWare 4.1's default SET parameters are optimized for a peak load of 100 users. If your server peaks at more than 100 connections, you can optimize performance during peak periods by adjusting the Minimum Directory Cache Buffers, the Minimum Packet Receive Buffers, and the Maximum Service Processes. These parameters should be adjusted as follows:

    • Minimum Directory Cache Buffers. For every one connection there should be one directory cache buffer available, up to the limit of 2000.

    • Minimum Packet Receive Buffers. For every one connection there should be two packet receive buffers available, up to the limit of 2000.

    • Maximum Service Processes. For every one connection there should be two service processes available, up to the limit of 100.

These suggestions provide a good starting place. If the problem persists, check for problems with physical LAN connections to the network, workstation connections and new client software (a biggie), as well as aberrant NLMs, disk drivers and LAN drivers.

* Originally published in Novell AppNotes

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