Length of Run Queue (CPURunQSize)

Description

This parameter displays the number of processes in the run queue (RunQ). This parameter is more useful for systems that do not support the uptime command and therefore do not support the CPULoad parameter. CPULoad reports an average number of processes while CPURunQSize reports the current number of processes in the run queue.

Recommendations

A consistently high load can indicate performance bottlenecks in one or more of the following three areas:

1. Memory: If the number of page faults (MEMPFault) and/or page-outs (MEMPageOut) is high and your load is high, your system probably needs more memory to improve performance.
2. Disk/controllers: If your load is high and the CPU has excessive waits for I/O operations (CPUWio), then your system could probably benefit by adding a controller and/or disk drive.
3. CPU: If items 1 and 2 above are normal, then you may have reached the limit of your system's resources. The following suggestions may help:

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  • If your CPU load is high and a particular process that is important to you is not executing quickly enough, you could use the renice command to increase the process' priority. Refer to your system's documentation for information on the renice command.
  • If you have batch processes running, you could schedule some jobs to run during non-peak times.
  • If the previous bulleted items do not help, you may need to upgrade your system's CPU capacity.

Range Thresholds

Because each UNIX system may have vastly different characteristics, no range thresholds have been set by default. With the combination of your experience with your system and your system documentation, you can set ranges that are useful.

Default parameter attributes

BMC ProactiveNet Performance Management properties