🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <8s2av7$k0g$1@wanadoo.fr>,
Cyrille MAUCCI <cyrille.maucci@wanadoo.fr> wrote:
>Hi,

>

>I am desperately looking for an answer to the following question:

>when my Unix system is getting slow, I just run 'top'

>sometimes, the average LOAD is high (at least 3), but CPU seems to be
>IDLE (close to 100%)

>sometimes, the average LOAD is correct (around 1), but CPU seems to work!!!

>

>I think I understand what the CPU TIME processing is, but I don't see
>how a machine can be LOADed with no CPU consuming process...

>Can you help me on this?

>

>Thanks

>Cyrille



The value of the load is the length of the queue of processes waiting
for their time to run (you may see it that way anyway). There may be
more things that stops them from running than the CPU being used 100%,
such as e.g. too much disk activity.

If there is only one highly active process running, then the load will
be around 1 and the CPU will be 100% used. Start 2 instances of that
program and the load will be 2 and the CPU will be 100% used.


/A

-- 
Andreas K�h�ri, 
Uppsala University, Sweden.
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