Path: utzoo!utgpu!cunews!bnrgate!brtph3!brchh104!brchs1!bnr.ca!rice.edu!sun-spots-request
From: jon@netlabs.com (Jonathan Biggar)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.sun
Subject: Artificially high load average
Keywords: Miscellaneous
Message-ID: <1352@brchh104.bnr.ca>
Date: 18 Jan 91 17:30:17 GMT
Sender: news@brchh104.bnr.ca
Organization: Sun-Spots
Lines: 13
Approved: Sun-Spots@rice.edu
X-Sun-Spots-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 24, message 18
X-Note: Submissions: sun-spots@rice.edu, Admin: sun-spots-request@rice.edu

I have a network of 8 SparcStation-1 and 1+ workstations, all running 4.1,
and all have their own local disk for swap space.  One of the
Sparcstations is the fileserver for /usr and /home for the entire group.
On the fileserver, I have noticed that even when the entire network is
idle, I often see the load average sit at a very constant level of 3 or 4.
I have watched the ethernet and I don't see any traffic which could cause
this, and top reports that only one process is in the running state at any
time, and the system is running at 98-99% idle.

Has anyone seen this situation?

Jon Biggar
jon@netlabs.com