high load on idle guest Win2003 i386 running Oracle Application Server 10gR3

[markokobal]

Hi,

I have an guest Win2003 i386 running Oracle Application Server 10gR3. When I start the guest and the Oracle Application Server 10gR3 - with default installation, no real applications runnig I'm seeng constant 15-20% CPU load using "Task Manager" in guest or an constant around-30% CPU load of the guest vmx process using "top" on host. Other guests (Win2003, linux, freeBSD) are running normal, no special idle CPU load. Is this normal as OAS is an pig application or is such a high idle CPU load abnormal? Is there anythnig I could do?

Kind regards, Marko.

[joergriether]

please use process explorer inside your vm to find out the real causer of the cpu excursion.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/processexplorer.mspx

best regards

Joerg

[markokobal]

Hi,

In the attachments you can see what process explorer is showing in the guest (javaw - wich is actualy the OAS is taking from 3 - 10 % constatly), and you can see that "top" in the host is constantly around 30 % for the problematic gust vmx.

[joergriether]

oh boy, it´s the famous javaw.exe troubling you. the sun support forums are full of tons of articles about this plague. Check

the following url:

http://www.google.de/search?hl=en&q=javaw.exe+cpu&btnG=Suche&meta=

and have a look at the first two hits.

But to be honest: javaw.exe will always way use processor powers, even when it seems it has nothing to do. Please consider, too, that the javaw in the vm eats up networt and harddisk performance which could explain the 30% cpu at the host level in top.

best regards

Joerg

[wila]

Hi,

Sounds to me like an issue that has nothing to do with Oracle per se. I'm not convinced it is the javaw process as it only eats up 8 percent or so in your screenshot. That doesn't add up to the 85% in your VM load.

Is this perhaps a P2V-ed machine?

Did you change it from single to multiproc or the other way around? This would typically cause extra load if you don't adjust the VM to use the correct HAL.

If that applies, then read Eric's recommendations here:

http://www.vmware-land.com/Converter.html

[markokobal]

Hi,

I have checked the Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager -> Computer = "ACPI Uniprocessor PC" which is OK as I have only one processor assigned to the guest.

wila, why are you takling about 85% of my VM load ... it is not that high ... if you see my post above the CPU is at around 10% load in the guest and the vmx process in the host is around 30% CPU load.

Now, if I shut down (stop) the Oracle Application Server in the guest, the guest's CPU load is at bare minimum (idle) and the vmx process in the host is around 2-3% CPU load - as good as idle. So it is definitly the Oracle Application Server wich is eating so much system resources when doing nothing at all.

Isn't anybody of you guys using OAS in some guest machine and having similar behaviour - please report also if your OAS is NOT eating that much resources so that we could compare configurations...

Kind regards, Marko.

[wila]

Hi,

I have checked the Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager -> Computer = "ACPI Uniprocessor PC" which is OK as I have only one processor assigned to the guest.

So it seems you can scratch that one from the list as being the culprit.

wila, why are you takling about 85% of my VM load ... it is not that high ... if you see my post above the CPU is at around 10% load in the guest and the vmx process in the host is around 30% CPU load.

Ooops my bad, reading is an art and i sometimes read things wrongly especially when it's after midnight.. i misread the 83.33 idle process in the VM as actually being a load while it clearly isn't.

A 10% load in the guest otoh should not end up as being 30% on your host. It would normally be the other way around.

Now, if I shut down (stop) the Oracle Application Server in the guest, the guest's CPU load is at bare minimum (idle) and the vmx process in the host is around 2-3% CPU load - as good as idle. So it is definitly the Oracle Application Server wich is eating so much system resources when doing nothing at all.

Interesting, have you verified memory allocations? Is your VM perhaps swapping when you start OAS, does it have enough memory? It's also possible that the balloon driver is getting in your way, i presume you made sure to get the latest vmware tools installed already? You could try to set a memory reservation equal to your assigned memory in order to prevent that.

I've not had issues like that with Oracle over here, it works fine for me, but i mostly just run development servers.