Providing More Consistent Response Times [ Using the HP 3000 Workload Manager ] MPE/iX 5.0 Documentation
Using the HP 3000 Workload Manager
Providing More Consistent Response Times
The Workload Manager features can be used to ensure more consistent
response times for users. For example, you might need to meet a specific
Service Level Agreement (SLA) with users, minimize performance
complaints, or facilitate capacity planning. The grouping of processes
into workgroups gives the system manager the ability to partition the
system into groups with similar needs. Altering the scheduling
characteristics of those workgroups provides the control over CPU access,
which in turn helps determine response time.
CAUTION It is critical to understand that CPU access is just one
component of response time. The Workload Manager can help
handle this aspect, but cannot handle problems with disk access
speeds, memory constraints, network latency and availability, or
the other components of response time.
In controlling CPU access, you can either control the workgroup needing
the consistent response times, or identify the other workgroup(s) whose
behavior leads to inconsistent response times and control those
workgroups.
To control a single workgroup
In handling a single workgroup, you can change the base and limit
priorities, change the rate of priority decay (by adjusting the quantum),
or assign CPU minimum and/or maximum percentages. Which control is most
effective depends on the characteristics of the processes you want to
control. It may be the case that placing the workgroup at priorities
160-170 gives consistent 1-second response time to those users.
Alternatively, you may need to set a minimum CPU percentage of 20% to the
workgroup in order to ensure 1-second response time.
To control other workgroups
If processes in one workgroup (workgroup_1) are experiencing inconsistent
response times, it may be due to the influences of another workgroup
(workgroup_2). For example, workgroup_2 may be set to a higher priority
and contain processes that perform long transactions, leading to
increased response times for the processes in workgroup_1. To handle the
situation, you can:
* Move the processes in workgroup_2 that perform long transactions
to a lower-priority workgroup.
* Move the entire workgroup (workgroup_2) to a lower priority.
* set a CPU maximum for workgroup_2, restricting the amount of CPU
it can consume.
* If it is a single process that is disrupting the response times of
others, move it to a lower-priority workgroup.
MPE/iX 5.0 Documentation