Load averages from upload command

[BigMike]

If you execute 'uptime' on a linux server you get a line similar to:

13:42:20 up 62 days, 19:19, 0 users, load average: 0.40, 0.55, 0.53

The last 3 bits of info being the server load now, average for 5 and average for 15 minutes respectively.

I have a number of questions about this:

o What is measured in order to get these load values?
o Do these load values take account for number of processors?
o What are considered to be ok, iffy and critical values.

Thanks,

Mike

[AndrewT]

Almost anyone you talk to will explain load averages a bit differently. But essentially it is a measurement of the amount of processes that are waiting to run in addition to the ones that are currently running.

n = number of processors (virtual or otherwise) in the system

<=1 is ideal
<=1n will generally not be noticeable at all
<=2n is okay, generally no major performance slow downs but this may occur during backups or other resource intensive processes

It is important to realize that load averages do not provide a completely accurate snapshot of a system's performance. At the very least, you should consider RAM and SWAP usage as well.

[BigMike]

Thank you Andrew - crystal clear.

Regards,

Mike