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zagi · 11-18-2007, 01:46 PM

Load averages are a very misunderstood number.

The real answer is this:

For each virtual CPU and each Disk you are allowed to add 1 unit of measure.

In other words on a Dual Core system with 1 drive, you can technically run ok with a load average of 3 or lower.

However I dont like to count the disks therefore for this system a load average less than 2.0 is acceptable.

So if you have a quad core box with 1 drive, 5 is a reasonable number.

Now Unix is a very robust platform and we have servers that have say 2x Dual Core cpus theoretically giving a max load average of 4. But they may run from 10-20 and still perform up to speed - however they are VERY loaded concurrent servers, for example forums with 3000-4000 active sessions.

For your issue, I'd say take the number of virtual CPUs and try to keep the load less than that number.

11-18-2007, 01:46 PM
zagi Confirmed User Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 1,238	Load averages are a very misunderstood number. The real answer is this: For each virtual CPU and each Disk you are allowed to add 1 unit of measure. In other words on a Dual Core system with 1 drive, you can technically run ok with a load average of 3 or lower. However I dont like to count the disks therefore for this system a load average less than 2.0 is acceptable. So if you have a quad core box with 1 drive, 5 is a reasonable number. Now Unix is a very robust platform and we have servers that have say 2x Dual Core cpus theoretically giving a max load average of 4. But they may run from 10-20 and still perform up to speed - however they are VERY loaded concurrent servers, for example forums with 3000-4000 active sessions. For your issue, I'd say take the number of virtual CPUs and try to keep the load less than that number. __________________ Managed US/NL Hosting [ [Reality Check Network ] Dell XEON Servers + 1/2/3 TB Packages ICQ: 4-930-562