[clug] dual opteron performance problem

[Andrew Pollock]

On Wed, Dec 15, 2004 at 03:14:55PM +1100, Rob Shugg wrote:
> Guys
> I am trying to determine what is limiting the performance of my debian 
> Opteron box. It has two cpus and a two sata disc software raid 1 array. the 
> system boots from an ide drive.
> 
> We are using the system as a vmware host for a couple of vmware debian 
> guests.
> as soon as we load up one of the virtual servers the system bogs down and 
> becomes unusable.
> 
> the thing is, the CPU idle time rarely gets below 90% see the stats below, 
> I'd appreciate any suggestions as to how to pinpoint the problem.
> I have heard a few snippets about sata not being as good as promised, could 
> that be an issue?
> 

Hi Rob,

Take a look at dstat, it basically runs iostat, vmstat and ifstat
simulataneously. This might help you see any spikes in any sort of system
activity, and what's going on.

regards

Andrew