Tag Archives: Process Operator

Process Operator (Server Edition) 1.0.1 released

What is new in Process Operator 1.0.1:

  • If the Process Operator writes something about w3wp.exe process to log files (CPU usage, priority etc.), it also writes the name of IIS Application Pool running in that process. It allows to see what pool caused high CPU usage.
  • There are 2 types of log files now:
    1. Files named “date_here”.log (e.g. 11.07.2010.log): Process Operator writes some of its actions (most important ones) and error messages (if any) to these log files.
    2. Files named “date_here”-CPU-usage.log (e.g. 11.07.2010-CPU-usage.log): These logs contain information about total CPU usage and a list of 3 processes causing the CPU load. Process Operator writes CPU usage data once a minute. So you can see the full history of CPU usage and “heavy” processes. The log format allows importing it to MS Excel, sorting and building graphs.

Process Operator (Server Edition) 1.0.0 released

process operator

The main purpose of Process Operator (Server Edition) is to enhance the responsiveness of Windows servers during periods of high CPU loads. You will also notice increased agility and stability of the server.

Process Operator is a Windows service. It adjusts priorities at which applications get CPU times. As a result the server becomes much more responsive. The priority adjustment process is fully automated, but server administrators can make appropriate settings to fine-tune the Process Operator for their specific needs.

The Server Edition of Process Operator is made specially for Windows servers, not for home PC’s. It is designed for Windows 2008 (x86, x64) and Windows 2003 servers and was tested on multiple web servers, mail and DNS servers, and SQL ones.

If some server process (application or service) “eats” too much CPU, the Process Operator sets a lower priority to that process. The process won’t be allowed to use 100% of CPU and other applications will be running fine. The server does not stall. All processes get their CPU time slices. The server becomes more stable and agile. If the punished process uses less CPU for certain time, Process Operator restores its priority back to its original level.

Often when a server has about 100% CPU load it becomes unresponsive and even does not allow the use of Terminal Services, you cannot log in remotely to fix the issues. The Process Operator prevents such cases too.

Just give it a try and you’ll like it!

For more information, please read the Process Operator guide.