Objective:
Monitor and configure multiprocessor computers.
Scalability is the term msconfig in the Open text box and press Enter. The System Configuration Utility, pictured in Figure 8.17, opens. Click the BOOT.INI tab. Click the Advanced Options button and then select the /NUMPROC= option, as shown in Figure 8.18. Change the number of processors to 2. Click OK to close the Advanced Options dialog box. Click OK again to close the System Configuration Utility. You may also manually edit the Boot.ini file and add the switch /NUMPROC=2 at the end of the command that executes Windows, which usually begins with multi or scsi.
To use ACPI while having the incorrect HAL installed, you must reinstall Windows XP. However, this does not apply to upgrading a single processor to a multiprocessor computer. You can change the HAL by updating the driver for the computer in Device Manager. If you have problems with the new HAL, you can switch to another HAL. All you need to do is rename the new multiprocessor HAL file to Hal.dll. You can test the HAL before finalizing the rename. To do so, manually edit the Boot.ini file in a text editor. At the end of the Windows execution command (a fairly lengthy command that typically begins with multi or scsi, depending on your disk configuration), add the switch:
/HAL=filename.dll
Where filename.dll is the name of the HAL that you are testing. The files that you can test are listed in Table 8.2. Keep in mind that the files are named with the type of other support that they include, so for an ACPI PC, you should select the ACPI multiprocessor PC HAL, and so on.
HAL File Name
Will Function On
Hal.dll
Standard single-processor PC, non-ACPI
Halapic.dll
Standard single-processor PC, non-ACPI
MPS single-processor PC, non-ACPI
MPS multiprocessor PC, non-ACPI
Halmps.dll
Standard single-processor PC, non-ACPI
MPS multiprocessor PC, non-ACPI
Halacpi.dll
Standard PC, non-ACPI
ACPI PC
Halaacpi.dll
Standard PC, non-ACPI
ACPI PC
ACPI single-processor PC
ACPI multiprocessor PC
Halmacpi.dll
Standard PC, non-ACPI
ACPI PC
ACPI multiprocessor PC
MPS multiprocessor PC, non-ACPI
After you upgrade your single-processor computer to an SMP computer, you can monitor processor usage in Performance Monitor. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, Control Panel, Performance and Maintenance, Administrative Tools.
2. Double-click Performance.
3. Press Ctrl+E to clear the monitored selections.
4. Click the plus sign (+) in the toolbar.
5. Select Use Local Computer Counters.
6. Under Performance Object, select Processor.
7. Under Select Counters from This List, click %Processor Time and %User Time. %Processor time shows the amount of time used for non-idle threads. %User time shows the amount of time used for applications and interactive processes.
8. Select All Instances.
9. Click Add.
10. Click Close and view the results.
Performance Monitor is very flexible and uses little memory and processor time, by design, so you can use it to monitor a computer for lengthy periods of time. You can select various processor counters, and select either instance 0 or instance 1 to look at how only one of the processors is being used at a time.
You can use Task Manager to determine which specific process or application is using the most CPU time. Open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del on the keyboard. Click the Processes tab to see the running processes. The CPU column shows the percentage of CPU time that each application is consuming. You can also view how much memory a process is consuming.