[barneyrubble43]

I'm hoping someone here can point me in the right direction.

We have a Domino BES 4.0.5 running on Windows 2000 SP4, Domino 6.5.3, 140 users.

NBES.exe is running at 99% utilitsation constantly. The effect of this is that we cannot activate any more users as the server is too busy.

Can anyone shed any light on this? Any ideas at all? Vodafone and RIM both seem stumped at the moment.

[x14]

What's the hardware spec?

[barneyrubble43]

3.06Ghz P4, with 2bg Memory - HP DL360 - Mirrored 36gb drives

[x14]

Short answer: upgrade to Windows Server 2003 SP1 and BES 4.1.

1. You should upgrade to Windows Server 2003 to take advantage of the HyperThreading feature of your server.

2. BES 4.1 is much less CPU intensive.

[dev]

Upgrading might be an option..however it would cost you in terms of licensing and downtime, and it's not guaranteed to solve your problem. This would be difficult to explain to mgmt if the situation remained the same after. Also in some situations, hyperthreading does not have the expected result (lower cpu utilization).
You can quickly determine if the server has hyperthreading enabled by checking the BIOS upon a reboot. If it is, try disabling it. This is a low impact approach.
You can also check the domino console for evidence of multiple sessions/connections from the BES to mail server. A simple notes.ini parameter (I believe it's called MaxSessionTimeout...you'll have to check) could fix these "hung" sessions.
What other services does this server provide?

[gjminer]

I have/had 1200 users on one server.
went from 4.0.5 to 4.1 took my cpu from 95% to 32%.
Unreal the performance difference.
I have now bought 2 more servers to balance out to 500 users a piece.
Upgrade is free to the 4.1 server

[barneyrubble43]

Originally Posted by dev

Upgrading might be an option..however it would cost you in terms of licensing and downtime, and it's not guaranteed to solve your problem. This would be difficult to explain to mgmt if the situation remained the same after. Also in some situations, hyperthreading does not have the expected result (lower cpu utilization).
You can quickly determine if the server has hyperthreading enabled by checking the BIOS upon a reboot. If it is, try disabling it. This is a low impact approach.
You can also check the domino console for evidence of multiple sessions/connections from the BES to mail server. A simple notes.ini parameter (I believe it's called MaxSessionTimeout...you'll have to check) could fix these "hung" sessions.
What other services does this server provide?

Thanks for the reply. I Checked the hyperthreading earlier in the week, definately disabled. However the Hung sessions sounds interesting. Not come across that before.

So it's simply a case of adding a line to the notes.ini??

MaxSessionTimeout=??? any suggested figures for this?

It does nothing else, it's purely a BES.

How many connections should there be from the BES to the mail server?

[barneyrubble43]

Originally Posted by x14

Short answer: upgrade to Windows Server 2003 SP1 and BES 4.1.

1. You should upgrade to Windows Server 2003 to take advantage of the HyperThreading feature of your server.

2. BES 4.1 is much less CPU intensive.

It was running fine, then all of a sudden maxed the Processor out. It's not like we've suddenly doubled the number of users. Windows 2003 server and 4.1 is a cost option, I'd rather try and get the BES fixed how it is rather than throw money at it.

[barneyrubble43]

Originally Posted by gjminer

I have/had 1200 users on one server.
went from 4.0.5 to 4.1 took my cpu from 95% to 32%.
Unreal the performance difference.
I have now bought 2 more servers to balance out to 500 users a piece.
Upgrade is free to the 4.1 server

Where can you find the upgrade for free?

Vodafone are quoting £650 for the upgrade, plus installation.

[noname]

Upgrade is free if you have a TSupport contract with RIM. Wireless service provider have different charges. That's how they earn $$$.

[dev]

Have a look at the these links to give you some ideas about what to check for when experiencing Domino performance issues...
IBM - Description of "Server_MaxSessions=" and "Server_Session_Timeout=" Parameters
IBM - Domino Server Performance Troubleshooting Cookbook
IBM - Sessions are not released in Domino; ghost sessions
IBM - Semaphores and Semaphore Timeouts