Balancing CPU Usage

There is not a lot you can do to optimize your CPU. However, it is important to note that more CPUs does not necessarily mean greater performance. For example, a Microsoft Exchange Server computer with more than four CPUs does not provide a significant boost in performance. The extra three CPUs could be put to better use elsewhere in the system. As far as the type of CPU is concerned, the faster the better. Therefore, using a Pentium 133 chip provides much better performance than a 486/66 and more performance than a Pentium 100.

If your server's CPU is a performance bottleneck, you can do one or any combination of the following:

• Restrict the amount or type of mail users can send.
• Move Microsoft Exchange Server components or other applications to another server.
• Move some or all mailboxes and public folder replicas to another server.
• Add a faster processor.
• If your server is a symmetric multiprocessor (SMP), add additional processors.
• Optimize the way that the system responds to foreground and background applications. In Control Panel, choose System and then select the Performance tab. Under Application Performance, move the slider bar to halfway between None and Maximum.
• Upgrade to a CPU that has more Level 2 (L2) caching, particularly if the server has less than 256K of L2 cache. Some systems allow up to 2 megabytes (MB) or more of L2 memory. L2 cache is faster than RAM.