DL360 G3 number of processor detected

[jenny_17]

Hi,

I've got a DL360 G3 Server. During it is booting up, it detects there is one processor 3.06G . Also, when I enter the Utility Setup Menu, it shows I have one processor only.

However, after Windows 2000 Standard Server with SP3 is boot up, I can view there's two processor (both are 3.06G) in the System Information page. And when I open Task Manager, I can choose to show TWO CPU's graph.

Does anyone know what's happening ? It seems I have only one processor. Thanks

[jenny_17]

I just find something call hyper-threading. Is this case applied to me ?
If so, is it good to enable or disable in my DL360 G3 Server ?

[jenny_17]

If hyper-threading is the case, I have the following questions:
1)
How do i know the physical number of CPU at windows without reboot the machine to view the processor number detected?

2)
If i need to count the license related to number of CPU installed, then should I count the number of physical CPU or the number of logical CPU?

Thanks

[Sunil Jerath]

Hello Jenny,
This is definitely the case of Hyperthreading. By default it's turned on but depending upon the applications you use you can disable or enable. I have some documentation to clear this which I shall post it for you lateron. As for as viewing the number of CPUs without rebooting the system you can check this within the control panel by noticing whether you have unicpu hal or multicpu hal.

Regards,

[jenny_17]

Thanks Sunil Jerath.

I'll be here waiting for the documentation. BTW, how about the license counting regarding the number of CPU ?

[Sunil Jerath · Accepted solution]

Hello Jenny,
Here is some info regarding Hyperthreading:

Intel suggests disabling HyperThreading on all WIn2K, NT, and prior operating systems. Only new operating systems include optimizations for HT Technology.

http://www.intel.com/support/platform/ht/os.htm

Microsoft says:
Microsoft expects performance to vary depending on the application, system configuration, and version of Windows that is used.

Although Windows 2000 is compatible with Hyper-Threading Technology, we expect customers will get the best performance from Hyper-Threading Technology using Windows .NET Server. This is because the Windows .NET Server Family is engineered to take full advantage of the logical processors created by Hyper-Threading Technology.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/docs/hyperthreading.doc

For SQLServer
On a system with Intel HTT enabled, Microsoft requires only one license for each physical processor. Therefore, customers only need to acquire one processor license for each physical processor even though the software may count one physical processor as two logical processors.

http://www.microsoft.com/sql/howtobuy/SQLonHTT.doc

I am not sure about the licensing part but once I find out I shall surely post it for you.

Regards,

[Brian_Murdoch]

Hi Jenny,

A simple way to show the number of CPU's in NT4, Windows 2000 etc. is to get to a command prompt (START-RUN) enter COMMAND and click OK. In the DOS window enter SET and hit return.
This will display the dos variables including "NUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS=" which should reflect the physical CPU's. If the screen contents are too fast, output the display to a file via SET > JENNY.TXT and edit JENNY.TXT to view these variables.

Also, in most HP/Compaq servers built with Smartstart you should have the survey report (Usually located in C:\COMPAQ\SURVEY\SURVEY.TXT). This will show you the hardware configuration and the number and speed of each CPU installed. I would suggest running the survey utility prior to checking as the existing SURVEY.TXT file may be old. To do this START-RUN hit browse and run the C:\COMPAQ\SURVEY\SURVEY.EXE file. It takes about a minute to complete. Then check the newly generated survey.txt file.

Hope this helps,

Brian

[jenny_17]

Hi, Sunil Jerath, Brian Murdoch,

Thanks for your valuable solutions.

I'm now successfully disable the HTT in my Server. Also, glad to know the way to detect physical number of processors without rebooting the machine. It really works! Thanks a lot.

[David Claypool]

Correcting an error in the thread...

The hardware presents the operating system with BOTH of the logical processors when HT is on. Windows has no concept of logical vs physical processors. Anywhere you ask Windows how many processors are in the system (including the environment variable) the system will report both logical processors if enabled.

The Insight agents and Survey utility do not get their information from the OS, but directly from the hardware. This is the only way to determine how many physical processors are on a system.