Processor Object

The Processor performance object consists of counters that measure aspects of processor activity The processor is the part of the computer that performs arithmetic and logical computations, initiates operations on peripherals, and runs the threads of processes. A computer can have multiple processors. The processor object represents each processor as an instance of the object.

%Processor Time

%Processor Time is the percentage of time that the processor is executing a non-Idle thread. This counter was designed as a primary indicator of processor activity. It is calculated by measuring the time that the processor spends executing the thread of the Idle process in each sample interval, and subtracting that value from 100%. (Each processor has an Idle thread which consumes cycles when no other threads are ready to run.) It can be viewed as the fraction of the time spent doing useful work.

Detail Level: Novice
Counter Type: PERF_100NSEC_TIMER_INV

%User Time

%User Time is the percentage of non-idle processor time spent in user mode. (User mode is a restricted processing mode designed for applications, environment subsystems, and integral subsystems. The alternative, privileged mode, is designed for operating system components and allows direct access to hardware and all memory. The operating system switches application threads to privileged mode to obtain operating system services.)

Detail Level: Advanced
Counter Type: PERF_100NSEC_TIMER

% Privileged Time

Privileged Time is the percentage of non-idle processor time spent in privileged mode. (Privileged mode is a processing mode designed for operating system components and hardware-manipulating drivers. It allows direct access to hardware and all memory. The alternative, user mode, is a restricted processing mode designed for applications, environment subsystems, and integral subsystems. The operating system switches application threads to privileged mode to obtain operating system services.) % Privileged Time includes time servicing interrupts and DPCs. A high rate of privileged time might be attributable to a large number of interrupts generated by a failing device.

Detail Level: Advanced
Counter Type: PERF_100NSEC_TIMER

Interrupts/sec

Interrupts/sec is the average number of hardware interrupts the processor is receiving and servicing in each second. It does not include DPCs, which are counted separately. This value is an indirect indicator of the activity of devices that generate interrupts, such as the system clock, the mouse, disk drivers, data communication lines, network interface cards and other peripheral devices. These devices normally interrupt the processor when they have completed a task or require attention. Normal thread execution is suspended during interrupts. Most system clocks interrupt the processor every 10 milliseconds, creating a background of interrupt activity.

Detail Level: Novice
Counter Type: PERF_COUNTER_COUNTER

% DPC Time

% DPC Time is the percentage of time that the processor spent receiving and servicing deferred procedure calls (DPCs) during the sample interval.(DPCs are interrupts that run at a lower priority than standard interrupts.) % DPC Time is a component of % Privileged Time because DPCs are executed in privileged mode. They are counted separately and are not a component of the interrupt counters.

Detail Level: Advanced
Counter Type: PERF_100NSEC_TIMER

% Interrupt Time

% Interrupt Time is the percentage of time the processor spent receiving and servicing hardware interrupts during the sample interval. This value is an indirect indicator of the activity of devices that generate interrupts, such as the system clock, the mouse, disk drivers, data communication lines, network interface cards and other peripheral devices. These devices normally interrupt the processor when they have completed a task or require attention. Normal thread execution is suspended during interrupts. Most system clocks interrupt the processor every 10 milliseconds, creating a background of interrupt activity.

Detail Level: Advanced
Counter Type: PERF_100NSEC_TIMER

DPCs Queued/sec

DPCs Queued/sec is the overall rate at which deferred procedure calls (DPC) are added to the processor's DPC queue. (DPCs are interrupts that run at a lower priority than standard interrupts. Each processor has its own DPC queue.) This counter measures the rate at which DPCs are added to the queue, not the number of DPCs in the queue.

Detail Level: Advanced
Counter Type: PERF_COUNTER_COUNTER

DPC Rate

DPC Rate is the rate at which deferred procedure calls (DPC) are added to the processor s DPC queue between the timer tics of the processor clock. DPC objects are queued to this processor's DPC queue per clock tick. (DPCs are interrupts that run at a lower priority than standard interrupts. Each processor has its own DPC queue.) This counter measures the rates at which DPCs are added to the queue, not the number of DPCs in the queue.

Detail Level: Advanced
Counter Type: PERF_COUNTER_RAWCOUNT

DPC Bypasses/sec

Detail Level: Advanced
Counter Type: PERF_COUNTER_COUNTER

DPC Bypasses/sec is the rate at which deferred procedure calls (DPC) on all processors were avoided. (DPCs are interrupts that run at a lower priority than standard interrupts.

APC Bypasses/sec

Detail Level: Advanced
Counter Type: PERF_COUNTER_COUNTER

APC Bypasses/sec is the rate at which kernel APC interrupts were avoided. APC Bypasses/sec is the rate at which kernel APC interrupts were short-circuited. .