Windows server standard, processes not able to utilize all physical CPU

Farhan

12/13/23, 8:53 AM

Please find the attached picture. I have windows server 2019. with SQL server web edition and IIS. the CPU always shows (on all 4 servers of same specification) that its utilizing only 48 cores (out of 96 cores (logical))

As you can see 48 cores are always at 100% utilization and the rest are almost sleeping. What could be a possible reason as the server provider gave us fully licensed windows. we do not have any limitation set manually.

624

2 + 0

windows

performance

licensing

Score:2

Server

Dennis Johnson

12/13/23, 2:16 PM

As vidarlo has already mentioned, your CPUs have total 48 cores/96 logical processors (due to hyperthreading).

According to Microsoft, SQL Server Web Edition supports up to 16 cores:

Scale limits

Feature	Enterprise	Standard	Web	Express with Advanced Services	Express
Maximum compute capacity used by a single instance - SQL Server Database Engine	Operating system maximum	Limited to lesser of 4 sockets or 24 cores	Limited to lesser of 4 sockets or 16 cores	Limited to lesser of 1 socket or 4 cores	Limited to lesser of 1 socket or 4 cores
Maximum compute capacity used by a single instance - Analysis Services or Reporting Services	Operating system maximum	Limited to lesser of 4 sockets or 24 cores	Limited to lesser of 4 sockets or 16 cores	Limited to lesser of 1 socket or 4 cores	Limited to lesser of 1 socket or 4 cores
Maximum memory for buffer pool per instance of SQL Server Database Engine	Operating System Maximum	128 GB	64 GB	1410 MB	1410 MB
Maximum memory for Columnstore segment cache per instance of SQL Server Database Engine	Unlimited memory	32 GB	16 GB	352 MB	352 MB
Maximum memory-optimized data size per database in SQL Server Database Engine	Unlimited memory	32 GB	16 GB	352 MB	352 MB
Maximum memory utilized per instance of Analysis Services	Operating System Maximum	16 GB	64 GB	N/A	N/A
Maximum memory utilized per instance of Reporting Services	Operating System Maximum	64 GB	64 GB	4 GB	N/A
Maximum relational database size	524 PB	524 PB	524 PB	10 GB	10 GB

So you need an Enterprise Edition, in order to utilize all 48 cores.

+ 0

Score:1

Server

vidarlo

12/13/23, 10:04 AM

Xeon Gold 5318Y has 24 cores. You have two sockets, for a total of 48 physical cores.

It however supports hyper-threading, which means that some tasks can run concurrently on a single core. So the likely answer is that due to the workload you have, you'll never see full load on all logical cores - only on the physical ones.

+ 4

Farhan

12/13/23, 10:43 AM

you mean to say that CPU is 100% being used but its showing wrong usage? that all cores are not being used? but i see the same type of load (Evenly distributed on all cores in task manager, on 20 core CPU). that server also has 2 sockets, each has 10 cores, and it shows even load on all cores(logical).

vidarlo

12/13/23, 11:06 AM

You have 48 cores, not 96. All cores are used. Hyperthreading doesn't work for all workloads.

Farhan

12/13/23, 5:53 PM

you did not read what specificailly i asked. IF it is 48 cores not 96, then why other server with 20 cores is able to utilize 100% of all cores?

vidarlo

12/13/23, 9:04 PM

I think it's probably a combination with the process limit mentioned in the other answer.

Elon Musk

I sit in a Tesla and translated this thread with Ai:

EN: Windows server standard, processes not able to utilize all physical CPU

Post an answer

Most people don’t grasp that asking a lot of questions unlocks learning and improves interpersonal bonding. In Alison’s studies, for example, though people could accurately recall how many questions had been asked in their conversations, they didn’t intuit the link between questions and liking. Across four studies, in which participants were engaged in conversations themselves or read transcripts of others’ conversations, people tended not to realize that question asking would influence—or had influenced—the level of amity between the conversationalists.