Workload

Techopedia explains Workload

One approach to boosting workload capabilities is to increase the number of servers and run applications on different servers. The disadvantage of this approach is increased costs in setup, maintenance and deployment.

A few specific types of workload that apply to computer systems include:

1. Memory Workload
   Each program or instruction needs some memory to store temporary or permanent data and perform intermediate computations. The memory workload determines the memory use of the entire system over a given period of time or at a specific instant in time. Paging and segmentation activities use a lot of virtual memory, thereby increasing the use of main memory. However, when the number of programs being executed becomes so large that memory becomes a bottleneck for performance, it indicates more memory is needed or programs need to be managed in a more effective manner.


2. CPU Workload
   CPU workload indicates the number of instructions being executed by the processor during a given period or at a particular instant of time. This statistic indicates a need for an increase in processing power if the CPU is overloaded all the time, or a decrease in processing power if CPU use falls below a certain threshold. Further performance improvements can be obtained for the same number of instructions executing on a CPU at a given instant of time by decreasing the number of cycles required by an instruction for successful execution. The latter can be achieved by improving code efficiency.


3. I/O Workload
   Most applications tend to spend considerable time gathering input and producing output. As a result, the workload of input-output (I/O) combinations on a system must be analyzed thoroughly to ensure that appropriate load performance parameters are met. A statistic on the number of inputs gathered by a system and the number of outputs produced by a system over a particular duration of time is termed as input-output workload.


4. Database Workload
   Databases can be analyzed for their memory use, throughput at maximum loads and I/O throughput. Each of these components can give a small approximation of the database performance and its parameters. However, the true workload of a database can be analyzed by determining the number of queries executed by the database in a given period of time, or the average number of queries being executed at a particular instant of time.