Document ID: 277876
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High I/O load can make the Backup Exec Continuous Protection Server unresponsive, or hang the server.
Details:
A chronic "nearly out of memory" condition may exist during periods of intensive I/O processing. This state can be determined in the following way:  
1. Start the Windows Task Manager
2. Select the Performance tab
3. Look at the "Physical Memory (K)" control group  
4. See how much memory is currently "Available". If the amount drops to "4000" or less (i.e., 4MB) and tends to stay there, the system will be largely unresponsive to user input and the following corrections should be made.

A Windows server may run out of memory for file caching if the default system settings are used and Continuous Protection Server (CPS) is handling a very high I/O load during continuous backup sessions.  It has been seen that Windows will allow the system to exhaust its available memory pools to such a great extent that it is unable to support running applications and services effectively, leading to a condition where the server becomes largely unresponsive to user input until the I/O load is relieved. To resolve this, perform the following steps:

1.  Right click on the "My Computer" icon

2.  Choose Properties from the context menu

3.  Choose the Advanced tab

4.  In the "Performance" control group, choose Settings

5.  In the "Performance Options" dialog, choose the Advanced tab

6.  In the "Processor scheduling" control group, choose Programs instead of the default "Background Services"

7.  In the "Memory usage" control group, choose Programs instead of the default "System cache"

8.  Reboot the system

After the reboot, the system will run much better, avoiding the "nearly-totally-out-of-memory" condition that destroys the responsiveness of the server to user input.  

Products Applied:
 Backup Exec 10d (10.1), 10d (10.1) 5629, 10d (10.1) 5629 SP1, 10d (10.1) 5629 SP2, 10d (10.1) 5629 SP3, 11d (11.0), 11d (11.0) 6235, 11d (11.0) 6235 SP3, 11d (11.0) 7170, 11d (11.0) 7170 SP1, 11d (11.0) 7170 SP2, 12.0, 12.0 SP1, 12.5
 Backup Exec Continuous Protection Server 10d (10.1), 10d (10.1) 5629 SP3, 10d (10.1) 6301, 11d(11.0), 11d(11.0) 6235, 11d(11.0) 7170, 11d(11.0) 7170 SP1, 11d(11.0) 7170 SP2, 12.0
Last Updated: January 05 2010 11:28 PM GMT
Expires on: 365 days from publish date
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Subjects:
 Backup Exec
   Application: Documentation
Backup Exec Continuous Protection Server
   General: Backup

Languages:
 English (US)

Operating Systems:
Windows 2000

Advanced Server, Advanced Server SP1, Advanced Server SP2, Advanced Server SP3, Advanced Server SP4, Advanced Server Windows Powered, Advanced Server Windows Powered SP1, Advanced Server Windows Powered SP2, Advanced Server Windows Powered SP3, Advanced Server Windows Powered SP4, Datacenter Server, Datacenter Server SP1, Datacenter Server SP2, Datacenter Server SP3, Datacenter Server SP4, Server, Server SP1, Server SP2, Server SP3, Server SP4, Server Windows Powered, Server Windows Powered SP1, Server Windows Powered SP2, Server Windows Powered SP3, Server Windows Powered SP4

Windows Server 2003

DataCenter, DataCenter SP1, DataCenter SP1(x64), DataCenter SP2, Datacenter SP2(x64), Enterprise SP1(x64), Enterprise SP2, Enterprise SP2(x64), Enterprise Server, Enterprise ServerSP1, R2, Standard Server, Standard Server SP1, Standard Server SP1 (x64), Standard Server SP2, Standard Server SP2 (x64), Standard Server(x64), Storage Server, Storage Server SP1, Storage Server SP2, Web Server, Web Server SP1

Windows Server 2008

DataCenter (x64-64bit), DataCenter (x86-32bit), Enterprise (x64-64bit), Enterprise (x86-32bit), Server Core, Standard (x64-64bit), Standard (x86-32bit), Web Server (x64-64bit), Web Server (x86-32bit)