Vantage uses multiple threads to perform certain tasks. As general rule, the more threads being used simultaneously, the higher the CPU utilization. There are a few situations where Vantage uses multiple threads simultaneously:

CPU usage when importing log files

When importing more than one log file, each log will be imported with a separate thread. As CPU usage increases when more threads are used, importing a single log file won’t push your CPU, but importing a folder full of logs will.

CPU usage when generating reports

CPU performance can also be affected by the structure the report you are running. Report templates have what we call ‘Nodes’ in them. You can go into a report template, right-click | add node. Think of each node as an SQL query. When generating a report, each node gets processed in a separate thread, and if the nodes are ‘at the same level’ they get processed at the same time.  Here’s a screenshot showing what I mean by nodes at the same level.

A report template with two 'levels' of nodes

The three ‘red’ nodes will be processed at the same time, and then the three ‘green’ nodes will be processed at the same time. The green nodes won’t be processed until the red nodes have been processed. The more nodes being processed at the same time increases the number of simultaneous threads and the amount of CPU being used.

CPU usage when filtering reports

CPU usage is also affected by the number of records being processed from your storage. If you are running a report on your entire storage with no filters, then Vantage will be pushing all records in your storage through the reporting engine. If you run the same report but with a filter for a specific user, then Vantage will seek through the records in the storage until it finds a record for that user, then push that record through the reporting engine. This results in a ‘trickle’ of records being pushed through the reporting engine so it doesn’t get a chance to really push your CPUs.

A filter that excludes a lot of information that exists in your storage is the most common reason for low CPU utilization while running a report.

In Short

The number of logs, report template structure and filters can all have an effect on the way Vantage utilizes your CPUs.

We also have some exciting ideas on our roadmap to ensure Vantage utilizes as many CPUs as you can throw at it. Until then, I hope the above information helps you understand when and why your CPU usage will and won’t be pushed.

For those that don’t know what Soho is all about, check out this video:

Soho is a dashboard application that displays download and upload traffic statistics for each computer in your network. If you haven’t yet tried Soho, please give it a go and download it here.

It is our intention to keep our Alpha testers up to date with our ongoing development. Right now, I’d like to inform you about some issues experienced by a handful of testers and how to go about resolving them.

Learn to restart the Soho Agent

First of all, one of the handiest things we can tell you right now is how to restart the Soho Agent. This single step is resolves 99% of all Soho issues, at least temporarily. If these steps seem too complicated, rebooting your PC also has the same effect.

To restart the Soho Agent on Windows:

1. Launch the Services Console by going to Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services. Or if you like handy short cuts, try Start | Search (or Run), Type ‘services.msc’ (without the quotes) and press enter.
2. Right-click the “WebSpy Soho Agent” service and select Restart. If you get a ‘time out’ error message or warning, ignore it and right-click the service again and select Start.

To restart the Soho Agent on Mac OS:

1. Open the terminal from /Applications/Utilities/Terminal
2. Type sudo launchctl stop “WebSpy Soho Agent”
3. Enter your user password if requested.
4. Wait about 5 seconds.
5. Type sudo launchctl start “WebSpy Soho Agent”
6. Again, enter your user password if requested

OK, now you have the skills, here are the issues and work-arounds:

100% CPU usage after sleep or hibernate

Some users reported Soho’s impressive ability to consume 100% of their CPU when their computer wakes from sleep or hibernation. A few users experienced a slow and sluggish PC, and uninstalled Soho immediately.

If you’re looking for the Soho process in Windows Task Manager you will not see it until you click the Show processes from all users button (or checkbox in XP). This is because the Soho Agent runs under the System user account in order for it to run, no matter who is logged onto the PC.

From here you can end the WebSpy.Soho.Agent.exe process and everything should return to normal. You can then restart the “WebSpy Soho Agent” to get Soho working again (see steps above).

We believe we have fixed this and are in the middle of some final testing. All going well, we should have a new build ready for you very soon. In the mean time, you may like to disable sleep and hibernation in your PC’s power options.

Soho doesn’t install on Mac OS 10.5??

Our first Alpha release did not install on Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard). This was due to a silly checkbox in our packaging system not being checked. We’ve checked the checkbox and uploaded a new build to our web site. You can download it from here:
http://www.webspy.com.au/products/soho/download.aspx

Note: Soho will only install on Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard) and 10.6 (Snow Leopard). Versions 10.4 (Tiger) and below are not supported.

All computers disappear from the Current Activity chart except the local computer

Sometimes all computers will disappear from the Current Activity chart leaving your local computer all by itself. This happens when the communication between Soho Agents becomes jammed. You can usually resolve the issue by restarting the Soho Agent on your local computer (see steps below). If this doesn’t work, restart the Agents on all other computers running Soho. We are currently working on a fix for this issue.

The Soho User Interface is completely blank

If there is no information in the Total, Current Activity or History chart, this is because the Soho Agent has stopped running. Reasons for this may vary, so please let us know if this is regularly occurring. Restarting your agent usually resolves the issue (see steps above).

Feedback

Thank you to everyone that has submitted feedback so far.

Just a reminder to please let us know if your network card works or doesn’t work with Soho on this page:
http://www.webspy.com.au/products/soho/supportednics.aspx

You may also like to review the current list of features and bugs and vote them up or down at:
http://webspysoho.uservoice.com/

There is also a dedicated Soho Alpha Feedback thread in our forums at:
http://www.webspy.com.au/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=12

We will let you know when fixes are available to the above issues.