Cisco Cisco Email Security Appliance X1050 Troubleshooting Guide
Why does the workqueue back up on Cisco Email
Security Appliance (ESA) ?
Security Appliance (ESA) ?
Document ID: 118264
Contributed by Stephan Fiebrandt and Tomki Camp, Cisco TAC
Engineers.
Aug 18, 2014
Engineers.
Aug 18, 2014
Contents
Introduction
Background Information
Background Information
Introduction
This document describes common reasons for workqueue "back up" seen on Cisco Email Security Appliance
(ESA).
(ESA).
Background Information
There can be many different causes for the system workqueue to back up.
By far the most common cause of a workqueue backup is that the Cisco Email Security Appliance is receiving
messages faster than its subsystems can process and deliver them.
messages faster than its subsystems can process and deliver them.
Another cause of workqueue backup can be inordinately expensive messages. Although the system uses
threaded processing, if for example an Anti−Virus
process operates upon a very large or complex archive, the CPU and RAM usage expended can slow the
entire system down, reducing the overall throughput drastically. This same paradigm applies to Anti−Spam,
Message Filters, Content−Filters, Footer−stamping, and Virus Outbreak Filters.
threaded processing, if for example an Anti−Virus
process operates upon a very large or complex archive, the CPU and RAM usage expended can slow the
entire system down, reducing the overall throughput drastically. This same paradigm applies to Anti−Spam,
Message Filters, Content−Filters, Footer−stamping, and Virus Outbreak Filters.
Another fairly common cause of workqueue backup is demand on the system at the network level. If the Cisco
Email Security Appliance becomes very busy processing incoming connections, resources such as CPU and
RAM are not as readily available for processing messages accepted onto the system, again drastically
reducing throughput.
Email Security Appliance becomes very busy processing incoming connections, resources such as CPU and
RAM are not as readily available for processing messages accepted onto the system, again drastically
reducing throughput.
Updated: Aug 18, 2014
Document ID: 118264