Customers who upgrade from VSE 8.8 Patch 4 to Patch 5 might report higher CPU utilization when they run on-demand scans (ODS). This issue is not necessarily a sign of incorrect function.
Why was this higher CPU use not happening in Patch 4?
This issue was most likely because Patch 4 contained a known issue where it used only one scanning thread during ODS. This issue is resolved in Patch 5. This new design results in higher CPU utilization during ODS.
What changes were made in Patch 5 for this specific behavior?
Engineering resolved the thread count issue from Patch 4. Multiple threads are now used to finish the scan faster. This resolution is documented in the VSE 8.8 Patch 5
Release Notes.
Is there a safeguard in place to prevent CPU use from exceeding a certain percentage for the process?
No. This feature does not currently exist.
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Does McAfee recommend that I stay on Patch 4 to prevent this issue?
No. Although the Patch 5 ODS uses higher CPU, scans finish faster. The product development team recommends that you upgrade to Patch 5 when it is approved for your environment, because it also contains useful security updates.
Why would ODS use 95% CPU utilization when VSE was set to use low resources?
This issue relates to how the
Windows Set priority Control API works. The VSE uses this API for system resource utilization. In turn, it allows the operating system to determine the resource utilization and assignment function. For more details
KB55145.
If settings on the performance tab do not change this behavior, why is that option available?
Setting the system utilization on the performance tab to
Low provides improved performance for other running applications. The Low setting is useful for systems with high user activity. Conversely, by setting the system utilization to normal, the scan completes faster. The normal setting is useful for systems that have large volumes and little user activity. For more details, see the "Configuring Performance Improvements" section of the
VirusScan Enterprise 8.8 Best Practices Guide.
You can also make the following adjustments to ODS settings to improve performance, as needed:
- Enable scan cache.
- Set up daily, targeted ODS for risky locations.
- Set up a complete ODS to run once a week.
- Set up exclusions in ODS wherever needed, such as on an Exchange Server.
- See KB74059 for ODS best practices in VSE 8.8.
