Trying to understand I/O nomenclature

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by bellgamin, Nov 10, 2010.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2002
    Posts:
    8,102
    Location:
    Hawaii
    Trying to understand Process Explorer's I/O data

    I use Process Explorer (PE) as my Task Manager. In selecting columns for PE to show on its display, I want to have 1 or 2 columns for tracking I/O.

    In the list of columns for I/O (read, write, etc) I notice that there are columns such as (for example) "I/O Reads" and "I/O Delta Reads". From my physics 401 course, I recall that the "delta" referred to "change." Even so, I do not fully understand terms such as following examples:

    1- Difference between I/O Reads vs I/O Delta Reads?

    2- Difference between I/O Writes vs I/O Write Bytes?

    3- What is the "other" in I/O Other?

    Help/comments will be muchly appreciated.
     
    Last edited: Nov 11, 2010
  2. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2002
    Posts:
    8,102
    Location:
    Hawaii
    Is anyone knowledgeable in this area? If so, please help.
     
  3. Tarnak

    Tarnak Registered Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2007
    Posts:
    5,285
  4. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2002
    Posts:
    8,102
    Location:
    Hawaii
    A great read. Thanks!

    Based on Tarnak's link & other resources here is a compilation of what I found concerning Process Explorer's I/O data:

    I/O Columns of Process Explorer

    I/O Delta - The change in I/O operations since the last measurement

    I/O Delta Bytes - The change in I/O bytes since the last measurement.

    I/O Other - The number of input/output operations generated by a process that are neither reads nor writes, including file, network, and device I/Os. An example of this type of operation would be a control function. I/O Others directed to CONSOLE (console input object) handles are not counted.

    I/O Other Bytes - The number of bytes transferred in input/output operations generated by a process that are neither reads nor writes, including file, network, and device I/Os. An example of this type of operation would be a control function. I/O Other Bytes directed to CONSOLE (console input object) handles are not counted.

    I/O Read Bytes - The number of bytes read in input/output operations generated by a process, including file, network, and device I/Os. I/O Read Bytes directed to CONSOLE (console input object) handles are not counted.

    I/O Reads - The number of read input/output operations generated by a process, including file, network, and device I/Os. I/O Reads directed to CONSOLE (console input object) handles are not counted.

    I/O Write Bytes - The number of bytes written in input/output operations generated by a process, including file, network, and device I/Os. I/O Write Bytes directed to CONSOLE (console input object) handles are not counted.

    I/O Writes - The number of write input/output operations generated by a process, including file, network, and device I/Os. I/O Writes directed to CONSOLE (console input object) handles are not counted.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    If you want to use Process Explorer (PE) to find the processes that are mostly responsible for causing your HD to be very busy, then:

    1- Enable PE's column "I/O Delta Total Bytes"

    2- Click on the column header for I/O Delta Total Bytes and the processes causing lots of HD activity will jump to the top of the column.
     
    Last edited: Nov 16, 2010
  5. stapp

    stapp Global Moderator

    Joined:
    Jan 12, 2006
    Posts:
    23,933
    Location:
    UK
    Bellgamin do you mean the process causing the HD activity will jump to the top of the 'delta total bytes' column, or just to the top of the PE page?

    I ask I having allowed the Dela bytes' column but the column seems blank
     
  6. Tarnak

    Tarnak Registered Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2007
    Posts:
    5,285
    You're welcome. :)

    Thanks for the additional information.

    I did bit more exploring and found this related info on performance:


    "The Computer Performance Shell Game"

    1.CPU
    2.Disk
    3.Network
    4.Memory

    "At any given moment, your computer is waiting for some operation to complete on one of these resources. But which one: CPU, memory, disk, or network? If you're interested in performance,..."

    http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2009/03/the-computer-performance-shell-game.html
     
  7. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2002
    Posts:
    8,102
    Location:
    Hawaii
    When you first click the delta column head, the processes using high I/O will go to the bottom. Click that column header again & they will come to the top of the delta bytes column. This will cause all other columns to be re-ordered the same as the order in the delta bytes column.

    To return to normal order, click the "Process" column header. The Process column has 2 optional layouts. You can alternate between the 2 by clicking the Process column head.

    If the delta bytes column is blank, I have no idea why. In my experience, there is always some sort of HD activity going on.
     
  8. stapp

    stapp Global Moderator

    Joined:
    Jan 12, 2006
    Posts:
    23,933
    Location:
    UK
    Works as you say on my XP. The one I couldn't see it on was Win7 64bit.

    Will have another fiddle around :)
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.