[Asterisk-Users] Asterisk hyperthreading compiling.

[Matt Roth]

Wai Wu wrote:

> 
>Hi,
>
>Anyone know how to compile asterisk for a hyperthreaded processor? Thnx
>  
>
Wai,

Asterisk makes heavy use of threads, so all that's required to take 
advantage of HyperThreading is an SMP kernel.  The kernel itself will 
take care of scheduling the threads on the different virtual and (if 
they exist) physical CPUs.  In my experience, Asterisk scales well 
across processors.  On my production server (a Quad Xeon with 
HyperThreading turned off), 'ps auxm' currently shows 160 Asterisk 
threads, none of which are taking over 0.8% of CPU.

Keep in mind that HyperThreading does not guarantee better performance.  
Depending on the application, you may actually see a performance 
degradation <http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39237341,00.htm>.  I've 
heard arguments on both sides of the HyperThreading debate as it 
pertains to Asterisk, so my best advice is to do some testing and see 
which works best for your particular scenario.  Remember, what may be 
good for CPU utilization might be bad for the quality of a call using 
Digium hardware.

Input from other users may also be very valuable in helping you decide 
whether or not to enable HyperThreading.  Providing a more detailed 
description of your server, including the Digium hardware installed, 
would probably lead to more constructive information.

Matthew Roth
InterMedia Marketing Solutions
Software Engineer and Systems Developer