Visual Studio compiles slowly, low CPU usage

[Bruno Jouhier [MVP]]

I'm currently experiencing a strange phenomenon:

At my Office, Visual Studio takes a very long time to compile our solution
(more than 1 minute for the first project).
At home, Visual Studio compiles the same solution much faster (about 10
seconds for the first project).

My home computer is only marginally faster than the one I have at the office
(P4 2.53 vs. P4 2.4, same amount of RAM).
On the slow machine, the CPU usage is very low, especially at the end of the
compilation phase (once the progress bar is at the end, waiting for the
"build complete" message). This low CPU phase seems to account for the
difference in overall time. There is no other process taking CPU during that
time (the "overall" CPU usage is 0 or very close to 0).

Also, we observe the same slowness on all the machines that we have in our
office. And the behavior is not due to the corporate antivirus because we
turned it off.

I'm puzzled (and a bit frustrated). Could this be due to the fact that we
are on a corporate LAN and that .NET needs to run more expensive security
checks that block on network requests. This my only hypothesis so far
because I saw small bursts of activity in lsass.exe during the low CPU
phase.

Anybody experienced something like this? Any clues on what could cause this?

Bruno.

[NULL]

Re: Visual Studio compiles slowly, low CPU usage

On Mon, 1 Sep 2003 21:20:35 +0200, "Bruno Jouhier [MVP]"
<bjouhier@clu b-internet.fr> wrote:
[color=blue]
>I'm currently experiencing a strange phenomenon:
>
>At my Office, Visual Studio takes a very long time to compile our solution
>(more than 1 minute for the first project).
>At home, Visual Studio compiles the same solution much faster (about 10
>seconds for the first project).
>
>My home computer is only marginally faster than the one I have at the office
>(P4 2.53 vs. P4 2.4, same amount of RAM).
>On the slow machine, the CPU usage is very low, especially at the end of the
>compilation phase (once the progress bar is at the end, waiting for the
>"build complete" message). This low CPU phase seems to account for the
>difference in overall time. There is no other process taking CPU during that
>time (the "overall" CPU usage is 0 or very close to 0).
>
>Also, we observe the same slowness on all the machines that we have in our
>office. And the behavior is not due to the corporate antivirus because we
>turned it off.
>
>I'm puzzled (and a bit frustrated). Could this be due to the fact that we
>are on a corporate LAN and that .NET needs to run more expensive security
>checks that block on network requests. This my only hypothesis so far
>because I saw small bursts of activity in lsass.exe during the low CPU
>phase.[/color]

Could be... I know it is possible to run VS.net for a group of
developpers on a server... Most likely at your workplace, the VS.net
will be running from a server (hence the 'overall CPU usage' being so
low) end thus needs to be shared with your co-workers...

Bully them untill they give up using it whenever you need it ;)

How did you perform the installation of VS.net? Was it installed
localy (if so, my answer here is not to be considered)?

--
NULL

[Michael Culley]

Re: Visual Studio compiles slowly, low CPU usage

I've experienced this problem when the source files have been stored on a network drive. In my case it turned out to be a slow
router and changing it with a hub solved the problem. What transfer rate are you getting from your server?

The best solution would probably be to use sourcesafe, that way all files are on your local machine and network speed is not
important.

--
Michael Culley

[Bruno Jouhier [MVP]]

Re: Visual Studio compiles slowly, low CPU usage

Visual Studio is installed locally and the source files are local too (we
use CVS as source code control).
So the explanation is somewhere else.

Thanks anyway for the quick reply.

Bruno

"NULL" <Thomas_Delrue@ hotmail.com> a écrit dans le message de
news:rp77lv8gas na6l4n51b1jc8vf eb4quj24c@4ax.c om...[color=blue]
> On Mon, 1 Sep 2003 21:20:35 +0200, "Bruno Jouhier [MVP]"
> <bjouhier@clu b-internet.fr> wrote:
>[color=green]
> >I'm currently experiencing a strange phenomenon:
> >
> >At my Office, Visual Studio takes a very long time to compile our[/color][/color]
solution[color=blue][color=green]
> >(more than 1 minute for the first project).
> >At home, Visual Studio compiles the same solution much faster (about 10
> >seconds for the first project).
> >
> >My home computer is only marginally faster than the one I have at the[/color][/color]
office[color=blue][color=green]
> >(P4 2.53 vs. P4 2.4, same amount of RAM).
> >On the slow machine, the CPU usage is very low, especially at the end of[/color][/color]
the[color=blue][color=green]
> >compilation phase (once the progress bar is at the end, waiting for the
> >"build complete" message). This low CPU phase seems to account for the
> >difference in overall time. There is no other process taking CPU during[/color][/color]
that[color=blue][color=green]
> >time (the "overall" CPU usage is 0 or very close to 0).
> >
> >Also, we observe the same slowness on all the machines that we have in[/color][/color]
our[color=blue][color=green]
> >office. And the behavior is not due to the corporate antivirus because we
> >turned it off.
> >
> >I'm puzzled (and a bit frustrated). Could this be due to the fact that we
> >are on a corporate LAN and that .NET needs to run more expensive security
> >checks that block on network requests. This my only hypothesis so far
> >because I saw small bursts of activity in lsass.exe during the low CPU
> >phase.[/color]
>
> Could be... I know it is possible to run VS.net for a group of
> developpers on a server... Most likely at your workplace, the VS.net
> will be running from a server (hence the 'overall CPU usage' being so
> low) end thus needs to be shared with your co-workers...
>
> Bully them untill they give up using it whenever you need it ;)
>
> How did you perform the installation of VS.net? Was it installed
> localy (if so, my answer here is not to be considered)?
>
> --
> NULL[/color]

[Bruno Jouhier [MVP]]

Re: Visual Studio compiles slowly, low CPU usage

Visual Studio is installed locally and the source files are local too (we
use CVS as source code control).
So the explanation is somewhere else.

Thanks anyway for the quick reply.

Bruno

"Michael Culley" <mculley@NOSPAM optushome.com.a u> a écrit dans le message de
news:udarKWNcDH A.3748@TK2MSFTN GP11.phx.gbl...[color=blue]
> I've experienced this problem when the source files have been stored on a[/color]
network drive. In my case it turned out to be a slow[color=blue]
> router and changing it with a hub solved the problem. What transfer rate[/color]
are you getting from your server?[color=blue]
>
> The best solution would probably be to use sourcesafe, that way all files[/color]
are on your local machine and network speed is not[color=blue]
> important.
>
> --
> Michael Culley
>
>[/color]

[Bruno Jouhier [MVP]]

Re: Visual Studio compiles slowly, low CPU usage

Visual Studio is installed locally and the source files are local too (we
use CVS as source code control).
So the explanation is somewhere else.

Thanks anyway for the quick reply.

Bruno

"Michael A. Covington" <Michael@Coving tonInnovations. com> a écrit dans le
message de news:e7wt8zNcDH A.2960@tk2msftn gp13.phx.gbl...[color=blue]
> Are any of your files -- either the project files or components of Visual
> Studio itself -- stored on a network drive on another machine?
>
>[/color]

[Bruno Jouhier [MVP]]

Re: Visual Studio compiles slowly, low CPU usage

Visual Studio is installed locally and the source files are local too (we
use CVS as source code control).
So the explanation is somewhere else.

Thanks anyway for the quick reply.

Bruno

"Michael Culley" <mculley@NOSPAM optushome.com.a u> a écrit dans le message de
news:udarKWNcDH A.3748@TK2MSFTN GP11.phx.gbl...[color=blue]
> I've experienced this problem when the source files have been stored on a[/color]
network drive. In my case it turned out to be a slow[color=blue]
> router and changing it with a hub solved the problem. What transfer rate[/color]
are you getting from your server?[color=blue]
>
> The best solution would probably be to use sourcesafe, that way all files[/color]
are on your local machine and network speed is not[color=blue]
> important.
>
> --
> Michael Culley
>
>[/color]

[Bruno Jouhier [MVP]]

Re: Visual Studio compiles slowly, low CPU usage

Visual Studio is installed locally and the source files are local too (we
use CVS as source code control).
So the explanation is somewhere else.

Thanks anyway for the quick reply.

Bruno

"Michael A. Covington" <Michael@Coving tonInnovations. com> a écrit dans le
message de news:e7wt8zNcDH A.2960@tk2msftn gp13.phx.gbl...[color=blue]
> Are any of your files -- either the project files or components of Visual
> Studio itself -- stored on a network drive on another machine?
>
>[/color]

[Bert Roos]

Re: Visual Studio compiles slowly, low CPU usage

H Bruno,

Could it be because you have network shares/drives in your PATH? I've had
similar problems caused by a network share on a computer that was offline.

Regards, Bert

"Bruno Jouhier [MVP]" <bjouhier@clu b-internet.fr> wrote in message
news:eBR9f4LcDH A.748@TK2MSFTNG P10.phx.gbl...[color=blue]
> I'm currently experiencing a strange phenomenon:
>
> At my Office, Visual Studio takes a very long time to compile our solution
> (more than 1 minute for the first project).
> At home, Visual Studio compiles the same solution much faster (about 10
> seconds for the first project).
>
> My home computer is only marginally faster than the one I have at the[/color]
office[color=blue]
> (P4 2.53 vs. P4 2.4, same amount of RAM).
> On the slow machine, the CPU usage is very low, especially at the end of[/color]
the[color=blue]
> compilation phase (once the progress bar is at the end, waiting for the
> "build complete" message). This low CPU phase seems to account for the
> difference in overall time. There is no other process taking CPU during[/color]
that[color=blue]
> time (the "overall" CPU usage is 0 or very close to 0).
>
> Also, we observe the same slowness on all the machines that we have in our
> office. And the behavior is not due to the corporate antivirus because we
> turned it off.
>
> I'm puzzled (and a bit frustrated). Could this be due to the fact that we
> are on a corporate LAN and that .NET needs to run more expensive security
> checks that block on network requests. This my only hypothesis so far
> because I saw small bursts of activity in lsass.exe during the low CPU
> phase.
>
> Anybody experienced something like this? Any clues on what could cause[/color]
this?[color=blue]
>
> Bruno.
>
>[/color]

[Lee Alexander]

Re: Visual Studio compiles slowly, low CPU usage

Bruno,

Make sure your disk is being slowed down by something like a defrag, that
will slow things down.

Regards
Lee

"Bruno Jouhier [MVP]" <bjouhier@clu b-internet.fr> wrote in message
news:eBR9f4LcDH A.748@TK2MSFTNG P10.phx.gbl...[color=blue]
> I'm currently experiencing a strange phenomenon:
>
> At my Office, Visual Studio takes a very long time to compile our solution
> (more than 1 minute for the first project).
> At home, Visual Studio compiles the same solution much faster (about 10
> seconds for the first project).
>
> My home computer is only marginally faster than the one I have at the[/color]
office[color=blue]
> (P4 2.53 vs. P4 2.4, same amount of RAM).
> On the slow machine, the CPU usage is very low, especially at the end of[/color]
the[color=blue]
> compilation phase (once the progress bar is at the end, waiting for the
> "build complete" message). This low CPU phase seems to account for the
> difference in overall time. There is no other process taking CPU during[/color]
that[color=blue]
> time (the "overall" CPU usage is 0 or very close to 0).
>
> Also, we observe the same slowness on all the machines that we have in our
> office. And the behavior is not due to the corporate antivirus because we
> turned it off.
>
> I'm puzzled (and a bit frustrated). Could this be due to the fact that we
> are on a corporate LAN and that .NET needs to run more expensive security
> checks that block on network requests. This my only hypothesis so far
> because I saw small bursts of activity in lsass.exe during the low CPU
> phase.
>
> Anybody experienced something like this? Any clues on what could cause[/color]
this?[color=blue]
>
> Bruno.
>
>[/color]

[Rob 'The Other Nice Man' Kenny]

Re: Visual Studio compiles slowly, low CPU usage

"Bruno Jouhier [MVP]" <bjouhier@clu b-internet.fr> wrote in message news:<eBR9f4LcD HA.748@TK2MSFTN GP10.phx.gbl>.. .[color=blue]
> I'm currently experiencing a strange phenomenon:
>
> At my Office, Visual Studio takes a very long time to compile our solution
> (more than 1 minute for the first project).
> At home, Visual Studio compiles the same solution much faster (about 10
> seconds for the first project).
>
> My home computer is only marginally faster than the one I have at the office
> (P4 2.53 vs. P4 2.4, same amount of RAM).
> On the slow machine, the CPU usage is very low, especially at the end of the
> compilation phase (once the progress bar is at the end, waiting for the
> "build complete" message). This low CPU phase seems to account for the
> difference in overall time. There is no other process taking CPU during that
> time (the "overall" CPU usage is 0 or very close to 0).
>
> Also, we observe the same slowness on all the machines that we have in our
> office. And the behavior is not due to the corporate antivirus because we
> turned it off.
>
> I'm puzzled (and a bit frustrated). Could this be due to the fact that we
> are on a corporate LAN and that .NET needs to run more expensive security
> checks that block on network requests. This my only hypothesis so far
> because I saw small bursts of activity in lsass.exe during the low CPU
> phase.
>
> Anybody experienced something like this? Any clues on what could cause this?
>
> Bruno.[/color]


OK so the usual suspects are absent (Anti-Virus and Network
Read/Writes) lets look a bit deeper.

1) What OS and Service Packs are you running?
2) What other processes are running in the background?
3) Have you run Performance Monitor to check CPU / Disk / LSASS.EXE
etc.

[Thomas Ganss]

Re: Visual Studio compiles slowly, low CPU usage

Check the installation:
many "company setups" install the OS on C:,
which is typically rather small, and this will get you a
fragmented swapdisk, and the system is always searching for
room to write the temporary files...

Searchpath can also be critical (especially on nonexsitant
drives <g>)

HTH

thomas

"Bruno Jouhier [MVP]" <bjouhier@clu b-internet.fr> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:eqzCksRcDH A.1272@TK2MSFTN GP12.phx.gbl...[color=blue]
> Visual Studio is installed locally and the source files are local too (we
> use CVS as source code control).
> So the explanation is somewhere else.
>
> Thanks anyway for the quick reply.
>
> Bruno
>
> "NULL" <Thomas_Delrue@ hotmail.com> a écrit dans le message de
> news:rp77lv8gas na6l4n51b1jc8vf eb4quj24c@4ax.c om...[color=green]
> > On Mon, 1 Sep 2003 21:20:35 +0200, "Bruno Jouhier [MVP]"
> > <bjouhier@clu b-internet.fr> wrote:
> >[color=darkred]
> > >I'm currently experiencing a strange phenomenon:
> > >
> > >At my Office, Visual Studio takes a very long time to compile our[/color][/color]
> solution[color=green][color=darkred]
> > >(more than 1 minute for the first project).
> > >At home, Visual Studio compiles the same solution much faster (about 10
> > >seconds for the first project).
> > >
> > >My home computer is only marginally faster than the one I have at the[/color][/color]
> office[color=green][color=darkred]
> > >(P4 2.53 vs. P4 2.4, same amount of RAM).
> > >On the slow machine, the CPU usage is very low, especially at the end[/color][/color][/color]
of[color=blue]
> the[color=green][color=darkred]
> > >compilation phase (once the progress bar is at the end, waiting for the
> > >"build complete" message). This low CPU phase seems to account for the
> > >difference in overall time. There is no other process taking CPU during[/color][/color]
> that[color=green][color=darkred]
> > >time (the "overall" CPU usage is 0 or very close to 0).
> > >
> > >Also, we observe the same slowness on all the machines that we have in[/color][/color]
> our[color=green][color=darkred]
> > >office. And the behavior is not due to the corporate antivirus because[/color][/color][/color]
we[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
> > >turned it off.
> > >
> > >I'm puzzled (and a bit frustrated). Could this be due to the fact that[/color][/color][/color]
we[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
> > >are on a corporate LAN and that .NET needs to run more expensive[/color][/color][/color]
security[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
> > >checks that block on network requests. This my only hypothesis so far
> > >because I saw small bursts of activity in lsass.exe during the low CPU
> > >phase.[/color]
> >
> > Could be... I know it is possible to run VS.net for a group of
> > developpers on a server... Most likely at your workplace, the VS.net
> > will be running from a server (hence the 'overall CPU usage' being so
> > low) end thus needs to be shared with your co-workers...
> >
> > Bully them untill they give up using it whenever you need it ;)
> >
> > How did you perform the installation of VS.net? Was it installed
> > localy (if so, my answer here is not to be considered)?
> >
> > --
> > NULL[/color]
>
>[/color]

[james]

Re: Visual Studio compiles slowly, low CPU usage

Could you possibly have the BLASTER visus worm ?


"Bruno Jouhier [MVP]" <bjouhier@clu b-internet.fr> wrote in message
news:eBR9f4LcDH A.748@TK2MSFTNG P10.phx.gbl...[color=blue]
> I'm currently experiencing a strange phenomenon:
>
> At my Office, Visual Studio takes a very long time to compile our solution
> (more than 1 minute for the first project).
> At home, Visual Studio compiles the same solution much faster (about 10
> seconds for the first project).
>
> My home computer is only marginally faster than the one I have at the[/color]
office[color=blue]
> (P4 2.53 vs. P4 2.4, same amount of RAM).
> On the slow machine, the CPU usage is very low, especially at the end of[/color]
the[color=blue]
> compilation phase (once the progress bar is at the end, waiting for the
> "build complete" message). This low CPU phase seems to account for the
> difference in overall time. There is no other process taking CPU during[/color]
that[color=blue]
> time (the "overall" CPU usage is 0 or very close to 0).
>
> Also, we observe the same slowness on all the machines that we have in our
> office. And the behavior is not due to the corporate antivirus because we
> turned it off.
>
> I'm puzzled (and a bit frustrated). Could this be due to the fact that we
> are on a corporate LAN and that .NET needs to run more expensive security
> checks that block on network requests. This my only hypothesis so far
> because I saw small bursts of activity in lsass.exe during the low CPU
> phase.
>
> Anybody experienced something like this? Any clues on what could cause[/color]
this?[color=blue]
>
> Bruno.
>
>[/color]

[Rob 'The Other Nice Man' Kenny]

Re: Visual Studio compiles slowly, low CPU usage

NULL <Thomas-dot-Delrue-at-Tiscali-dot-Be> wrote in message news:<9ap8lv07r hjbb0o3g6soos01 bmsf59q6hu@4ax. com>...[color=blue]
> On 2 Sep 2003 02:36:52 -0700, otherniceman@ya hoo.co.uk (Rob 'The Other
> Nice Man' Kenny) wrote:
>[color=green]
> >3) Have you run Performance Monitor to check CPU / Disk / LSASS.EXE
> >etc.[/color]
>
> What does LSASS.EXE actualli do, what is it?[/color]


Process File: lsass or lsass.exe
Process Name: Local Security Authority Service
Description: The Windows Local Security Authority Server Process
Handles Windows Security Mechanisms

The Lsass.exe process is responsible for management of local security
authority domain authentication and Active Directory management. This
process handles authentication for both the client and the server, and
it also governs the Active Directory engine. The Lsass.exe process is
responsible for the following components:

* Local Security Authority
* Net Logon service
* Security Accounts Manager service
* LSA Server service
* Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
* Kerberos v5 authentication protocol
* NTLM authentication protocol

[Bruno Jouhier [MVP]]

Re: Visual Studio compiles slowly, low CPU usage

C drive cannot be the culprit because there is only one drive (C:) and there
is plenty of room on it.
I'm going to check the searchpath. Thanks for the pointer.

Bruno.

"Thomas Ganss" <TGanss@t-online.de> a écrit dans le message de
news:bj1s8q$5re $00$1@news.t-online.com...[color=blue]
> Check the installation:
> many "company setups" install the OS on C:,
> which is typically rather small, and this will get you a
> fragmented swapdisk, and the system is always searching for
> room to write the temporary files...
>
> Searchpath can also be critical (especially on nonexsitant
> drives <g>)
>
> HTH
>
> thomas
>
> "Bruno Jouhier [MVP]" <bjouhier@clu b-internet.fr> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
> news:eqzCksRcDH A.1272@TK2MSFTN GP12.phx.gbl...[color=green]
> > Visual Studio is installed locally and the source files are local too[/color][/color]
(we[color=blue][color=green]
> > use CVS as source code control).
> > So the explanation is somewhere else.
> >
> > Thanks anyway for the quick reply.
> >
> > Bruno
> >
> > "NULL" <Thomas_Delrue@ hotmail.com> a écrit dans le message de
> > news:rp77lv8gas na6l4n51b1jc8vf eb4quj24c@4ax.c om...[color=darkred]
> > > On Mon, 1 Sep 2003 21:20:35 +0200, "Bruno Jouhier [MVP]"
> > > <bjouhier@clu b-internet.fr> wrote:
> > >
> > > >I'm currently experiencing a strange phenomenon:
> > > >
> > > >At my Office, Visual Studio takes a very long time to compile our[/color]
> > solution[color=darkred]
> > > >(more than 1 minute for the first project).
> > > >At home, Visual Studio compiles the same solution much faster (about[/color][/color][/color]
10[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
> > > >seconds for the first project).
> > > >
> > > >My home computer is only marginally faster than the one I have at the[/color]
> > office[color=darkred]
> > > >(P4 2.53 vs. P4 2.4, same amount of RAM).
> > > >On the slow machine, the CPU usage is very low, especially at the end[/color][/color]
> of[color=green]
> > the[color=darkred]
> > > >compilation phase (once the progress bar is at the end, waiting for[/color][/color][/color]
the[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
> > > >"build complete" message). This low CPU phase seems to account for[/color][/color][/color]
the[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
> > > >difference in overall time. There is no other process taking CPU[/color][/color][/color]
during[color=blue][color=green]
> > that[color=darkred]
> > > >time (the "overall" CPU usage is 0 or very close to 0).
> > > >
> > > >Also, we observe the same slowness on all the machines that we have[/color][/color][/color]
in[color=blue][color=green]
> > our[color=darkred]
> > > >office. And the behavior is not due to the corporate antivirus[/color][/color][/color]
because[color=blue]
> we[color=green][color=darkred]
> > > >turned it off.
> > > >
> > > >I'm puzzled (and a bit frustrated). Could this be due to the fact[/color][/color][/color]
that[color=blue]
> we[color=green][color=darkred]
> > > >are on a corporate LAN and that .NET needs to run more expensive[/color][/color]
> security[color=green][color=darkred]
> > > >checks that block on network requests. This my only hypothesis so far
> > > >because I saw small bursts of activity in lsass.exe during the low[/color][/color][/color]
CPU[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
> > > >phase.
> > >
> > > Could be... I know it is possible to run VS.net for a group of
> > > developpers on a server... Most likely at your workplace, the VS.net
> > > will be running from a server (hence the 'overall CPU usage' being so
> > > low) end thus needs to be shared with your co-workers...
> > >
> > > Bully them untill they give up using it whenever you need it ;)
> > >
> > > How did you perform the installation of VS.net? Was it installed
> > > localy (if so, my answer here is not to be considered)?
> > >
> > > --
> > > NULL[/color]
> >
> >[/color]
>
>[/color]