[TAG] Tracking load average issues

[Neil Youngman]

I was asked to look at a system that had a consistent load average around 5.3 
to 5.5. Now I know very little about how to track down load average issues, 
so I haven't been able to find much. The CPU usage is about 90% idle, so it's 
not CPU bound.

I googled for "load average", "high load average" and "diagnose load average" 
and I found very little of use. the one thing I found was that if it's 
processes stuck waiting on I/O "ps ax" should show processes in state "D". 
There are none visible on this box.

Do the gang know of any good resources for diagnosing load average issues or 
have any useful tips?

Neil Youngman