The process conduit.exe is using high CPU with Symantec Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange (SMSMSE) 6.5.2 or Higher
| Article:TECH145910 | | | Created: 2010-12-09 | | | Updated: 2012-08-13 | | | Article URL http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH145910 |
Problem
You notice that the process utilization of the computer is high. Using task manager you see that the process is conduit.exe. The processor utilization of conduit.exe is 100% for extended periods of time.
Conditions
- AntiSpam is enabled
1. Open the SMSMSE Administration Console.
2. Click on the Policies tab.
3. Click on Views|Antispam|Premium AntiSpam Settings.
4. If the checkbox Enable Symantec Premium AntiSpam is checked then this condition is met.
- Conduit CPU is high and bursty.
This example shows that the conduit uses 80% of CPU approximately every 2 minutes with a duration of between 30 and 180 seconds. Use the performance counter set from this article to validate this behavior: How to enable Performance Monitor Logging for Symantec Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange (SMSMSE).
NOTE: If the conduit.exe CPU is continuously high see this article: Process conduit.exe constantly consumes at least 50% of CPU cycles at all times and antispam rule sets are not updating.
Environment
- SMSMSE version 6.5.2 or higher
Cause
SMSMSE 6.5.2 and higher uses "micro-updates" to download antispam rules. These micro-updates are downloaded frequently and use high CPU to process.
Solution
Symantec is aware of this issue. This article is updated as more information is available. Subscribe to the article to receive notifications of updates.
Workaround
Configure SMSMSE to use "interval" antispam ruleset instead of "full" ruleset.
1. Download the ZIP file attached to the end of this article.
2. Unzip the files to a temporary directory.
3. Run the script fix.bat from either a command prompt or the Windows explorer.
The following is an example of the script output when it works:
C:\temp\fixconduitcpu>perleval.exe -f fixbmiconfigcpu.pl
Reading from 64 bit OS registry key
Found version 6.5/ of SMSMSE
Found installation directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\Symantec\SMSMSE\6.5\Server
Found build 6.5.2 installed
Renaming file C:\Program Files (x86)\Symantec\SMSMSE\6.5\Server\SpamPrevention\bmiconfig.xml to C:\Program Files (x86)\Symantec\SMSMSE\6.5\Server\SpamPrevention\bmiconfig.xml.1299078074
Creating file C:\Program Files (x86)\Symantec\SMSMSE\6.5\Server\SpamPrevention\bmiconfig.xml with new settings
Stopping SMSMSE service
The Symantec Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange service is stopping......
The Symantec Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange service was stopped successfully.
Starting SMSMSE service
The Symantec Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange service is starting.
The Symantec Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange service was started successfully.
Stopping SMSMSE Utility service
The Symantec Mail Security Utility Service service is stopping.
The Symantec Mail Security Utility Service service was stopped successfully.
Starting SMSMSE Utility service
The Symantec Mail Security Utility Service service is starting.
The Symantec Mail Security Utility Service service was started successfully.
C:\temp\fixconduitcpu>pause
Press any key to continue . . .
4. Hit the enter button to close the command prompt window.
- After implementing this workaround the CPU profile looks like this:
The CPU bursts are between 15-17 per hour. The duration of each is between 15-30 seconds. This is expected behavior.
- The script makes a backup copy of the bmiconfig.xml file.
The backup filename is bmiconfig.xml.<sequenceofdigits>. For example bmiconfig.xml.4314331332. If there is a need to restore the original file this version should be used.
Technical Information
- The change is only applicable to SMSMSE 6.5.2 or higher. The following is the output when run on a system with 6.5.1 or lower:
C:\temp\fixconduitcpu>perleval.exe -f fixbmiconfigcpu.pl
Reading from 64 bit OS registry key
Found version 6.5/ of SMSMSE
Found installation directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\Symantec\SMSMSE\6.5\Server
Found build 6.5.0 installed
This change is only applicable to SMSMSE build 6.5.2 or higher. Installed build
is 6.5.0.
C:\temp\fixconduitcpu>pause
Press any key to continue . . .
- Version 1.1 of the script or earlier incorrectly changed the <testURL> setting of the bmiconfig.xml file. This resulted in the issue described in this article: Error When Registering Premium AntiSpam After Making Changes for Conduit.exe CPU Issue. Re-apply the script version 1.2 or higher to the system to address this issue.
- Version 1.2 of the script did not automatically restart the services. Fixed in 1.3.
Attachments
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| Source | ETrack |
| Value | 2217166 |
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Article URL http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH145910
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