ClusterSiteInfo API causes periodic high CPU when running

Products

• CA Privileged Access Manager (PAM)

Issue/Introduction

Privileged Access Management (PAM) admin notices:  when you run the clusterSiteInfo API to determine overall various metrics on a PAM appliance, their CPU goes up while running it.

Environment

PAM 4.2.x

Cause

The clusterSiteInfo API and dashboard/UI values are done in a legacy way in PAM.  This means that PAM applications are doing a bunch of work to get those values.   This activity causes increases in CPU and IO.  Sometimes when an admin logs into PAM, the dashboard panel with the performance will show very high numbers, but what it is actually going on is that the dashboard loading itself is causing its own spike.

Resolution

Use our new System and Cluster Dashboards, that were introduced in In PAM 4.1.6 and higher:

System and Cluster Dashboards

With the Grafana System dashboards they are based upon Prometheus metrics. This is a more modern, much less intrusive way gather these stats.    Prometheus meters are much deeper, are standardized across the industry, and designed to be run more continuously (and efficiently)