How do I tell what the different colored "bubbles" mean when using Ctrl+alt+shift+U?

[1x1x141 Digfoot]

So, my MC and I are working towards decreasing the amount of lag on our riding sims. We are working on decreasing our script time and increasing spare time to improve rides, and we are using the region scripts in the estate menu to find scripted objects and their locations to either take them out completely, or to change them to a lower script use object.

I recently came across an article that referenced seeing where lag issues were by using Ctrl+Alt+Shift+U. there are red bubbles, and blue bubbles and now and then a green bubble. What do the differnet colors for these bubbles mean? And is this something that would assist us in improving esperiences on the sims we have?

 

These are MOTROCYCLE RIDING SIMS~ and tickets filed already with LL have stated we must reduce to below 10 on script time and be above 10 on spare time! NOTHING in either ticket said anything about texture lag. I'm asking about the bubbles in Ctrl+Alt+Shift+U and what their colors mean. Could someone please explain what they mean to me, and if using this is a valuable tool for achieving what LL set forth for us?

Thank you.

[Rolig Loon]

Don't waste time chasing scripted items if you are trying to reduce lag on your region.  Scripts do not cause lag, although there are still people who believe that old myth.  Server resources are prioritized so that scripts always get whatever is left over after all other demands on server time are met.  Avatars are the greatest single cause of region lag.  Physical objects, including vehicles (and your horses, maybe?), are also major lag producers as well.  Excessive use of high resolution textures and repeated use of rezzers can also increase lag.  All of those things can cause scripts to lag, but scripts cannot cause them to lag.

It is true, of course, that scripts can cause each other to lag, but only if other demands on the region servers have already exhausted the server resources.

To read more about lag and how to control it, you may want to read

https://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/How-to-improve-Viewer-performance/ta-p/1316923

http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/lag

http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/fs_very_laggy

http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/floater_lagmeter

[Lindal Kidd]

I don't know about the "bubbles", but if you want to reduce lag on your region...

1. Don't use temp rezzers...objects that create other temporary objects.  A few butterflies flitting about is fine, but sometimes people over-use these to attempt to "get around" the prim limits of a parcel.
2. Keep an eye on your textures.  Try not to use high resolution textures (1024 x1024) when a lower resolution will do.  This won't help region performance, but it WILL help with viewer lag experienced by your visitors.

[Alwin Alcott]

result of simply type it in google

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/All_keyboard_shortcut_keys

 

Ctrl+Alt+Shift ⇧+U

Show Info > Show Updates to Objects

[ChinRey]

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1x1x141 Digfoot wrote:

These are MOTROCYCLE RIDING SIMS~ and tickets filed already with LL have stated we must reduce to below 10 on script time and be above 10 on spare time! NOTHING in either ticket said anything about texture lag.

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You're not asking about lag then but rather about script failures. As Rolig said, scripts don't usually cause lag because if the server is too busy it simply skips the scripts. That helps cutting down on lag but of course, the downside is that scripts fail to execute and that seems to be the problem for you.

I say usually because even if a script itself may be low lag, some scripts can trigger actions that are laggy.

 

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1x1x141 Digfoot wrote:

I'm asking about the bubbles in Ctrl+Alt+Shift+U and what their colors mean. Could someone please explain what they mean to me, and if using this is a valuable tool for achieving what LL set forth for us?

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Unless there are lots of object updates going on all the time, it's unlikely that will help. Object updates come from the assets server network and those are completely different servers from the sim servers running scripts and such. But since you ask:

• Red: object is being fully updated - quite a lot of data is transferred from the assets server
• Blue: object is being partially updated - some new data is transferred, some old data retained
• Green: update is ending - a little bit of data is transferred, just check codes to confirm that all computers involved agree on what is actually in the sim.

 

To get a quick overview of the sim server's load, type ctrl+shift+1 to bring up the Statistics window. Scroll down to the bottom of the list and click on Time to bring up the detailed list of frame times.

The sim server works with "frames". It gives itself a to-do list of pending tasks and a time limit, a "frame time", for getting it all done before it starts on a new list. A healthy sim runs at aproximately 45 fps ("frames per second") so the server has about 22 ms (1/45th sec) to get everything done. If it runs out of time, it either has to reduce the fps (causing server side lag) or it has to skip some of the jobs (causing script failures since running scripts is always the first task it skips).

Spare time is the time the server has left after all the work is done and before the next frame begins. You want a little bit of it in case some new tasks turn up (they always do) but 10 ms, that's almost half the total frame time and I don't think that's realistic. 5 may be a better goal.

Before you look at the script time, you should check what else is keeping the server busy:

• Physics time can sometimes be a problem. Ideally it should be below 2 but in a sim with pathfinding objects or moving physical objects (like some vehicles are), it may well be much higher.
• Net time is another potential problem. That's the time the server spends communicating with other computers. Usually it's fairly low but it can skyrocket under certain circumstances. If object updates actually is a significant problem, much of the time used for that will show up here.
• Agent time is the time the server spends dealing with individual avatars. Expect 0.1-0.6 ms for each avatar in the region. Obviously, the more avatars there is, the higher the agent time will be but since these tasks stack farily well, more avatars means less frame time per avatar.

Now, add up all the frame times except script time and spare time. If that sum is higher than 2 ms (and it is), it is not possible to achieve 10 ms script time and 10 ms spare time so I'm afraid the advice you got from LL is a bit misleading.

Once you have checked all those frame times - and maybe found ways to shave off a little bit here and there right away - it's time to scroll up a little bit in the Statistics window and look at "Scripts run". That tells you how many of the scripts the server finds time to run. An example here: if it runs 10% of the scripts and Script time is 5 ms (fairly typical figures for an overloaded sim) it means the server would have needed about 50 ms Script time to run all the scripts and that is never ever going to happen of course. I don't think it's possible to reach 100% scripts run and that's not too critical anyway, scripts events skipped in one frame can often be fitted into the next. But if it's lower than 80% you must expect annoying glitches. If it's lower than 50% you're likely to have singificant problems.

[Rolig Loon]

@ChinRey - Thank you for taking the time to write out a much more detailed version of the response I gave above. I really wish more SL residents understood the balance between server priorities and would get off the false idea that scripts cause lag. As we have both said, scripts can slow each other down, but only if the region's servers are already overwhelmed by doing other things so that there is no spare time left. By the time that scripts are starting to fail, other things (like managing a flock of motorcycles and the agents on them) will already be causing trouble.