How To Fix RT157 - Average percentage usage of background work processes of a server

SAP Error Message - Details

• Message type: E = Error

• Message class: RT - Monitoring infrastructure MSG and alert texts

• Message number: 157

• Message text: Average percentage usage of background work processes of a server

What causes this issue?

This monitoring tree element (MTE) reports the utilization in percent of
the background processing work processes in the SAP system. The
utilization is the average amount of time that these work processes are
busy with jobs from the R/3 background processing system.

System Response

The system issues an error message and will not allow you to continue with this transaction until the error is resolved.

How to fix this error?

An alert here indicates that the high utilization of the work processes
may lead to delays in starting jobs. The queue length attribute will
indicate whether delays in starting jobs -- with consequent lengthening
of the job queue -- have occurred.
You can correct this problem by making more background work processes
available or by shifting long-running jobs to off-peak hours. If you
are not using operation modes, you may wish to do so. With operation
modes, you can reconfigure servers to provide more background work
processes when interactive users are not on the System.

Error message extract from SAP system. Copyright SAP SE.

Smart SAP Assistant

• What is the cause and solution for SAP error message RT157 - Average percentage usage of background work processes of a server ?

  The SAP error message RT157 indicates that the average percentage usage of background work processes on a server has exceeded a certain threshold. This can lead to performance issues, as it suggests that the background work processes are heavily utilized, potentially causing delays in job processing.
  Cause:
  
  High Job Volume: A large number of background jobs scheduled to run simultaneously can lead to high utilization of background work processes.
  Long-Running Jobs: Some jobs may take longer to complete than expected, causing a backlog in the queue.
  Insufficient Resources: The server may not have enough background work processes configured to handle the workload.
  Configuration Issues: Incorrect configuration of background job scheduling or resource allocation can lead to inefficient processing.
  System Performance Issues: General performance issues with the server, such as CPU or memory bottlenecks, can also affect background job processing.
  
  Solution:
  
  Analyze Background Jobs: Use transaction codes like SM37 to monitor and analyze the background jobs. Identify any long-running or failed jobs that may be causing the issue.
  Optimize Job Scheduling: Stagger the scheduling of background jobs to avoid peak loads. Consider using job variants or scheduling jobs during off-peak hours.
  Increase Background Work Processes: If the server is consistently overloaded, consider increasing the number of background work processes in the instance profile. This can be done by adjusting the parameter rdisp/wp_no_btc.
  Review Job Definitions: Ensure that jobs are defined efficiently. For example, avoid unnecessary loops or excessive data processing within jobs.
  System Performance Tuning: Check for any performance bottlenecks in the system. This may involve tuning the database, optimizing memory usage, or upgrading hardware resources.
  Monitor System Load: Use transaction ST03N to analyze workload and performance statistics. This can help identify trends and peak usage times.
  
  Related Information:
  
  Transaction Codes:
  
  SM37: Monitor background jobs.
  SM66: Monitor global work processes.
  ST03N: Analyze workload and performance.
  
  
  SAP Notes: Check for relevant SAP Notes that may provide additional guidance or patches related to background processing.
  Documentation: Refer to SAP Help documentation for best practices on background job management and performance tuning.
  
  By addressing the underlying causes and implementing the suggested solutions, you can mitigate the RT157 error and improve the performance of background job processing in your SAP system.