> i have observed that 8 processes are able to qork on some 0.x load, so this is > the lower bound and i would say lets put the higher bound somewhere between > 12-15.
... more thinking about this... another justification for the numbers above could be done this way: in the stress test max vss httpd mem with 24 childern reached its maximum somewhere around 900mb. when we take 12 childern, their vss mem would be somewhere around 450mb. when you look on the picture with the record of last seven days and plot horizontal line in 450mb, you will find that there are only two single measurements (i.e. maximal 10 mins spread time period) when "usual traffic" on server forced apache to fork this number of childern. so adjusting some 12 childern wont have effect on normal traffic while could significantly inhibit swapping when somebody starts playing with trac. pavel
