ntsystem Percent Total Privileged Time

1.3.6.1.4.1.311.1.1.3.1.1.33.11

The % Total Privileged Time is the average percentage of time spent in Privileged mode by all processors. On a multi-processor system, if all processors are always in Privileged mode this is 100%, and if 1/4th of the processors are in Privileged mode this is 25%. When a Windows NT system service is called, the service will often run in Privileged Mode in order to gain access to system-private data. Such data is protected from access by threads executing in User Mode. Calls to the system may be explicit, or they may be implicit such as when a page fault or an interrupt occurs. Unlike some early operating systems, Windows NT uses process boundaries for subsystem protection in addition to the traditional protection of User and Privileged modes. These subsystem processes provide additional protection. Therefore, some work done by Windows NT on behalf of an application may appear in other subsystem processes in addition to the Privileged Time in the application process.