In Linux/Unix systems, load average represents the average number of processes in either:

• Runnable state (actively using CPU or waiting for CPU time)
• Uninterruptible state (waiting for I/O operations like disk access)

The key difference in Windows is that it doesn't maintain an identical metric due to fundamental architectural differences in process scheduling and performance monitoring.

Through WMI, the closest equivalents would be:

Win32_PerfFormattedData_PerfOS_System.ProcessorQueueLength
Win32_PerfFormattedData_PerfOS_System.Processes

Here's a PowerShell script to retrieve the closest metrics:

# Get Processor Queue Length (similar to load)
$queueLength = Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_PerfFormattedData_PerfOS_System |
    Select-Object -Property ProcessorQueueLength

# Get Context Switches (additional useful metric)
$contextSwitches = Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_PerfFormattedData_PerfOS_System |
    Select-Object -Property ContextSwitchesPersec

# Output results
Write-Output "Processor Queue Length: $($queueLength.ProcessorQueueLength)"
Write-Output "Context Switches/sec: $($contextSwitches.ContextSwitchesPersec)"

Key OS-level differences affecting measurement:

For developers needing an exact match, you can create a custom load calculation:

function Get-WindowsLoadAverage {
    $cpuUsage = Get-WmiObject Win32_Processor | 
        Measure-Object -Property LoadPercentage -Average | 
        Select-Object -ExpandProperty Average
    
    $processes = (Get-Process).Count
    $threads = (Get-WmiObject Win32_Thread).Count
    
    # Custom calculation approximating load
    $loadEstimate = ($cpuUsage/100) * ($threads/$processes)
    
    return [math]::Round($loadEstimate, 2)
}

For comprehensive system monitoring in Windows:

• Combine multiple WMI counters for accurate assessment
• Monitor over time rather than relying on single measurements
• Consider using Performance Monitor (perfmon) for visualization
• Account for hyperthreading in virtualized environments

Where Linux uses /proc/loadavg, Windows provides these WMI classes for similar data:

Win32_PerfFormattedData_PerfOS_Processor
Win32_PerfFormattedData_PerfOS_System
Win32_PerfFormattedData_PerfProc_Process

Each provides different aspects of system performance that together can approximate Linux's load average.

Linux's load average measures the average number of processes in runnable (CPU-bound) or uninterruptible (I/O-bound) states over 1, 5, and 15-minute intervals. This metric isn't CPU-core-normalized, making it useful for spotting resource contention regardless of hardware specs.

Windows lacks a direct equivalent, but these WMI classes provide similar insights:

// PowerShell: Get processor queue length (closest to load avg)
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_PerfFormattedData_PerfOS_System | 
    Select-Object ProcessorQueueLength

// CIMv2 query for CPU load percentages
SELECT * FROM Win32_PerfFormattedData_Counters_ProcessorInformation
WHERE Name="_Total"

• Thread Scheduling: Windows uses priority-based preemption, while Linux employs Completely Fair Scheduler (CFS)
• I/O Handling: Windows' IOCP vs Linux's epoll creates different blocking patterns
• Metric Granularity: Windows provides per-core metrics by default

This PowerShell script combines multiple WMI metrics to approximate load average:

# windows_load_equivalent.ps1
$cpu_cores = (Get-CimInstance Win32_ComputerSystem).NumberOfLogicalProcessors
$metrics = Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_PerfFormattedData_PerfOS_System

$normalized_load = [math]::Round($metrics.ProcessorQueueLength / $cpu_cores, 2)
Write-Output "Approximate load average: $normalized_load"
Write-Output "Processes in queue: $($metrics.ProcessorQueueLength)"
Write-Output "Context switches/sec: $($metrics.ContextSwitchesPersec)"

For consistent monitoring across OSes, consider these approaches:

1. Normalize Windows queue lengths by core count
2. Combine multiple WMI counters (CPU + disk + network)
3. Use time-weighted averages for better comparison