Chapter 14 Chapter 14: Server Monitoring and Optimization

Chapter 14 Learning Objectives n Establish monitoring benchmarks n Monitor server services, logged-on users, and server functions n Use Task Manager to monitor processes and performance data n Use the System Monitor to monitor page file, memory, processor, disk and other critical server performance functions and to tune these functions as needed

Chapter 14 Learning Objectives (continued) n Set up performance logs and alerts for monitoring n Identify key system elements to monitor for problems

Chapter 14 Benefits of Server Monitoring n Monitoring helps you become familiar with normal server performance to help identify areas of growth, prevent problems, and troubleshoot problems later n Plan to monitor a range of activities to better understand a server

Chapter 14 Server Activities to Monitor Table 14-1 Server Activities to Monitor

Chapter 14 Establishing Server Benchmarks n Plan to establish server benchmarks as an effective way to determine normal performance and distinguish it from problem situations n Benchmarks can be established by: u Generating statistics about CPU, disk, memory, and I/O with no users on the system u Using performance monitoring to establish slow, average, and peak use periods

Chapter 14 Establishing Server Benchmarks (continued) u Gathering performance information for slow, average, and peak use when new software is added u Gathering information about growth in server use, number of users, software use and average time users are on the server

Chapter 14 Monitoring Server Services n Monitor server services to determine if any are stopped, improperly configured, or possibly hung n Use the Computer Management tool or the Services tool to monitor services (both can be accessed from the Administrative Tools menu)

Chapter 14 Windows 2000 Server Default Services

Chapter 14 Windows 2000 Server Default Services (continued)

Chapter 14 Windows 2000 Server Default Services (continued)

Chapter 14 Windows 2000 Server Default Services (continued)

Chapter 14 Windows 2000 Server Default Services (continued)

Chapter 14 Interpreting Service Information n When you monitor services, the default information that is displayed includes: u The name of each service u A description u Status of the service (started, paused, or halted/not started u Status type (how the service was started) u Logged on as (where the service is running)

Chapter 14 Services Display Figure 14-1 Monitoring server services

Chapter 14 Troubleshooting Tip n Stop a service carefully because other services may be dependent on it n Check on dependencies by: u Double-clicking the service in the Services tool u Clicking the Dependencies tab

Chapter 14 Viewing Service Dependencies Figure 14-2 Service properties

Chapter 14 Configuring Service Properties n Configure a service’s properties by double-clicking the service in the Services tool

Chapter 14 Service Properties Tabs Table 14-3 Services Properties Tabs

Chapter 14 Monitoring Users n To monitor logged on users: u Right-click My Computer and click Manage u Double-click System Tools (if necessary) u Double-click Shared Folders u Click Sessions n To monitor resource use, double-click Shares instead of Sessions as the last step

Chapter 14 Monitoring Shared Resources Figure 14-3 Shared resources

Chapter 14 Using the Task Manager n Use the Task Manager to monitor: u Applications u Processes u Basic performance

Chapter 14 Task Manager Display Figure 14-4 Monitoring started tasks

Chapter 14 Starting the Task Manager n To start Task Manager: u Press Ctrl+Alt+Del and then press Task Manager to start the Task Manager u An alternative way to start Task Manager is to right-click an open area of the taskbar and click Task Manager

Chapter 14 Other Ctrl+Alt+Del Options n When you press Ctrl+Alt+Del after Windows 2000 Server is booted you have the following options: u Lock Computer u Change Password u Log Off u Task Manager u Shut Down u Cancel

Chapter 14 Troubleshooting Tip n When you monitor CPU performance, 100 percent CPU utilization is not a concern if it is temporary, but if it frequently lasts for several minutes instead of several seconds you should troubleshoot the cause

Chapter 14 Default Task Manager Information on Processes Table 14-4 Task Manager Information on Processes

Chapter 14 Troubleshooting Tip n If you believe a particular program is causing a CPU bottleneck and want to monitor CPU use for its associated process: u Right-click the program in the Applications tab u Click Go To Process u Examine the CPU and CPU Time columns for that process on the Processes tab

Chapter 14 Managing Processes n Use the Task Manager to: u Stop a task (application) or process u Stop the process tree (the process and the subprocesses it has started) u Change the priority of a process

Chapter 14 Process Priority Settings n A process’s priority can be set to: u Low (-2) u BelowNormal (-1) u Normal (0) u AboveNormal (+1) u High (+2) u Realtime (+15)

Chapter 14 Configuring a Process’s Priority Figure 14-5 Resetting a process priority

Chapter 14 Troubleshooting Tip n Use the Realtime priority with great caution because it may cause a process to completely dominate a server’s resources

Chapter 14 Task Manager Performance Tab n The Task Manager Performance tab enables you to monitor: u CPU performance u Memory performance

Chapter 14 Monitoring Performance Data Figure 14-6 Performance data

Chapter 14 Task Manager Performance Statistics Table 14-5 Task Manager Performance Statistics

Chapter 14 Task Manager Performance Statistics (continued)

Chapter 14 Task Manager Performance Statistics (continued)

Chapter 14 System Monitor n Use the System Monitor for in-depth monitoring of all kinds of elements on a server, called objects

Chapter 14 Default System Monitor Objects Table 14-6 System Monitor Objects

Chapter 14 Default System Monitor Objects (continued) Default System Monitor Objects (continued)

Chapter 14 Default System Monitor Objects (continued)

Chapter 14 Default System Monitor Objects (continued)

Chapter 14 CountersCounters n Specific qualities of objects are measured by counters and instances: u Counter: Used by the System Monitor, this is a measurement technique for an object, such as measuring the processor performance by percentage in use u Instance: Used by the System Monitor, when there are two or more types of elements to monitor, such as two or more threads or disk drives

Chapter 14 Sample Processor Counters in System Monitor Table 14-7 Sample Processor Counters in System Monitor

Chapter 14 Sample Processor Counters in System Monitor (continued)

Chapter 14 System Monitor Opening Display Figure 14-7 System Monitor

Chapter 14 System Monitor Modes n System Monitor offers three tracking modes: u Chart u Histogram u Report

Chapter 14 Using the System Monitor Chart Mode Figure 14-8 System Monitor chart mode

Chapter 14 System Monitor Running Inside Microsoft Word n You can run System Monitor inside Microsoft Word to easily capture and print specific charts and information

Chapter 14 System Monitor Running Inside Microsoft Word (continued) Figure 14-9 Running System Monitor inside Microsoft Word

Chapter 14 Monitoring Page File and Memory Performance n Use the System Monitor Memory and Paging File objects to monitor memory and page file performance

Chapter 14 Setting a Memory Counter in System Monitor Figure Selecting an object and its counter

Chapter 14 Monitoring Paging and Memory in System Monitor Figure Monitoring page file performance

Chapter 14 Using System Monitor Objects and Counters to Monitor Memory and Paging Table 14-8 Using System Monitor Objects and Counters to Monitor Memory and Paging

Chapter 14 Monitoring Memory and Paging (continued)

Chapter 14 Monitoring Memory and Paging (continued)

Chapter 14 Troubleshooting Tip n A page fault can occur in a kernel process when a page location in virtual memory is lost or corrupted. If this happens, Windows 2000 may crash with a Stop message. Try rebooting to determine if the problem recurs. If it does not, then the problem was simply transient. If it does, employ memory diagnostics to look for a defective memory module.

Chapter 14 Interaction Between Software and Memory Use n Monitor the effect of software on memory use, such as looking for leaking memory: u Leaking memory: Failing to return memory for general use after a process is finished using a specific memory block

Chapter 14 Monitoring for an Inefficient Program Figure Using System Monitor to find an inefficient program process

Chapter 14 Using System Monitor Objects and Counters to Monitor Software Use Table 14-9 Using System Monitor Objects and Counters to Monitor Software Use of Memory

Chapter 14 Studying Processor Load n Look at three important components when you monitor processor load: u Percent of time the processor is in use u Length of the queue continuing processes waiting to run u Frequency of hardware interrupt requests

Chapter 14 Troubleshooting Tip n Plan to gather benchmarks on the frequency of hardware interrupts to have comparative data for troubleshooting hardware problems later on

Chapter 14 Using Objects and Counters to Monitor a Processor

Chapter 14 Using Objects and Counters to Monitor a Processor (continued)

Chapter 14 Using Objects and Counters to Monitor a Processor (continued)

Chapter 14 Enabling Disk Monitoring n The Disk Performance Statistics Driver (Diskperf) must be set up to enable disk monitoring n Run Diskperf from the Start button Run option (or from the Command Prompt window) and specify the desired switch, such as Diskperf -y which installs the driver and System Monitor counters for physical and logical drives

Chapter 14 Running Diskperf Figure Running Diskperf

Chapter 14 Using System Monitor Objects and Counters Table Using System Monitor Objects and Counters to Monitor Disk Performance

Chapter 14 Using System Monitor Objects and Counters (continued)

Chapter 14 Using System Monitor Objects and Counters (continued)

Chapter 14 Using System Monitor Objects and Counters (continued)

Chapter 14 Using System Monitor Objects and Counters (continued)

Chapter 14 Monitoring Terminal Services n Use the Terminal Services object in System Monitor to monitor: u Active sessions u Inactive sessions u Total sessions n Use the Terminal Service Session object to monitor selected sessions or all sessions for their affect on the server load

Chapter 14 Setting Terminal Service Objects, Counters, and Instances Figure Monitoring terminal services

Chapter 14 File System Caching n Monitor file system caching so that you can add memory or adjust the memory allocation as needed n File system cache performance is monitored in terms of cache hits and misses: u Cache hit: A situation in which the data needed by an application is found in cache u Cache miss: Occurs when the desired data is not found in cache

Chapter 14 Using System Monitor Objects and Counters to Monitor File System Cache Table 14-2 Using System Monitor Objects and Counters to Monitor File System Cache

Chapter 14 Tuning Cache n Use the Network and Dial-up Connection tool to tune system cache

Chapter 14 Tuning Cache (continued) Figure Tuning file system cache

Chapter 14 Performance Logs and Alerts n Performance log: Tracks system and network performance information in a log that can be viewed later or imported into a spreadsheet, such as Microsoft Excel n Alert: Provides a warning of a specific Windows 2000 Server system or network event — the warning is sent to designated users

Chapter 14 Types of Performance Logs n There are two types of performance logs: u Counter log: Traces information on specific System Monitor objects in selected intervals u Trace log: Traces specified events when they occur

Chapter 14 Counter Log File Formats

Chapter 14 Configuring a Counter Log Figure Configuring a counter log

Chapter 14 Counter Log Configuration Tip n Counter logs can use large amounts of disk space and slow performance, thus set the snapshot intervals relatively high, such as at 15 seconds or higher when you monitor for 4 hours or less

Chapter 14 Trace Log Elements That Can be Monitored Table Trace log elements that can be monitored

Chapter 14 Using Alerts n Use an alert to provide a warning each time a particular event occurs, such as when the CPU is at 100 %

Chapter 14 Monitoring Caution n Run the Task Manger, System Monitor, performance logging, and alert monitoring sparingly because these all can place an extra load on a server

Chapter 14 Chapter Summary n Create a set of benchmarks so that you have comparative information that helps you prevent problems and solve problems after they occur n Monitor server services to make sure that all services are properly configured and started n Use the Task Manager to monitor applications, processes, and performance

Chapter 14 Chapter Summary n The Task Manager also enables you to tune a server by tuning process priority n System Monitor is a versatile tool that can be used to monitor all kinds of objects, counters, and instances n Performance logs use System Monitor capabilities to track information for later reference while alerts give you instant notification about a server condition