1. Page 1 Monitoring, Optimization, and Troubleshooting Lecture 10 Hassan Shuja 11/30/2004

2. Page 2 Monitoring, Optimization, and Troubleshooting Monitoring – It is important to become familiar with the server’s everyday behavior – Monitoring performance helps determine how the computer is using its resources – Helps determine which resource each application uses – Monitoring helps determine which component is having trouble – Performance and monitoring should be taken as proactive approach

3. Page 3 Monitoring, Optimization, and Troubleshooting Benchmarking – It is very important to set a baseline on a server after installing it – A baseline will help determine if anything out of the normal is taking place – Statistics should be gathered during low peak, medium, and high peak hours – Update baselines when an application changes or a server changes its role – It is also important to update baselines when there is growth in the user community – Even if there is not any change with a server benchmarking should be updated frequently because a change in the network could effect the server performance

4. Page 4 Monitoring, Optimization, and Troubleshooting Monitoring Tools – System Monitor is a W2K tool that is used to monitor and chart the performance of system components on a W2K machine – Key components of system monitor are objects, Instances, and Counters – Memory, Network Interface, Paging File, Physical Disk, Processor, Server, and Thread are the most frequently used objects – Network Monitor is a tool that is used to capture, view, and analyze network traffic – Network Monitor is not part of W2K professional by default and needs to be installed – Filters can be configured to only capture or view specific data – Task Manager can be used to view processes running, CPU Usage, and Memory usage – Shared Folders can be monitored for the shares and the users connected

5. Page 5 Monitoring, Optimization, and Troubleshooting Optimizing and Troubleshooting – Optimizing is the process of configuring system or network components so they function at their peak – Troubleshooting is the process of determining which network or system components require optimization – Optimizing and Troubleshooting Memory – As a system grows it continually needs an upgrade of RAM – Optimizing the paging file will also help memory usage – System Monitor is can be used to chart memory and paging file usage – Optimizing and Troubleshooting Processor – Use System Monitor and Task Manager to monitor processor usage – Determine what is the best choice; upgrading the processor or adding a another processor – Before upgrading, look at memory and other components of the computer to make sure that it is not something else

6. Page 6 Monitoring, Optimization, and Troubleshooting Optimizing and Troubleshooting – Optimizing and Troubleshooting Disk Performance – A symptom of disk problem is slow read and writing to the hard disk – System monitor can be used to monitor hard disk – Defragmentation should be done on a regularly basis – Optimizing and Troubleshooting Network Performance – Network problems are difficult to diagnose because there are so many factors that can effect the network performance – Network Monitor and System Monitor can be used to examine network traffic and traffic trends – Segmenting the network can resolve a lot of problems – Looking at the switch port statistics that the server is connected to can help determine NIC card performances

7. Page 7 Monitoring, Optimization, and Troubleshooting Optimizing and Troubleshooting – Optimizing and Troubleshooting Application Performance – Problems with applications occur when too many processes are running or when processes are consuming too many system resources – System Monitor and Task Manager can be used to determine application problems – Windows 2000 uses priorities to determine which application receives processor time – Priorities are set from 0-31 by the system, 8 is default of priority – Priority can be changed by command line or through Task Manager