Windows Server 2008 R2 Unleashed (269 page)

select Add Counters.

NOTE

Typical baseline counters consist of Memory - Pages/Sec, PhysicalDisk - Avg. Disk

Queue Length, and Processor - % Processor Time.

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3. The Add Counters dialog box is invoked, as shown in Figure 33.8. In the Available

Counters section, select the desired counters, and click the Add button.

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FIGURE 33.8

Adding counters to Performance Monitor.

NOTE

Windows Server 2008 R2 includes a tremendous amount of counters to choose from

when conducting performance monitoring. It is challenging to fully explain what each

counter offers in this section. If you are interested in finding out more about a counter,

enable the Show Description option in the Add Counters dialog box and highlight a spe-

cific counter to obtain a detailed explanation of it.

4. Review the selected counters in the Added Counters section, and then click OK.

NOTE

When adding counters, it is possible to conduct remote monitoring by selecting coun-

ters from another system. To simplify things, it is also possible to search for instances

of a counter and add a group of counters.

Managing Performance Monitor Settings

While back on the Performance Monitor display, update displays by clicking the Clear

Display button. Clicking the Freeze Display button or pressing Ctrl+F freezes displays,

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which suspends data collection. Data collection can be resumed by pressing Ctrl+F or

clicking the Freeze Display button again. Click the Update Data button to display an

updated data analysis.

It is also possible to export and import a display by using the Cut and Paste buttons. For

example, a display can be saved to the Clipboard and then imported into another instance

of Performance Monitor. This is commonly used to view or analyze system information on

a different system, such as information from a production server.

The Properties page of Performance Monitor has five additional tabs of configuration:

General, Source, Data, Graph, and Appearance. Generally, the Properties page provides

access to settings that control the graph grid, color, style of display data, and so on. Data

can be saved from the monitor in different ways. The easiest way to retain the display

features is to save the control as an HTML file.

Performance Monitor enables you to also save log files in HTML or tab-separated (.tsv)

format, which you can then analyze by using third-party tools. Alternatively, a tab-sepa-

rated file can be imported into a spreadsheet or database application such as Excel or

Microsoft Access. Windows Server 2008 R2 also enables you to collect data in SQL data-

base format. This is useful for performance analysis at an enterprise level rather than a

per-server basis. Reports displayed in Excel can help you better understand the data as well

as provide reports to management. As well as saving log files, you can save the results

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from Performance Monitor as an image. This is great when you need to obtain a point-in-

time depiction of a performance graph.

Data Collector Sets

The Data Collector Sets is a vital new feature available as a subfolder within the

Performance Monitor snap-in. The purpose of a Data Collector Set is to review or log

system performance data. This is achievable through a single component that encom-

passes organized multiple data collection points. This information can then be analyzed to

diagnose problems, correct system performance issues, or create baselines.

Performance counters, event trace data, and system configuration information are all data

collector elements that can be captured and contained in a Data Collector Set. Data

Collector Sets can be based on a predefined template, from a Data Collector Set that

already exists, by creating it manually, with a wizard, or it can be user defined. Data

Collector Sets can be exported and used for multiple systems, easing the administrative

load involving the configuration of new systems producing more effective monitoring.

Wizards facilitate the creation of Data Collector Sets and enable an administrator to

quickly create collections based on server roles or the type of information that is required.

NOTE

To create Data Collector Sets, you must be a member of the Administrators group or

logged on with an account that is a member of the Performance Log Users group.

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Creating Data Collector Sets

Data Collector Sets can be created manually from a template or from Performance

Monitor. The following examples will help you to gain an understanding of the different

methods for creating Data Collector Sets.

To create a Data Collector Set from Performance Monitor, do the following:

1. In the Performance Monitor snap-in, navigate to Performance Monitor.

2. Add counters based on items you want to capture. For this example, the following

counters were used: Memory - Pages/Sec, Physical Disk - Avg.Disk Queue Length, and

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Processor - % Processor Time.

3. After the counters are added, right-click on Performance Monitor in the navigation

tree, select New, and then select Data Collector Set. The Create New Data Collector

Set Wizard is launched.

4. Enter a name for this new Data Collector Set on the Create New Data Collector Set

page, and then click Next.

5. On the next page, specify where you want the data to be saved. The default path is

the %systemdrive%\PerfLogs\. Click Finish to save the current settings and exit or

click Next to enter a user account to run as.

6.

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Click the Change button to enter a user for this data set.

7. Select the option to Save and Close or Start This Data Collector Set Now, and then

click Finish to complete the Data Collector Set creation process.

The resulting Data Collector Set can be configured to run immediately by right-clicking

the new Data Collector Set and selecting Start. The properties of the Data Collector Set can

be viewed by right-clicking and selecting Properties.

Data Collector Sets can be created, saved, or restored from templates. Many templates are

built in and can be created using the Create New Data Collector Set Wizard in Windows

Performance Monitor. This wizard is invoked by right-clicking on the User Defined folder,

the Event Trace Sessions folder, or the Startup Event Trace Sessions folder under Data

Collector Sets and selecting New, Data Collector Set.

To create a Data Collector Set from a template, do the following:

1. Expand the Data Collector Sets folder and then the User Defined subfolder in the

Performance Monitor snap-in.

2. Right-click the User Defined subfolder and select New Data Collector Set to launch

the Create New Data Collector Set Wizard.

3. Enter a name for this new Data Collector Set, select the Create from a Template

option, and then click Next.

4. On the next page, select the desired template to use, and then click Next.

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NOTE

The Create New Data Collector Set Wizard offers three templates for creating Data

Collector Sets. The templates include Basic, System Diagnostics, and System

Performance. Use the Basic template when there is a need to create a basic Data

Collector Set. The System Diagnostics template generates a report detailing the status

of local hardware resources, system response times, system information, and configu-

ration data. The Systems Performance template is leveraged when you want to not only

generate a report detailing the status of local hardware resources and system

response times, but also processes on the local computers. In summary, typically the

Basic template provides basic diagnostics, whereas the Systems Diagnostics template

is good for maximizing performance and streamlining system operations, and the

System Performance template is a good choice when you want to identify performance

issues. Each of the templates can be edited after they have been created. In addition,

it is possible to select the Browse button and import templates from other servers.

5. On the next page, specify where you want the data to be saved. The default path is

the %systemdrive%\PerfLogs\. Click Finish to save the current settings and exit or

click Next to enter a user account to run as.

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6. Click the Change button to enter a user for this data set.

7. Select the option to Save and Close, Start This Data Collector Set Now, or Open

Properties for This Data Collector Set, and then click Finish to complete the Data

Collector Set creation process.

Reports

The final folder in the Performance Monitor snap-in is Reports. The Reports folder

provides diagnostic reports to support administrators in troubleshooting and diagnosing

system performance problems including reliability. Reports are viewed in the central

details pane of the Performance Monitor snap-in.

The reports are based on Data Collector Sets that were previously defined by users or

preconfigured and included with Windows Server 2008 R2 Performance Monitor. The

report console’s features and functionality are very similar to those seen by means of the

reports introduced with Server Performance Advisor in Windows Server 2003.

The Reports folder is broken into two main subfolders: User Defined reports and System

reports. The default System reports typically include reports relating to LAN Diagnostics,

System Diagnostics, and System Performance. Additional System reports are automatically

generated depending on the server role installed on the Windows Server 2008 R2 system.

For example, an Active Directory Diagnostics system report is automatically included in

the console when the Active Directory Domain Services server role is installed on the

Windows Server 2008 R2 system.

Creating a User Defined Report

The first step in creating a User Defined report is creating a User Defined Collector Set and

defining the parameters for a collection. After the User Defined Collector Set is created,

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data collection must be manually started or scheduled to run at a specific date. At this

time, a report folder is automatically generated under the User Defined folder. After the

report is created, you can review the contents by selecting it. When viewing reports, it is

possible to expand specific items such as the report summary, diagnostic results, or CPU

for additional information. This is depicted in the sample System Performance Report in

Figure 33.9.

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FIGURE 33.9

Viewing the System Performance Report.

Viewing Predefined System Reports

Another option for assessing system health and troubleshooting system anomalies is to

leverage the predefined system reports. The following steps illustrate how to view these

system reports:

1. In the Performance Monitor navigation tree, expand the Data Collector Sets folder

and then System.

2. Right-click one of the predefined Data Collector Sets such as System Diagnostics, and

then click Start. This starts the data collection process.

3. Now expand the Reports folder, System, and then System Diagnostics.

4. Highlight the newly created report and review the contents of the report in the cen-