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XP Pro Chap 13 System Monitoring

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What performance information is available via the process tab of the Task Manager?
The amount of CPU utilization per process, and the amount of time the CPU spent running the process.
The histogram view shows the System Monitor data in a bar graph. The view is useful for what?
This System Monitor view useful for examining large amounts of data.
What utility makes it convenient to view kernel memory statistics; totals for handles, threads, and processes; CPU usage in real time and in a history graph; as well as memory usage in real time and in a graph?
The Performance tab in the Task Manager.
Before you can optimize performance, you can use the System Monitor Utility, and the Performance Logs and Alerts Utility to identify bottlenecks. Which three systems would you typically look at first?
1) memory performance
2) processor utilization
3) the disk performance
What utility shows all the applications and processes that are currently running on the computer, as well as providing information about CPU and memory usage?
The Task Manager.
All Windows XP system resources are tracked as ___________ _______.
performance objects.
If your computer has multiple processors installed, you can associate a specific processor with a specific processor via the Task Manager. This association is called _________ ________.
processor affinity.
You can make your XP Pro administrative tasks easier by automating them. You can schedule system tasks by using the______ ______Wizard
Scheduled Task Wizard
How can you quickly view the status of a running application?
In the application tab of the Task Manager utility. You will see the name of the application and the current status (running, not responding, or stopped).
Windows XP is a self-tuning operating system, true or false?
True: So if you decide to tweak your system, take baselines before and after. If you notice no change, you should return the system to its original configuration.
How can you view all the processes running on your computer?
Via the processes tab of the Task Manager utility.
What two snap-ins must you install before you can use the monitoring tools in the MMC?
Add the System Monitor snap-in, and the Performance Logs and Alerts snap-in.
Each process is assigned a unique ID, or PID, viewable via the Task Manager process tab. Once assigned, this unique PID will always be associated with a given process, True or False?
False, the PID changes each time a process is started.
The chart view can be difficult to interpret under what condition?
This view can be difficult to interpret, when you start to track a large number of counters.
To close an application you must be in the application's window -- True or False?
False, you can close an application via the End Task button in the application tab of the Utility Manager.
You can monitor and optimize Windows XP Professional using what three tools?
1) System Monitor
2) Performance Logs and Alerts
3) Task Manager Utilities
The Task Manager dialog box has four main tabs, what are they?
1) Applications
2) Processes
3) Performance
4) Networking
The report view offers a logical view of how many counters at once?
This view is useful for showing all of the counters that are being tracked through the System Monitor.
To see an what applications are active on your computer, and to get a view of CPU and memory usage, you must first configure the Task Manager -- True or False?
False, the Task Manager doesn't require that you first configure the collection of this data; it's gathered automatically.
What is a baseline?
A snapshot of how your system is currently performing.
How do you configure the properties of the System Monitor.
By clicking on the Properties button on the toolbar.
What utility will let you view current data or data from a log file?
System Monitor.
What does the Data tab of the System Monitor Properties dialog box enable you to specify?
This tab on the System Monitor Properties tab allows you to specify the counters and format their representation in the graph.
When should you create baselines for your system?
1) When its first configured without any load.
2) At regular intervals of typical usage
3) Whenever configuration changes are made (to hardware or software)
Describe the General tab of the System Monitor Properties dialog box.
The first of five tabs on the System Monitor dialog box, you can set the chart view from here, define display elements, appearance, border characteristics, how often data is updated, and whether duplicate counter instances are allowed.
If you want to be informed whenever your logical disk has less than 10 percent free space left, what should you do?
Set up an alert, through the Performance Logs and Alerts utility.
What does the System Monitor toolbar do?
It provides access to all of the System Manager functions.
To assess your server's current health and pick improvements, use System Monitor, and Performance Logs and Alerts to:
Create baselines
Identify bottlenecks
Determine trends
Create alert threshholds
To keep track of when a specific counter exceeds or falls below a specified value, what would you define.
An alert.
Since Windows XP is a self-tuning operating system, there's no point in creating baselines at regular intervals of typical usage -- True or False
False.
Processor Interrupts/Sec shows the average number of hardware interrupts received by the processor each second. If this value is more than 3,500, on a Pentium-based computer, what does this mean?
If Processor Interrupts/Sec is above 3,500 it might mean you have a problem with a program or hardware that is generating spurious interrupts.
What is the main advantage of the chart view?
Through this view you can see how the data has been tracked during a defined period of time.
How do you create a new log or alert?
Expand the Performance Logs and Alerts line in the console tree. Highlight the desired function, right click, select New Log Settings from the pop-up menu, give the log or alert a name, click the OK button, which will open the log or alert's Properties dialog box.
Two System Monitor views only track current data. Which ones are they?
The histogram and report views.
The %Current Disk Queue Length indicates the number of outstanding disk requests that are waiting to be processed. This number should be less than _?
2
For System Monitor to be useful, you must configure it to track some type of system activity, which is done by adding what?
Counters.
The Performance Logs and Alerts snap-in enable you to configure logging to occur in two ways. What are they?
Counter logs can be configured to occur manually or on a predefined schedule.
In the System Monitor, a Value bar appears by default under the two available graph views (chart and histogram). In the Value bar, which field shows the most current data?
Believe it or not, it's the field labeled "Last." Confusingly enough, reading left to right, the "Last" field appears first. (Why ask why?)
How can you minimize and optimize network traffic for an XP computer?
1) Only use needed network protocols
2) If you need multiple protocols, place the most commonly used higher in the binding order
3) Use network cards that take full advantage of your bus width, such as 32-bit cards instead of 16-bit cards
4) Use faster network cards, for example 100 Mbps Ethernet instead of 10 Mbps.
Which is the default view of the System Monitor?
The Chart View.
Using the Performance Logs and Alerts snap-in, how do you record data about hardware usage and the activity of system services?
You can create counter logs.
When you view current activity in the System Monitor, you are monitoring real-time activity. When you view data from a log file, you are doing what?
Importing a log file from a previous session.
When the %Processor Time counter is consistently above __ _______, you may have a processor bottleneck.
80 percent
Which of the three System Monitor views is the best when you want to keep track lots of current data at the same time?
The report view, but it's only for current session data.
To customize the fonts and colors used in the System Monitor display you use the Appearance tab of the System Monitor Properties dialogue box -- True or False?
True. This tab is used for customizing fonts and colors on the System Monitor display.
All the performance objects together represent what?
Your total system.
What two factors determine how quickly your your disk subsystem will respond to system requests?
1) Average disk access time on your hard drive
2) The speed of your disk controller.
Tweaks may cause more problems then they solve, true or false?
True.
What is the most likely cause of system bottlenecks.
When you have no idea what is causing a system bottleneck, memory is a good place to start checking.
In addition to the most current data, what other values can be tracked for a given counter in the System Monitor?
1) Average
2) Minimum (the lowest recorded value)
3) Maximum (the highest recorded value), and
4) Duration, showing how long the counter has been tracking data.
What is disk access?
Disk access is the amount of time your disk subsystem takes to retrieve data that is requested by the operating system.
Name five system resources tracked as performance objects in the System Monitor.
Cache, Memory, Paging File, Process, Processor, PhysicalDisk, are some.
What is paging?
Swapping between the page file on the hard disk and physical RAM.
What is a bottleneck?
A system resource that is inefficient compared with the rest of the computer system as a whole.
If the %DiskTime counter indicates that the physical disk is busy more than 90 percent of the time, how can you improve performance?
By adding another disk channel and splitting the disk I/O requests between channels.
What do you need in order to be able to view performance of counters on remote computers using the System Monitor?
Administrative permissions.
Alerts can be configured to trigger three types of action. What are they?
They can be configured so that a message is sent, a program run, or a more detailed log file is generated.
The histogram view in the System Monitor is useful for showing system performance over time -- True or False?
False. The histogram view shows data only for the current period. You do not see a record of performance over time, as you do with the chart view.
What is Windows XP's built-in mechanism for monitoring an entire network?
There isn't one. However, you can monitor and optimize traffic generated by a specific Windows XP computer.
In the System Monitor, what are counters?
They are used to track specific information regarding a performance object.
What counter measures how much physical memory is available? And when do you know you need more?
Available MBytes. If this number is less than 4MB, you should consider adding more memory.
By clicking the appropriate button on the System Monitor toolbar, you can see your data in what three views?
Chart view
Histogram view
Report view
Windows XP supports how many processors?
Up to two.
To monitor your network and spot bottlenecks using the System Monitor, you might use what?
Counters.
The Pages/Sec counter, a memory metric, shows the number of times the requested information was not in memory and had to be retrieved from disk. For good performance this counter should be below what value?
This counter's value should be below 20, and for optimum performance is should be 4 or 5.
If you are creating baselines on a regular basis, what can you identify proactively?
System trends.
If your counters indicate that you have a disk subsystem bottleneck, the first thing to do is install a faster or larger disk drive -- True or False?
No. You should begin by making sure you don't have a memory deficiency. Insufficient memory can cause excessive paging, which in turn effects the disk subsystem.
When you first start system monitor, processor time, memory pages per second, and physical disk time are tracked by default -- True or False?
False. When you first start System Monitor, nothing is tracked by default.
In addition to defining alerts, through the Performance Logs and Alerts snap-in, you can create two types of logs? What are they?
Counter logs
Trace logs
An "instance" is a mechanism that allows you to track the performance of a specific object when you have more than one associated with a specific performance object. Give an example.
Suppose your computer has two physical disk drives. When you track the PhysicalDisk performance object, you can track both of your drives, or you can track drive 0 and drive 1 separately.
Distinguish between the PhysicalDisk and LogicalDisk objects.
The PhysicalDisk is the sum of all logical drives on a single physical drive. The LogicalDisk object represents a specific logical disk or partition.
The Performance Logs and Alerts snap-in can be accessed from the MMC. How else can you find it?
Start>Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Performance. Add the snap-in from the console, if it is not already added.
You use the Performance Logs and Alert snap-in to view performance logs -- True or False?
False: You use the System Monitor to view the data collected in performance logs.
To determine how memory is being used, what two areas need to be examined?
Physical RAM and Logical memory that exists on the hard drive, also called the Page File.
What two disk subsystemn performance objects can be measured using system monitoring tools?
The PhysicalDisk object, and the LogicalDisk object.
If you are using excessive paging, is this a sign that you need more hard-disk storage?
No, if you're system is doing this, it's a clear sign that you need more physical RAM.
If, after checking, you find out you have enough memory, and you still have a disk subsystem bottleneck, what are your options?
1) Use faster disks and controllers
2) Use disk striping to take advantage of multiple I/O channels
3)Balance heavily used files on multiple I/O channels
4) Add another disk for load balancing.
The Graph tab of the System Monitor dialog box has four options that can be applied to a chart or histogram view. What are they?
1) A title
2) A vertical axis label
3) Whether to show a vertical grid, horizontal grid, and/or vertical scale numbers, and
4) The minimum and maximum numbers for the vertical scale.
If you have a processor bottleneck, what can you do?
1) Use applications that are less processor-intensive.
2) Upgrade your processor.
3) If your computer supports multiple processors, add one.
How much memory is too much?
You can never have enough memory. It's actually a good idea to have more than you think you will need just to be on the safe side.
What are the two most important counters for monitoring the system processor?
%Processor time and Interrupts/Sec
To measure data continuously, and/or to track data collected by the operating system or programs, what type of log would you use.
Trace logs.
An extra processor will help alleviate processor bottlenecks on what kind of applications?
XP Professional can support up to two processors, which will helped if you use multithreaded applications.
%Usage is a counter that indicates the percentage of the allocated page file that is currently in use. You may need more memory is this number is consistently above what percentage?
99%
Can you monitor the amount of free disk space on a logical disk?
Yes, through the %Free Space Counter.
Performance objects are usually tracked using microprocessors -- True or False.
False. Performance objects such as memory or processors, are monitored by counters and alerts.
In Windows XP Professional, to enable disk counters you must execute the DISKPERF -Y command -- True or False?
False. In Windows NT DISKPERF -Y was needed to enable disk counters. In Windows XP disk counters are automatically enabled.
How do you create baselines?
By setting up counter log files in the Peformance Logs and Alerts Utility.
What does %Disk Time show?
The amount of time the physical disk is busy because it is servicing read or write requests.
How can you view a baseline?
After you've created the baseline log file, you can view it in System Monitor.
What are the most important counters for monitoring the disk subsystem?
%DiskTime and %Current Disk Queue Length.

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