70-270: mcse guide to microsoft windows xp professional second edition, enhanced chapter 10:...

70-270: MCSE Guide to Microsoft Windows XP Professional

Second Edition, Enhanced

Chapter 10: Performance Tuning

Guide to MCSE 70-270, Second Edition, Enhanced 2

Objectives

• Create a performance baseline• Understand the performance and monitoring tools

found in Windows XP Professional• Log and use logged activity• Use performance tuning in the system applet


Objectives (continued)

• Detect and eliminate bottlenecks• Boost Windows XP Professional performance• Optimize performance for mobile Windows XP

users


Establishing a Baseline

• Baseline • Measure system behavior

• Key elements:• Recorded observations about characteristics and behavior of

computer system

• Recorded by creating a Counter log

• Collecting data at regular intervals

• Establish definition of what a normal load looks like


Monitoring and Performance Tuning

• Monitoring• Thorough understanding of system components

• Continued observation of those components

• Performance tuning• Changing a system’s configuration systematically

• Carefully observing performance before and after


Task Manager

• Provides overview of current state of computer• To access:

• Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete.

• Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc.

• Right-click any unoccupied area on the Windows XP taskbar and select Task Manager from the menu that appears


Task Manager (continued)

• Tabs:• Application

• Processes

• Performance

• Networking

• Users in Task Manager• Only appears in special circumstances


Task Manager, Application tab


Task Manager, Networking Tab


System Monitor

• Performance monitoring tool• Monitor many different events concurrently• Analyze network operations• Identify trends and bottlenecks• Determine system capacity


System Monitor (continued)

• Notify administrators when thresholds are exceeded

• Track performance of individual system devices• Monitor local or remote computers


System Monitor (continued)


Realtime Monitoring

• Process of viewing the measured data from one or more counters in the System Monitor display area

• Formats:• Graph

• Histogram

• Report


Add Counters


System Monitor Properties


Logging and Using Logged Activity

• Two types of logging capabilities• Counter log:

• Records data from selected counters at regular, defined intervals

• Allows you to define exactly which counters are recorded

• Trace log:• Records nonconfigurable data from designated provider

only when events occur


Logging and Using Logged Activity (continued)

• Trace log:• Operating system environment status dumps

• Measure data continually


Counter Logs Node


Alerts

• Automated watchdog that informs you when counter crosses a defined threshold, high or low

• Can consist of one or more counter/instance-based alert definitions

• Focuses on one or all counters


Setting an Alert


When an Alert is Triggered

• Log an entry in the application event log• Send a network message to …• Start performance data log• Run this program …


Event Viewer

• Tool for examining the performance and activities on a system

• Tracks all events generated by the operating system

• Event:• Anything that causes event detail to be created in one

of the logs that Event Viewer manages


Event Viewer Log Files

• System• Application• Security


Event Viewer, System Log


Event Types

• Information• Warning• Error• Success Audit• Failure Audit


Event Log Entry

• Event’s date and time• Source• Category (such as Logon or Logoff )• Event number• Name of the account that generated the event• Name of the computer on which the event

occurred


Performance Options

• Adjust system performance based on applications and virtual memory

• Tasks:• Optimize processor scheduling

• Optimize memory usage

• Manage size of paging file


Performance Options (continued)


Setting Application Priority

• 32 levels of application priority• Determine which process should gain access to the

CPU• Users have minimal control over priority• Priority Levels:

• 0–15—User-accessible process priorities

• 16–31—System-accessible process priorities

• 0–6—Low user range


Setting Application Priority (continued)

• Priority Levels:• 4—Low value (as set in Task Manager, or with /low

parameter to Start command)

• 5—Below-Normal value (as set in Task Manager)

• 7—Normal (default setting for user processes)

• 8–15—High user range

• 10—Above-Normal value (as set in Task Manager)

• 13—High value (as set in Task Manager, or with /high parameter to Start command)


Setting Application Priority (continued)

• Priority Levels:• 16–24—Realtime values accessible to Administrator-

level accounts

• 24—Realtime value (as set in Task Manager, or with /realtime parameter to Start command)

• 25–31—Realtime values accessible to operating system only


Performance Tuning in the System Applet

• Advanced tab of System Applet• Category View:

• Start, Control Panel, Performance and Maintenance, then click the System icon in the Control Panel section

• Windows Classic view: • Start, Control Panel, System. Next, select the Advanced

tab, and then click the Settings button in the Performance pane


The Visual Effects Tab

• Control how Windows XP handles computer display when managing screen output

• Settings:• Adjust for best appearance

• Adjust for best performance

• Custom


The Visual Effects/Advanced Tabs


The Advanced Tab

• Panes:• Processor scheduling

• Memory usage

• Virtual memory


Virtual Memory


Recognizing and Handling Bottlenecks

• Bottleneck • Limitation in single component slows down entire

system

• Always exist in any computer

• No single bottleneck monitor• Goal:

• Make bottlenecks unnoticeable for everyday functions


Recognizing and Handling Bottlenecks (continued)

• Create a baseline for a computer• Compare baseline observations to current system

behavior• Investigate more common causes of system

problems• Make changes to system configuration• Test impact of any fix you try• Some fixes are more expensive than others


Common Bottlenecks

• Disk bottlenecks:• Disk-related counters increase more dramatically than

other counters

• Disk queue lengths become unacceptably long

• Memory bottlenecks:• Make sure that the paging file is working as efficiently

as possible

• Detect excessive paging activity


Common Bottlenecks (continued)

• Processor bottlenecks:• Processor object’s % Processor time counter stays

consistently above 80%

• System object’s Processor Queue Length counter remains fixed near a value of 2 or more

• CPU is being overworked

• Two CPUs do not double performance


Network Bottlenecks

• Not typical on most Windows XP Professional machines


Eight Ways to Boost Windows XP Professional Performance

• Buy a faster machine• Upgrade an existing machine• Install a faster CPU• Add more L2 cache• Add more RAM• Replace the disk subsystem• Increase paging file size• Increase application priority


Optimizing Performance for Mobile Windows XP Users

• Substantially same as managing performance for network-connected machines

• Key resources:• RAM

• Disk

• CPU

• Communications


Optimizing Performance for Mobile Windows XP Users

(continued)

• Make sure network interface appears higher in the binding order than a modem or other slower link device

• File synchronization settings do not require machines to synchronize when running on battery

• Use hibernate and standby modes• Refresh rates should be extended


Summary• Number of tools to monitor system performance• Task Manager

• View applications

• Processes

• Overall system performance

• Performance console includes:• System Monitor

• Log files

• Alerts


Summary (continued)

• Event Viewer • Tracks logs generated by system

• Isolate and correct any bottlenecks

70-270: mcse guide to microsoft windows xp professional second edition, enhanced chapter 10:...

Documents

mcse guide

system log slide

continued slide

performance tuning slide

system performance

alert slide

system applet slide

system capacity slide