Performance

Sep 16 2009   7:00PM GMT

Monitoring Windows Server CPU performance

Posted by: Troy Tate
Performance, performance monitoring, perfmon, server monitoring, cpu, hardware, performance management

I didn’t realize how much I really didn’t know about CPU performance monitoring until I read this Microsoft Technet blog on Interpreting CPU Utilization for Performance Analysis. As the article says: If you rely on CPU utilization as a crucial performance metric, you could be making some big mistakes interpreting the data.

Take some time and review this recent (August 2009) posting on this issue. If you manage/monitor Windows servers and watch server performance, this article will give you a better understanding of the ins/outs of interpreting CPU utilization.

Here’s 4 of the top 9 takeaways that you will learn by reading this article:

Summary of Key Takeaways

Key takeaway #1: Processor of type A @ 100% utilization IS NOT EQUAL TO Processor of type B @ 100% utilization

Key takeaway #2: 2 HW threads on the same package @ 100% utilization IS NOT EQUAL TO 2 HW threads on different packages @ 100% utilization (for better or worse)

Key takeaway #3: 2 HW threads on the same logical core @ 100% utilization IS NOT EQUAL TO 2 HW threads on different logical cores @ 100% utilization (for better or worse)

Key takeaway #4: 2 HW threads on the same NUMA node @ 100% utilization IS NOT EQUAL TO 2 HW threads on different NUMA nodes @ 100% utilization (for better or worse)

Thanks for reading and let’s continue to be good network citizens!

Feb 27 2009   7:41PM GMT

Did you see this? - Internet Measurement Testing tools

Posted by: Troy Tate
network testing, network, testing, toolkit, research, throughput, analysis, Performance, performance monitoring

There will always be some user saying “the internet is slow”. There are many resources out there to test internet connections. The Measurement Lab is one I came across the other day. There are several useful tools under this page. Some of the tools and descriptions are listed below. Maybe one of these will be useful to you or your users some day. Just remember you heard about it on IT-Trenches! Thanks for reading and let’s continue to be good network citizens.

• Network Diagnostic Tool

  Test your connection speed and receive sophisticated diagnosis of problems limiting speed.

• Glasnost

  Test whether BitTorrent is being blocked or throttled.

• Network Path and Application Diagnosis

  Diagnose common problems that impact last-mile broadband networks.

• DiffProbe (coming soon)

  Determine whether an ISP is giving some traffic a lower priority than other traffic.

• NANO (coming soon)

  Determine whether an ISP is degrading the performance of a certain subset of users, applications, or destinations.

Dec 22 2008   7:20PM GMT

Improving yourself in 2009 - part 2

Posted by: Troy Tate
administration, planning, tools, reporting, CIO, performance monitoring, Performance, howto, Metrics, blog, education, toolkit, professional

Maybe Bubbletimer mentioned in part 1 is not something that will help improve your professional value in 2009. How about the Printable CEO series then? The tools David Seah offers on his blog seem like great resources to track your goals, tasks and time. Sometimes those we work for wonder what all we do in our positions. We sometimes have to prove our worth to the organizations who pay us. The When is something worth doing? tool that David outlines may help you improve your decision making and therefore your professional value.

What other professional development and/or tracking tools do you use in your job?  Please leave some feedback and let me know what you use or if this Printable CEO made a difference in your job.

Dec 19 2008   8:55PM GMT

Microsoft’s environmental campaign - XP goes green

Posted by: Troy Tate
administration, hardware, tools, Microsoft Windows, power management, Monitoring, DataCenter, Vista, design, environment, Performance, facility, awareness, XP, facility management

Microsoft has a special section of their website dedicated to fostering environmental sustainability. To that end, they have released a product called Edison PC Power Management software. The application will work on XP and Windows Vista. According to the Microsoft Environment website features include:

• Scheduling. Identify work and non-work schedules to optimize power schemes based on when your PC is in use or on standby.
• Settings. Choose from among several options for power savings and settings.
• Estimated Savings Reports. Find information that shows how PC power settings correlate to money, kWh and CO2 savings.
• Intuitive User Interface. Drag easy-to-use sliding bars to choose settings and instantly see the power and monetary savings. Clearly marked tabs make the interface easy to navigate.

So… if you want to reduce your carbon footprint in 2009, check this out. I know I will.

Dec 15 2008   9:05PM GMT

Improving yourself in 2009

Posted by: Troy Tate
administration, planning, tools, website, Performance, professional

It is going to be another year end here in a few weeks and the new year begins. We all struggle to meet deadlines, track what we do and where our time goes. I have found a few tools that I will be sharing with you in the next couple of blog entries. Maybe one of these will help you in 2009 and make you more valuable to your organization.

The first of these is called the BubbleTimer. It  is meant to help you meet your goals through better time management. This may be useful if you are a consultant or need a way to quickly track time on projects.

Hope this is of use to you in 2009!

Dec 1 2008   7:40PM GMT

Did you see this? - FREE TRAINING: Technet Virtual Lab: Managing Bandwidth Using Windows QOS

Posted by: Troy Tate
administration, Networking, Microsoft Windows, Monitoring, IT education, Policy, design, server, troubleshooting, Performance, howto, education, analysis

For those of you considering using Microsoft Windows Server 2008, you might want to check out this TechNet Virtual Lab: Managing Network Bandwidth Using Windows Quality of Service (QOS) You will learn about using Windows Server 2008 to control bandwidth usage using protocol definitions as well as control bandwidth for particular applications. In case you have not done any of these Virtual labs, they are an excellent FREE! training resource.

Nov 24 2008   7:43PM GMT

Tools for documentation - Network discovery & monitoring

Posted by: Troy Tate
administration, Networking, tools, documentation, Monitoring, reporting, performance monitoring, design, troubleshooting, Performance, howto, network analysis, Metrics, threshold, toolkit, facility management

If you have not begun the process of documenting your network, then please begin as soon as you finish reading my first posting on Tools for documentation - screen marking & screen captures and this posting. These tools will come in real handy in a crunch to identify causes of issues and when you are not around to help with resolution.

The next tool I would like to describe is NeDi - short for network discovery. Take a look at this 4 minute movie about NeDi and what it can do for you.

A week with NeDi

Are you impressed yet? I know I was when I discovered this network tool and how it can be used and extended. Some of the screenshots below may help you with the decision if this tool will work for your environment or not.

Network Health

Device Listing

Network Map

Node Status

Device Write

I’m sure you have other tools and processes you use. Please feel free to share them with the others here and help make someone else’s life easier. Enjoy the movie above. I think the guy has a very good sense of humor and knows his movies!

Nov 11 2008   4:07PM GMT

Did you see this? - Microsoft SharePoint Toolkit

Posted by: Troy Tate
administration, Networking, tools, Microsoft Windows, Monitoring, Development, reporting, internet, WAN, LAN, debugging, performance monitoring, SharePoint, design, MOSS, troubleshooting, Performance, howto, network analysis, Metrics, awareness, diagnostics, toolkit, analysis

Many organizations are finding value in the Microsoft SharePoint technologies. Whether you use the free Windows SharePoint Services or the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, your organization will gain a lot of value from using these services. To enhance your ability to manage these technologies, there is a project on Codeplex called the SharePoint Toolbox. Per the website, the purpose of this project is as follows:

This project includes powerful and useful tools and add-ons for SharePoint that help developers and IT pros implement SharePoint based solutions more quickly and managed them more effectively. Contributions will come from the Microsoft SharePoint Product Group, Microsoft SharePoint Online Services Group, Microsoft Information Technology Group, and Microsoft Consulting Services Group.

I have personally used the CopyTimer utility  to measure throughput from remote sites to a SharePoint server. It worked well and helped gather some excellent data about the site and global network performance.

Enjoy using these tools and give me some feedback on what you find useful and how SharePoint provides value to your organization.

Oct 27 2008   8:52PM GMT

Did you see this? - (Wire)Sharkfest 2008 videos - including Vint Cerf - now available

Posted by: Troy Tate
Networking, forensics, Security, tools, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Monitoring, web, reporting, Google, internet, IT education, WAN, LAN, performance monitoring, troubleshooting, Performance, Network TAPs, howto, network analysis, Metrics, wireshark, packet capture, research, education, toolkit, man-in-the-middle, analysis

Checkout the Sharkfest 2008 videos at LoveMyTool.com. If you use Wireshark or want to learn network troubleshooting, this is one of the best resources you can have in your toolkit. The videos will give you a better understanding of this tool and other tools out there.

There is even a video of Dr. Vinton G. Cerf, vice president and Chief Internet Evangelist for Google. He is responsible for identifying new enabling technologies and applications on the Internet and other platforms for the company. Widely known as a “Father of the Internet,” Vint is the co-designer with Robert Kahn of TCP/IP protocols and basic architecture of the Internet.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Oct 6 2008   1:12PM GMT

Did you see this? - Process monitor now does TCP/UDP monitoring

Posted by: Troy Tate
administration, Networking, forensics, Security, tools, Microsoft Windows, Monitoring, reporting, internet, LAN, debugging, Data security, malware, performance monitoring, recovery, Microsoft, anti-virus, troubleshooting, Performance, howto, network analysis, Sandbox, packet capture, research, diagnostics, Sysinternals, toolkit, analysis

If you ever need to get under the covers of running Windows processes for investigating why a system is running slow, then the Sysinternals toolkit has an updated tool that will help you. Per the website:

Process Monitor is an advanced monitoring tool for Windows that shows real-time file system, Registry and process/thread activity. It combines the features of two legacy Sysinternals utilities, Filemon and Regmon, and adds an extensive list of enhancements including rich and non-destructive filtering, comprehensive event properties such session IDs and user names, reliable process information, full thread stacks with integrated symbol support for each operation, simultaneous logging to a file, and much more. Its uniquely powerful features will make Process Monitor a core utility in your system troubleshooting and malware hunting toolkit.

Process Monitor runs on Windows 2000 SP4 with Update Rollup 1, Windows XP SP2, Windows Server 2003 SP1, and Windows Vista as well as x64 versions of Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 SP1 and Windows Vista.

I had previously talked about the Sysinternals Live website. This update to one of the excellent tools is well worth your time in investigating. Take a look at the updated tool here. The entire Sysinternals toolset can be found here.

If you have not used these tools yet, then you are definitely missing a critical item for being successful in your IT position. Check them out… it may save your reputation some time!