Chapter 10
Viewing Server Performance with PerfMon and the PAL Tool
WHAT’S IN THIS CHAPTER?
- When and how to use Windows Performance Monitor
- Prescriptive guidance on problem counters
- Using PAL for log analysis
- Using other log analysis tools
WROX.COM CODE DOWNLOADS FOR THIS CHAPTER
There are no code downloads for this chapter.
INTRODUCTION
Performance Monitor, often referred to as PerfMon, is a tool that provides performance data useful for narrowing the scope of a problem. This data is frequently used as a first point of call for troubleshooting — providing server-wide diagnostics information, PerfMon can be used to eliminate components as the cause of a problem.
PerfMon is often used interactively to provide a real-time view of server performance and resource utilization (such as CPU, memory, and disk activity). PerfMon may also be useful for post-mortem analysis, whereby logs can be configured to record data continuously, rollover, or start/stop at specific intervals. DBAs often find the tool useful when troubleshooting intermittent problems or identifying a problem outside SQL Server (either a hardware problem or a Windows issue).
Engineers familiar with PerfMon typically know a handful of PerfMon counters that can provide an overview of server performance and health. Experienced engineers, well practiced with PerfMon, often take an iterative approach — adding and removing counters as the scope of a problem becomes more refined and troubleshooting is more focused.
It’s important ...
Get Professional SQL Server 2012 Internals and Troubleshooting now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
