Windows 2000 Performance Tuning
In the coming weeks I want to take a look at Windows 2000 performance, and what we can do to improve performance, particularly by using Windows 2000 Performance Monitoring features.
Generally you could say that Windows 2000 is a "self-tuning" operating system. In most cases Windows 2000 automatically adapts to perform optimally "out of the box" depending on the environment in which it's running - assuming that the hardware is properly configured. For instance, when you deploy Windows 2000 as a Web server, other services that are also present but not used are put into a state where they occupy very few system resources such as CPU and memory. But performance also depends on many outside factors such as hardware, device drivers, applications, workload, network performance, and so forth. Additionally, there are certain practices and tuning guidelines that can be followed to optimize the performance of Windows 2000 in certain environments.
Performance monitoring on a regular basis will also provide you with information about how your computer system is operating. It can assist you with troubleshooting problems, and you can define a baseline of your system's performance under typical operating conditions. This baseline will give you the data you need when planning for future growth.
The primary monitoring tools in Windows 2000 are the Performance console and Task Manager. The Performance console gives you detailed information, which can be used for troubleshooting and bottleneck analysis. Task Manager, on the other hand, offers an overview of system activity and performance. We will be working mostly with the Performance console.
You can access the Performance console from the Administrative Tools menu. You can access the Administrative Tools from the Control Panel, or from the Programs menu. If the Administrative Tools are not listed on the Programs menu, you can add them as follows:
- Right-click an empty space on the Taskbar, and select Properties
- From the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties select the Advanced tab
- Under Start Menu Settings, select the Display Administrative Tools check box and click OK
Starting Performance Logging
To start performance logging, start the Performance console from the Programs menu, and double-click the Performance Logs and Alerts to display the available tools.
To start a performance log, select the name of the tool (Counter Logs, Trace Logs, or Alerts). Logs or alerts that have been defined will appear in the details pane. Windows 2000 has a counter log included as a sample, called System Overview. To setup a new log, right-click in the details pane, and select New Log Settings from the menu.
In the first article of this series, I'll take a look at disk performance.