Tracking the overall reliability of the server
You can use Performance Monitor and Reliability Monitor to
track the overall reliability of a server. Performance Monitor
graphically displays statistics for the set of performance
parameters you selected for display. These performance parameters
are referred to as counters. When you install
additional roles, role services, and features on a system,
Performance Monitor might be updated with a set of counters for tracking performance of the related
components. You can update counters when you install additional
services and applications as well.
Performance Monitor, shown in Figure 7, creates a
graph depicting the counters you’re tracking. The update interval
for this graph is configurable but is set to one second by default.
Tracking information is most valuable when you record performance
information in a log file so that it can be played back. When you
create alerts, you can notify yourself or others anytime specific
performance criteria are met.
You can start Performance Monitor by selecting the related
option on the Server Manager Tools menu. Alternatively, type Performance Monitor in the Apps Search box
and press Enter.
Reliability Monitor, shown in Figure 8, tracks
changes to the server and compares them to changes in system
stability. In this way, you can see a graphical representation of the relationship between
changes in the system configuration and changes in system stability.
By recording software installation, software removal, application
failure, hardware failure, and Windows failure events, as well as
key events regarding the configuration of the server, you can see a
timeline of changes in both the server and its reliability and then use this information to pinpoint
changes that are causing problems with stability. For example, if
you see a sudden drop in stability, you can tap or click a data
point and then expand the related data set, such as Application
Failure or Windows Failure, to find the specific event that caused
the drop in stability.
Important
Use the Save Reliability History option to save complete
details about the server’s stability for future reference. The
information is saved as a Reliability Monitor report and is formatted as XML.
Tap or click Save Reliability History, and then use the dialog box
provided to select a save location and file name for the report.
You can view the report in Windows Internet Explorer by
double-tapping or double-clicking the file.
You can access Reliability Monitor from Action Center. On the
desktop, tap or click the Action Center icon and then tap or click
Open Action Center. In Action Center, expand the Maintenance panel,
and then tap or click View Reliability History. Alternatively, you
can open Reliability Monitor by entering perfmon /rel at a command prompt or in the
Apps Search box.
Although reliability monitoring is enabled by default for
Windows clients, it might be disabled for Windows servers. When you
open Reliability Monitor on a server where reliability monitoring is
disabled, you’ll see that no reliability updates or history details
are available. To enable reliability tracking, you must allow the
Microsoft Reliability Analysis task, RacTask, to
process system reliability data.
RacTask is a scheduled task that runs in the
background to collect reliability data. You’ll find RacTask in the Task
Scheduler library under Microsoft, Windows, RAC. On servers, this task is best
used as part of troubleshooting. If you enable the task for
troubleshooting, review and modify the default triggers as
appropriate for your environment. By default, the task is triggered
at startup, once a day at 5:00 PM, and whenever event 1007 is
written to the application log. Event 1007 tracks Custer Experience
Improvement Program events, which Microsoft tracks to help improve
the overall stability of Windows and Windows Server. Don’t enable
RacTask without considering the possible performance impact.
