Q313064: HOW TO: Monitor Web Server Performance by Using Counter Logs
Article: Q313064
Product(s): Internet Information Server
Version(s): 5.0
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s): kbenv kbAudITPro kbHOWTOmaster
Last Modified: 06-AUG-2002
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Internet Information Services version 5.0
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IN THIS TASK
------------
- SUMMARY
- How to Create a Counter Log
- How to Configure a Counter Log
- How to Choose Counters
- REFERENCES
SUMMARY
=======
This step-by-step article describes how to create and configure counter logs in
System Monitor so that you can monitor Web server performance.
In System Monitor, you can create logs to automatically collect server activity
data at specified intervals. You can then use this data to help you identify the
cause of delays, and to tune your server for optimal performance.
System Monitor uses counters to track the activity of specific objects (services
or mechanisms that control server resources). In addition to the objects and
counters that are included with Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Internet
Information Services (IIS) 5.0 installs counters that monitor Web server
performance. These counters include global IIS counters, Web service counters,
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) service counters, and Active Server Pages (ASP)
program counters. Global IIS counters monitor the activity of all IIS services,
such as bandwidth usage and caching. Web service, FTP service, and ASP program
counters monitor connection activity.
How to Create a Counter Log
---------------------------
To create a counter log:
1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click
Performance.
2. Double-click "Performance Logs and Alerts" in the console tree, and then
click Counter Logs.
3. Right-click an empty area in the right details pane.
4. Type a name for the log in the New Log Settings dialog box, and then click
OK.
5. Click the General tab, and then click Add.
6. Click the object that you want to monitor (for example, click Web Service) in
the "Performance object" box, click either "All counters" or "Select counters
from list", and then click the counter or counters that you want to log.
NOTE: To view a description of a counter, click the counter, and then click
Explain.
7. To monitor all instances of the selected counter, click "All instances". To
monitor specific instances of the selected counters, click "Select instances
from list", and then click the instances that you want to monitor.
8. Click Add.
9. Repeat step 6 through step 8 to add the counters that you want to log. When
you are finished, click Close.
10. Specify the value that you want in the Interval box, and then click the unit
of time that you want in the Unit box.
11. Click OK.
How to Configure a Counter Log
------------------------------
To configure a counter log:
1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click
Performance.
2. Double-click "Performance Logs and Alerts" in the console tree, and then
click Counter Logs.
3. Double-click the log that you want to configure in the right details pane.
4. Click the Log Files tab, and then specify the options that you want by
performing any of the following steps:
- Accept the default location or specify the location that you want for the
log file in the "Log file name" box, and then specify the log file name
options that you want.
- Specify the format that you want for the log file in the "Log file type"
box. For example, "Binary File".
- Specify whether you want to limit the size of the log file in the "Log
file size" box.
5. Click the Schedule tab, and then use the following steps:
a. To configure logging in the "Start log" box:
- To configure the logging to start manually, click "Manually (using the
shortcut menu)".
-or-
- To configure the logging to start at a specified time and date, click
At, and then specify the time and date that you want the logging to
start.
b. Use the following steps to configure the information in the "Stop log"
box:
- Click "Manually (using the shortcut menu)" to manually stop the
logging.
-or-
- Click After, and then specify a period of time after which the logging
automatically stops.
-or-
- Click At, and then specify the time and date that you want the logging
to stop.
-or-
- Click "When the <size> log file is full", where <size> is
the log file size limit that you set on the Log Files tab. This option
is available only if you specify a log file size limit in the "Limit
of" box on the Log Files tab.
c. Specify the option that you want (if any) in the "When a log file closes"
box.
6. Click OK.
How to Choose Counters
----------------------
There are hundreds of counters from which you can choose to monitor server
activity. The following list describes the counters that are useful for
monitoring the load on your Web server, and provides ideal values for each.
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Object or counter | Ideal value |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Memory or pages per second | Zero to 20 (indicates trouble if over 80) |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Memory or available bytes | At least 4 megabytes (MB) |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Memory or committed bytes | Not more than 75 percent of physical memory size |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Memory or pool nongpaged bytes | Steady (a slow rise may indicate a memory leak) |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Processor or percent of processor time | Less than 75 percent |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Processor or system processor queue length | Less than 2 |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Disk (logical or physical) or percent disk time | As low as possible |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Disk (logical or physical) or queue length | Less than 2 |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Disk (logical or physical) or average disk bytes per transfer | As high as possible |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| IIS global or cache hits percent | As high as possible |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Web service or bytes total per second | As high as possible |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ASP or request wait time | As low as possible |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ASP or requests queued | Zero |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ASP or transactions per second | As high as possible |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
REFERENCES
==========
For additional information about how to create and use counter logs in which to
monitor server performance, click the article numbers below to view the articles
in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q248345 How to Create a Log Using System Monitor in Windows 2000
Q302521 HOW TO: Manage Performance Monitor Counters
Q243423 How to View a System Monitor Log
Q238145 How to Monitor Bandwidth Throttling
For additional information about how to enable IIS logging, click the article
number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q300390 HOW TO: Enable IIS Logging Site Activity
For additional information about how to optimize IIS, click the article numbers
below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q308186 HOW TO: Optimize Web Server Performance
Q305313 Optimizing Internet Information Services 5.0
For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in
the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q323312 HOW TO: Create an IIS Baseline by Using Log Analysis
For additional information about how to gather individual baseline information,
click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge
Base:
Q323314 HOW TO: Create an IIS Baseline by Using the Memory Object
Q323315 HOW TO: Create an IIS Baseline by Using the Processor Object
Q323316 HOW TO: Create an IIS Baseline by Using the Active Server Pages
Object
Q323317 HOW TO: Create an IIS Baseline by Using the Web Service Object
Q323701 HOW TO: Create an IIS Baseline by Using the Process Object
Additional query words:
======================================================================
Keywords : kbenv kbAudITPro kbHOWTOmaster
Technology : kbiisSearch kbiis500
Version : :5.0
Issue type : kbhowto
=============================================================================
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