Task Manager

The Windows Server 2008 R2 Task Manager is similar to its Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003 predecessors in that it offers multifaceted functionality. You can view and monitor processor, memory, application, network, services, user, and process related information in real time for a given system. This utility is a well-known favorite among IT personnel and is great for getting a quick view of key system health indicators with the lowest performance overhead.

To begin using Task Manager, use any of the following methods:

. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc.

. Right-click on the taskbar and select Start Task Manager.

. Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete and then click Start Task Manager.


The Task Manager window contains the following six tabs:
. Applications—This tab lists the applications that are currently running. You can start and end applications from this tab.

. Processes—On this tab, you can find performance metric information of the processes currently running on the system. Sorting the processes by CPU or memory usage will reveal which processes are consuming the most system resources.

. Services—A recent addition to Windows is the Services tab in Task Manager. Administrators can now see what services are running without having to load Computer Management or the Services Management Console (services.msc) separately.

. Performance—This tab can be a graphical or tabular representation of key system parameters such as kernel usage, paging, CPU cycles, and more—in real time.

. Networking—This tab displays the network traffic coming to and from the machine. The displayed network usage metric is a percentage of total available network capacity for a particular adapter.

. Users—This tab displays users who are currently logged on to the system.

In addition to the Task Manager tabs, the Task Manager is, by default, configured with a status bar at the bottom of the window. This status bar, displays the number of running processes, CPU utilization percentage, and the amount of memory currently being used.

As you can see, Task Manager presents a variety of valuable real-time performance information. This tool is particularly useful for determining what processes or applications are problematic and gives you an overall picture of system health with quick access to terminate applications and processes, or identify potential bottlenecks.

There are limitations, however, which prevent it from becoming a useful tool for long term or historical analysis. For example, Task Manager can’t store collected performance information for future analysis and viewing; it is capable of monitoring only certain aspects of the system’s health, and the information that is displayed pertains only to the local machine. For these reasons alone, Task Manager doesn’t make a prime candidate for capacity planning.

Source of Information : Sams - Windows Server 2008 R2 Unleashed