Windows Performance Monitor

The Performance Monitor in Windows Server 2008 R2, has been modified since Windows Server 2008 as it no longer includes the Reliability Monitor snapin. The Performance Monitor is composed of three main components: monitoring tools such as Performance Monitor, Data Collector Sets, and a reporting component. The Performance Monitor can be launched from within the Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Manager or from the Start, All Programs, Administrative Tools menu.

Using Performance Monitor, administrators can identify bottlenecks and pinpoint resource issues with applications, processes, or hardware. Monitoring these items can help identify and resolve issues, plan for capacity changes, and help establish baselines that can be used for analysis in the future. Upon launching the Performance Monitor, a summary of system performance is displayed, showing current memory, disk, processor, and network loads.


Performance Monitor
Many IT professionals rely on the Performance Monitor because it is bundled with the operating system, and it allows you to capture and monitor every measurable system object within Windows Server 2008 R2. Using the tool involves little effort to become familiar with it. You can find and start the Performance Monitor from within the Performance Monitor program under Monitoring Tools in the console view. The Performance Monitor, is by far the best utility provided in the operating system for capacity-analysis purposes. With this utility, you can analyze data from virtually all aspects of the system both in real time and historically. This data analysis can be viewed through charts, reports, and logs. The log format can be stored for use later so that you can scrutinize data from succinct periods of time.


Data Collector Sets
As mentioned previously, Data Collector Sets are a collective grouping of items to be monitored. You can use one of the predefined sets or create your own to group together
items that you want to monitor. Data Collector Sets are useful for several reasons. First, data collectors can be a common theme or a mix of items. For example, you could have
one Data Collector Set that monitors only memory or a Data Collector Set that contains a myriad of items such as memory, disk usage, processor time, and more. Data Collector Sets can also be scheduled to run when needed.


Reports
As previously discussed, the Performance Monitor includes an updated reporting mechanism and several template performance and diagnostic reports for use. In addition, reports can also be created manually or generated from Data Collector Sets. Three system reports are included for diagnosing and assessing system performance: LAN Diagnostics, System Diagnostics, and System Performance. The following steps outline the process to view a System Diagnostics report.

To create and view reports in Performance Monitor, do the following:
1. Expand Data Collector Sets and System in the console tree of Performance Monitor.

2. Right-click on either the System Diagnostics or System Performance sets and select Start. Windows will begin collecting data for the report.

3. When you have collected enough data, right-click the collection set again, and select Stop.

4. Expand Reports, System and click the collection set you chose earlier. Double-click the report listed under that performance set.

5. The report will be compiled and displayed.

Source of Information : Sams - Windows Server 2008 R2 Unleashed