Performance Monitoring
Monitoring the performance of your Windows 2000 Professional system is an important part of a preventive maintenance program. Monitoring enables you to obtain performance data useful in diagnosing system problems and in planning for future system resources demands, such as CPU, disk, and memory subsystems. Windows 2000 Professional provides the user with several performance-monitoring tools to accomplish these tasks.For more information about how performance monitoring works, which tools are used when, and how it can help you diagnose problems and prepare for anticipated changes in system workload, see "Overview of Performance Monitoring" in this book.
Evaluating Memory and Cache Usage
Windows 2000 Professional provides several tools, including the Performance console, to assess available memory and to observe the effects of memory shortage, a common cause of poor computer performance. You can also monitor the effectiveness of the current file system cache. In addition, Windows 2000 Professional offers tools to investigate memory problems caused by applications that have not been optimized.For more information about monitoring the system's use of memory and cache, as well as evaluating the results, see "Evaluating Memory and Cache Usage" in this book.
Analyzing Processor Activity
Windows 2000 Professional offers tools that enable you to monitor processor activity and determine whether a busy processor is efficiently handling its workload or if it might be overwhelmed. These tools use performance counters to measure processing activity and can help identify bottleneck issues that, if resolved, can improve overall system performance.For more information about monitoring and evaluating processor performance, as well as determining factors that might improve performance, see "Analyzing Processor Activity" in this book.
Examining and Tuning Disk Performance
In Windows 2000 Professional, the disk subsystem handles the storage and movement of programs and data on your system. As disks are several orders of magnitude slower than memory, their performance has a major impact on your system's overall responsiveness. You can use tools that use disk-specific performance counters that enable you to measure disk activity and throughput, determine which programs are putting the greatest demand on your disk system, and develop strategies to improve disk performance.For more information about analyzing and improving the performance of the disk subsystem, see "Examining and Tuning Disk Performance" in this book.