Subscribe to SoftLogica
Newsletter to get 10% discount on newly
released products!
Collecting Performance Counters Statistics
Collecting Performance Counters Statistics
When you test a web server and something goes wrong, you should find the source of the problem. To investigate
the problem, it is necessary to monitor the key performance
parameters of a tested web server, in particular: the load
on processor (CPU utilization), percentage of used physical memory, percentage of used disk space and
server network interfaces speed.
WAPT Pro offers you a way to monitor web server performance using special
performance counters.
There are several counters that will help you monitor the work of a tested web server:
CPU counter
measures the load on processor (CPU utilization). Memory counter
measures the percentage of used physical memory (memory utilization). Disk counter
measures the percentage of used disk space (disk utilization). Network counter
measures the network cards bandwidth (server network interfaces speed).
Besides, if your web server sends requests to some database server, you should also monitor the performance
of database server. WAPT Pro
supports monitoring of two types of database servers: MS SQL and
Oracle. Database performance parameters are obtained from the database itself through the ODBC interface.
SQL requests for basic MS SQL and Oracle counters are predefined in the program. You can also add your own specific
requests for any additional data available in your database through ODBC.
It is a good practice to collect performance counters statistics during test runs to view
the evolution of the system and
predict its further development. For example, if you experience a constant growth of the number of customers
visiting your web site, one day you will probably notice a 100% CPU load on your web site or database and will
need to do an urgent hardware upgrade. If you could take a look at the CPU load parameter from time to time and
noticed that it was growing constantly, you would probably prepare for that upgrade in advance.
If you wish to collect performance counters statistics during test run, switch to the
Performance Counters view where you can check the options to collect two types of performance counters:
Web server performance counters and SQL performance counters.
Web Server Performance Counters
Collect server performance counters statistics: Turn this option on to collect web server performance counters
during the tests.
There are several counters that will help you monitor the work of a web server:
CPU counter,
Memory counter,
Disk counter and
Network counter.
Monitoring is carried out
by means of SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) or WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation)
that can get the necessary information about a remote system.
Server: Here you should enter the name of a tested server or its IP address.
Mode:WAPT Pro can use either WMI or SNMP protocol
to obtain performance counters data from the web server.
For WMI mode you should specify a username and password for authorization. Or you can check the option
Use current user security context to use the logon information of the currently logged on user.
For SNMP mode you can enter the name of some SNMP community. SNMP default community is "public".
Test performance counters collection: Click this button to test the settings you have just specified.
If the settings are correct, you will see that all counters are "OK". Otherwise, if you specified the wrong settings,
the program will be unable to establish a connection to the tested server.
Values of performance counters are included in generated reports and graphs,
so you can see how these parameters were changing during the test.
Values of
CPU counter, Memory counter and Disk counter
are displayed in the Performance Data report,
HTML Report
and on the Summary Graphs (on the Performance tab).
Collect SQL performance counters statistics: Turn this option on to collect SQL performance counters for
a tested database server (MS SQL or Oracle) during the tests.
DSN: Here you should specify a Data Source Name (DSN) - a name used for establishing a connection with a database
server via ODBC.
Note that a specified DSN should be added to the list of ODBC User Data Sources beforehand. For this,
you should enter the Windows Start menu, select Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Data
Sources (ODBC)
and add a desired User Data Source. Then you will be able to use that data source in the DSN field of the
Performance Counters view.
User, Password: Specify a username and password for authorization.
Test ODBC connection:
Database performance parameters are obtained from the database itself through the ODBC interface.
Click this button to test the ODBC connection.
Mode: Select MS SQL mode if you wish to test a MS SQL server, or Oracle mode
if you wish to test an Oracle server.
SQL requests for basic MS SQL and Oracle counters are predefined in the program.
You cannot modify or delete them. You can only change their values of
polling interval (an interval between the previous and the next monitoring).
To change the value of polling interval for some counter, double-click on that counter in the list (or select it
and click the Edit button).
In the displayed dialog, enter a desired value of polling interval and click OK.
You can also add your own specific requests for any additional data available in your database through ODBC.
Add:
Adds a new counter. In the displayed dialog, enter a name, SQL query and a value of
polling interval for the new counter.
Edit: Opens a dialog with the properties of selected counter. You can edit the properties of custom SQL
counters (created by you).
For basic SQL counters, you can only change the value of polling interval.
Delete: Deletes a selected SQL counter. Note that you cannot delete basic SQL counters.
Test: Use this button to test a selected SQL counter. The program will check that the
SQL query is specified correctly
and it is possible to extract the value using that query.
Values of SQL performance counters are included
in the Performance Data
report and HTML Report,
so you can see how these parameters were changing during the test.
If you monitor the performance of MS SQL server, you will need
to update server statistics regularly. This can be done automatically if you create a
job
in Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio and define the necessary scheduling options.
Products
CPU counter
measures the load on processor (CPU utilization).
