Using Performance Monitor to Monitor Processor Activity

You can use PerfLog to log data from the following counters automatically on a regular or periodic basis, or use Performance Monitor to log the System and Processor objects.

Table 6.1 Performance Monitor Counters for Processor Activity

Counter

Indicates

System: Processor Queue Length

Threads waiting for processor time. If this value exceeds 2 for a sustained period of time, the processor may be a bottleneck.

System: % Total Processor Time

The sum of processor use on each processor divided by the number of processors.

Processor: % Processor Time

Processor use on each processor. This counter reveals unequal distribution of processor load.

Processor: % Privileged Time

Proportion of the processor's time spent in privileged mode. In Windows NT, only privileged mode code has direct access to hardware and to all memory in the system. The Windows NT Executive runs in privileged mode. Application threads can be switched to privileged mode to run operating system services.

Processor: % User Time

Proportion of the processor's time spent in user mode. User mode is the processor mode in which applications, like the IIS services, run.

Process: % Processor Time

The processor use attributable to each processor.


You can use the preceding Performance Monitor counters to monitor general processor performance. These counters are included in IISProc.pmw, a Performance Monitor workspace settings file on the Windows NT Server Resource Kit Supplement 1 CD.