Performance Monitor Configuration: A Step-By-Step Guide

Performance Monitor is a Windows tool that allows users to view and analyse application and hardware data to fix system performance-related problems. It is a powerful and often underutilised tool that can be used to monitor resource usage and server processes. Performance Monitor can be opened in three ways: through the Start menu, using the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut, or using the Windows key + X shortcut to open the Power User menu. Once opened, users can add counters to monitor specific applications and hardware performance. This includes monitoring processor activity, RAM usage, and network adapter performance. Performance Monitor also includes Data Collector Sets, which allow users to create custom sets containing performance counters and alerts based on specific criteria.

How to open Performance Monitor

To open the Performance Monitor on Windows, you can use the following methods:

Method 1: Open it through searching

Use the Windows+F keyboard shortcut to open the search box in the Start Menu. Type "perfmon" and click on "perfmon" in the results.

Method 2: Turn on Performance Monitor via Run

Use the Windows+R keyboard shortcut to open the Run dialog box. Type "perfmon" or "perfmon.exe" or "perfmon.msc" and tap OK.

Method 3: Open it from Command Prompt

Right-click the bottom-left corner of your screen to open the Quick Access Menu, and choose Command Prompt to open it. Then, type "perfmon.exe" and hit Enter.

Method 4: Open the tool from Windows PowerShell

Click the bottom-left Start button, enter "powershell" and tap Windows PowerShell to access it. Then, input "perfmon.msc" and tap Enter.

Method 5: Open Performance Monitor from Administrative Tools

Click the Start button, type "administrative tools" and click on Administrative Tools. Find and double-click on Performance Monitor in the tools.

How to use Data Collector Sets

Data Collector Sets are groups of performance counters, event logs, and system information that can be used to collect multiple data sets on-demand or over a time period. They can be created and configured by an administrator or automatically created by the operating system, applications, and components.

To create a custom Data Collector Set:

• Open the Reliability and Performance Monitor in Server Manager by selecting Start, Administrative Tools, and then Server Manager.
• Expand the Diagnostics, Reliability and Performance, and Data Collector Sets nodes.
• Right-click User Defined and choose New, then Data Collector Set. This will launch the New Data Collector Set Wizard.
• Enter a descriptive name for the Data Collector Set and choose the Create Manually option.
• Select the types of data you want to collect, such as Performance Counter and System Configuration Information.
• Click Next and add the performance counters you want to monitor, such as % Processor Time.
• Keep the default sample interval or adjust as needed.
• Click Finish to save the Data Collector Set.

To run a custom Data Collector Set:

• Right-click the Data Collector Set and select Start to begin collecting data.
• To stop collecting data, right-click the Data Collector Set and select Stop.
• To schedule a time to start and stop collecting data, refer to Schedule Data Collection in Windows Performance Monitor.

To view the data collected by the Data Collector Set:

• Expand the Data Collector Sets and User Defined folders in the navigation pane.
• Right-click the Data Collector Set and select View Performance Counter Data.

You can also create a Data Collector Set using a template or through the Performance Monitor.

How to add new counters

To add new counters to monitor applications and hardware performance on your computer, follow these steps:

Firstly, click the green plus button above the Performance Monitor graph. This will allow you to monitor any counters you wish in real time. Then, select Local Computer or the name of your computer from the drop-down menu.

Next, select and expand the category of the item you want to monitor. For example, if you want to monitor your network adapter, select the "Network Adapter" category. You can then select the counters you want to monitor, such as Bytes Total/sec. If you want to add multiple counters, press and hold the Ctrl key and click to select each item you want to add. You can also check the Show description option to get more information about the counter you're selecting.

If applicable, select the instances you want to monitor. For example, on Network Adapter, you can monitor one or multiple network adapters simultaneously.

Finally, click the Add button, and then click OK to confirm and add the new counters.

How to customise the Performance Monitor view

Once you have configured all the counters you want to monitor, you can also customise various aspects of the data shown in the graph.

To customise the Performance Monitor view, follow these steps:

• Double-click one of the counters to open the Performance Monitor Properties window.
• On the "Data" tab, select the counter you want to customise.
• At the bottom, choose the colour, scale, width, and style you want to use.
• Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each item you want to customise.

Additionally, you can also change the graph's style by clicking the "Change graph type" in the toolbar and selecting one of the available views, including Line, Histogram bar, and Report.

There are three display options: Report, Line, and Histogram. To switch between the views, select the graph type button drop-down and select the preferred view.

The report option is useful as it shows all the numerical values for all the selected counters. This can be really helpful when you have a lot of counters that you understand at the same time. One nice thing with report view is that you don’t have to worry about adjusting scaling as you do on the line view.

The histogram view is useful when displaying multiple instances of the same counter to see their relative differences.

The line view is the typical view used with the performance monitor. This displays a line on the graph for each counter that you are monitoring. Each counter is auto-scaled when you add it to the monitor, and a colour is selected. The line view is used to show trends that are occurring over time. It can also be used to visually correlate the changes in several counter values to each other. One challenge with the line view is that if you have many counters in the monitor, it can be hard to distinguish between the lines.

How to set up Business Central performance counters

To set up Business Central performance counters, you need to use the Windows Performance Monitor (PerfMon). This tool allows you to monitor resource usage and server processes, gathering detailed performance information such as CPU usage, memory usage, and more.

• Start by opening the Windows Performance Monitor. You can do this by searching for "perfmon" in the Start menu or using the Windows key + R shortcut to open the Run command and typing "perfmon".
• In the Performance Monitor window, navigate to the "Monitoring Tools" section in the left-hand pane and select "Performance Monitor".
• In the console pane toolbar, click the "Add" button.
• In the "Add Counters" window, select the computer running Business Central Server from the "Select counters from computer" drop-down list.
• In the "Available counters" list, expand "Business Central" and select the specific counters you want to monitor. You can select one or more counters depending on your requirements.
• In the "Instances of selected object" list, choose the Business Central Server instances you want to include. You can select multiple instances or "All instances" to monitor all instances.
• Click the "Add" button and then "OK" to confirm your selections.
• Click "OK" again to finalise the setup.

Now, the Windows Performance Monitor will display real-time data for the counters you have selected. You can also create custom "Data Collector Sets" to capture performance metrics over a specified period, allowing you to identify trends and analyse the overall performance of your system.

Frequently asked questions