MCSA/MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-270): Installing ...

24-4 Chapter 24 Monitoring and Optimizing System Performance and Reliability
Objective 4.1
Monitor, Optimize, and
Troubleshoot Performance of the
Windows XP Professional
Desktop
Windows XP Professional has been designed to provide the optimum performance on
any hardware configuration without any adjustments. In fact, most users never need to
monitor or modify the performance of their Windows XP system. There are also times
when an administrator who has a detailed understanding of system performance monitoring
and tuning can improve a system’s performance. For these administrators, Windows
XP provides a suite of tools useful for monitoring, analyzing, and tuning system
performance characteristics.
The most commonly used tool is the Task Manager, which displays real-time information
about network utilization and users in addition to monitoring applications, processes,
and performance. The Performance console is a more powerful utility for
analyzing system performance because it provides real-time information about hundreds
of detailed aspects of the system’s performance—including memory utilization,
shared folders, and network errors. You can also use the Performance console to alert
when counters reach a specific threshold, which enables you to detect impending
problems such as low disk space or high memory utilization before they cause the
computer to slow down.
Windows XP Professional provides the Scheduled Tasks to allow tasks to be executed
when the computer is not being actively used. If you prefer, you can use the AT command-line
utility to schedule tasks.