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

19-28 Chapter 19 Monitoring and Optimizing System Performance
Chapter Summary
■ Task Manager provides information about the programs and processes running on
your computer and the performance of your computer. You can use Task Manager
to start programs, to stop programs and processes, and to see a current view of
your computer’s performance. Task Manager contains four tabs:
❑ The Applications tab lets you view and terminate running applications.
❑ The Processes tab lets you view and terminate running processes. You can
also assign process priority and processor affinity on this tab.
❑ The Performance tab provides a real-time view of CPU, RAM, and virtual
memory performance.
❑ The Networking tab indicates the current network traffic on various network
connections on the computer.
■ The Performance console consists of two tools: the System Monitor snap-in, which
tracks resource use and network throughput in real time, and the Performance
Logs And Alerts snap-in, which collects performance data over time and can have
Windows XP alert you when a particular performance threshold is crossed.
Exam Highlights
Key Points
Before taking the exam, review the key points and terms that are presented in this
chapter. You need to know this information.
■ Task Manager can show real-time information about the CPU, RAM, and virtual
memory, but the measurements are fairly limited. To collect more detailed information,
use the Performance console. The Performance console also allows you to
collect performance data over a longer period.
■ Changing the base priority of an application can be useful on application or file
servers, but you should use caution when changing priorities on a desktop computer.
Setting the base priority too high can result in unstable system performance
or loss of data.
■ Memorize the counters mentioned in this chapter, and understand the values of
each counter that indicate a potential problem. In particular, you should remember
the three default counters used in System Monitor: Pages/sec, Avg. Disk
Queue Length, and %Processor Time.