Archives for September 2009

Server Ping Gadget

Sep 252009

I am always looking for new gadgets to add to my Vista and Windows 7 desktop. I recently ran across the server ping gadget. The great thing about this gadget is its simple and straight forward. The free version allows you to monitor up to five servers. You can specify the refresh rate and timeout limit for the ping status. The best feature like is the simple red and green traffic light system it uses. At a quick glance you can see if your servers are up or down. There is also a pro version that you can buy which will support up to twenty five servers. Check out the links below to find out more about this great gadget.

Windows Live Link For Server Ping
http://gallery.live.com/liveItemDetail.aspx?li=ca5fc597-58cf-4c73-864a-3bd021a2a570

Server Ping Pro Version Link
http://gadgetdev.blogspot.com/2008/02/server-ping-15.html

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Perfmon Spreadsheet

performance No Responses »

Sep 252009

Jimmy May has a great post over on his website that goes along with my last post about performance counters. Jimmy works allot with SQL performance but also included some of the Vital Signs information is his spreadsheet. Below is the link for the post which as that spreadsheet attached to it. I would get over and download and keep it tucked away on your desktop so you can look like a genius.

Jimmy May’s Performance Post – Spreadsheet Attached In Post
http://blogs.msdn.com/jimmymay/archive/2008/10/15/perfmon-objects-counters-thresholds-utilities-for-sql-server.aspx

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Know Your Servers Pulse

Learning, performance No Responses »

Sep 232009

One of the big things we struggle with as an administrator is keeping a pulse on what our servers are doing. Perfmon can be pretty overwhelming if you don’t know what you need to concentrate on. Microsoft has designed a class to help you called Vital Signs. This class is currently only for customers with Premier service contracts. So if you are not one of those customers you will have to wait. If you do happen to have the opportunity to take the class I recommend it. In the meantime there has been a great article that has been put out on TechNet that gives you an overview of what you should be watching. Not only does this article tell you what to watch but it also gives you an idea of what the thresholds should be. It also goes into detail on when you should measure it and also how to tweak Perfmon so your graphs are readable in XP\Server 2003. Stop over and check the article out and let me know what you think.

TechNet Article – Taking Your Server’s Pulse
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2008.08.pulse.aspx?pr=blog

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