When you collect performance data from perfmon you have a choice to save the file as a certain format.  The most common format I run across  is .blg.  This format works great when you looking at the performance data through perfmon.  Sometimes though it would be nice to pull this data into excel or another program in order to manipulate the data.  This is were the program from Microsoft called Relog can be used.  It has to be run from the command prompt.  Below is the command that would need to be run in order to convert a .blg file to a .csv file.  The process is quick and easy.

relog filname.blg -f CSV -o newfile.csv

Pingtest.net was just launched to help you determine the quality of your broadband internet connection.  This tool can be used by everybody as the site breaks your test results down for you.  It assigns the letter A-F for your test results.  There is also a grade of N/A if the site can’t determine your connection rating.  The test is composed of packet loss, ping times, and line jitter.  So follow the link below and check out what your connection is graded at.  My personal connection was rated at a C which is what I expected as my ISP does not have the greatest reputation in the world.

Pingtest.net
http://www.pingtest.net/index.php

Pingtest.net Detailed Info
http://www.pingtest.net/learn.php

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

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

This is one of the hardest questions that faces server administrators.  How big do you actually size your page file if you don’t just follow the 1.5 rule.  Clint Huffman has a great post over on his blog on how you figure out what your page file should be.  I can by no means cover it as well as he does so I encourage you to stop by the link below and read his post on how you should set your page file.  He also includes a link from technet on how to troubleshoot memory issues.  The link is a presentation that David Solomon did.  The webcast is about 90 minutes long but I promise it will take you a lot longer to get through it.  Either that or you will have to watch it multiple times to catch all the facts that are in the webcast.  Going through this webcast pushed me over the edge to buy the latest Windows Internals book.  It is focused on Windows Server 2008 and Vista, but there is allot of general knowledge that can be applied to all Microsoft operating systems.

Clint’s Post On Page File
http://blogs.technet.com/clinth/archive/2009/09/03/the-case-of-the-enormous-page-file.aspx

David Solomon’s Webcast
http://www.microsoft.com/emea/spotlight/sessionh.aspx?videoid=64&PUID=0003BFFD88341992

Windows Internals 5 On Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Windows%C2%AE-Internals-Including-Windows-PRO-Developer/dp/0735625301