Monitor (Resource Kit)

Control Performance Monitor logging from the command line, this removes the graphical workload of Perfmon from the server making the reported values more accurate.
The Data Logging Service (DATALOG.EXE) is a Windows NT Service that performs the same function as the Performance Monitor Alert and Logging facility.

Syntax
      MONITOR setup

      MONITOR %SYSTEMROOT%\SYSTEM32\MyLogSet.PMW

      MONITOR start

      MONITOR stop

Key
   SETUP is needed once only to install the service.
   Use START and STOP to Start/Stop logging.
   Save .PMW files from the PERFMON GUI under the file menu.

Any graphical process running on a server will affect performance to some degree, most interactive programs (in particular the command prompt) will run faster when minimised.

Monitoring Hard Drives
To enable performance counters run:
diskperf -y
This enables the objects and counters for logical and physical disks .

To enable performance counters for a striped array run:
diskperf -ye

To disable performance counters run:
diskperf -N
or set in the registry HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\PerfDisk\Performance
REG_DWORD 'Disable' = 1

Monitoring drive performance with perfmon will itself have a small impact on performance, any changes require a reboot and any errors will be logged in the event viewer. Disable perfmon when tuning is complete.

Alternatives:
Monitoring a server by running Performance Monitor from a remote workstation is a good alternative to the Data Logging Service that still gives accurate figures (and you don't need the resource kit to do this).

"Quality in a product or service is not what the supplier puts in. It is what the customer gets out and is willing to pay for" - Peter Drucker

Related Commands:

LOGEVENT - Write text to the event viewer.