Viewing data collector reports
When you’re troubleshooting problems, you’ll often want to log
performance data over an extended period of time and
then review the data to analyze the results. For each data collector
that has been or is currently active, you’ll find related data collector reports. As with data collector sets
themselves, data collector reports are usually organized into two
general categories: user-defined and system.
To view data collector reports in Performance Monitor, expand
the Reports node and then expand the individual report node for the
data collector you want to analyze. Under the data collector’s
report node, you’ll find individual reports for each logging
session, as shown in Figure 19. A logging
session begins when logging starts and ends when logging is
stopped.
The most recent log is the one with the highest log number. To
view a log and analyze its related data graphically, double-tap or
double-click it. Keep in mind that if a data collector is actively logging, you won’t be able to view the most recent
log. You can stop collecting data by pressing and holding or
right-clicking a data collector set and selecting Stop. Collected
data is shown by default in a graph view from the start of data
collection to the end of data collection. Only counters that you
selected for logging will be available. If a report doesn’t have a
counter that you want to work with, you need to modify the data
collector properties, restart the logging process, and then check
the logs again.
Note
Open the most recent report for a data collector set directly
by pressing and holding or right-clicking a data collector set and
then selecting Latest Report. This shortcut works only if reports
are available.
Save a data collector set as a template that can be used on the current server as
well as other servers by pressing and holding or right-clicking a
data collector set and then selecting Save Template. Next, in the
Save As dialog box, select a save location, type a name for the
template, and then tap or click Save.
You can modify the report details using the following techniques:
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In Performance Monitor, press and hold or right-click
the Performance Monitor node and then select Properties. In the
Performance Monitor Properties dialog box, tap or click the
Source tab.
-
Specify data sources to analyze. Under Data Source, select
Log Files and then tap or click Add to open the Select Log File
dialog box. You can now select an additional log file to
analyze.
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Specify the time window that you want to analyze. Tap or
click Time Range, and then drag the Total Range bar to specify
the appropriate starting and ending times. Drag the left edge to
the right to move up the start time. Drag the right edge to the left
to move down the end time.
-
Tap or click the Data tab. You can now select counters to
view. Select a counter, and then tap or click Remove to remove
it from the graph view. Tap or click Add to display the Add
Counter dialog box, which you can use to select the counters
that you want to analyze.
-
Tap or click OK. In the monitor pane, tap or click the
Change Graph Type button to select the type of graphing.
