© 2010 Autodesk

Performance Troublehshooting

Bernd GerstenbergerPerformance Check for the Computer

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© 2009 Autodesk

Agenda

• Not part of this talk is fine tuning of AutoCAD using e.g. system variables.

•Graphic cards are an own theme and can be discussed in a different talk.

1 Theory

2 Microsoft Performance

Monitoring incl. Examples

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A few words about the Task Manager

▪ Well known tool

▪ But not enough information for a solid performance check

▪ Many Parameters like virtual memory are not available

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What is virtual memory?

• Method of extending the available physical memory (RAM) by

writing temporarily on the disk (pagefile or swapfile).

▪ System divides memory into pages:

▪ Recently pages are located in RAM

▪ If a page will not referenced for a while: Swapping to the pagefile.

▪ If this page will used later, the pages will be swapped back to RAM.

▪ Thrashing (Out of memory - error): The system is spending a lot of

time loading and switching between processes. The processor is only

loading and switching threads.

▪ Filling up virtual memory: Instability of AutoCAD

Virtual Memory

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Microsoft 32bit and 64bit: Overview

Memory type Description 32-bit limit 32-bit limit with

3GB Switch

64-bit limit

Virtual memory Extended RAM 4 GB (2 GB for

applications, 2GB

reserved for system

processes)

4 GB (3 GB for

applications, 1 GB

reserverd for system

processes)

8 TB

But only 4 GB for

32bit processes

Paging file size Pagefile.sys 16 TB 16 TB 256 TB

Physical memory

limits: Windows 2008

Server

64 GB 64 GB 2 TB

8 TB (R2)

Physical memory

limits: Windows 7

4 GB 4 GB 192 GB

Physical memory

limits: Vista

4 GB 4 GB 128 GB

Physical memory

limits: XP

4 GB 4 GB 128 GB

© 2009 Autodesk

Windows Performance Monitoring

Tool for a detailed check about the hardware performance

For this you work with the MMC Performance which confirms of

two snap-in’s:

▪ System Monitor

▪ Data Collector Sets

Attention, please:

The names and the look and feel differ between W7 and XP

© 2009 Autodesk

Performance Monitor and Data Collector Sets

Performance Monitor (W7) /

System Monitor (XP)

▪ Looking for real-time-performance

data.

▪ (!) Looking for the performance data

which are saved in a protocol file.

This protocol file you have created

with the snap-in ‘Counter Logs’ (XP)

or ‘Data Collector Sets’ (W7).

Data Collector Sets/Counter Logs• Recording performance data over a

longer time

• Save these data for a later analyzes

in a file.

Reports• Automatically created reports

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A little bit theory…

▪ Windows XP, Vista and 7 are modular, object-

orientated operating systems.

▪ Every subsystem of Windows is an object.

▪ E.g. a CPU is an object, RAM is an object, and

so on.

▪ When your computer runs, these objects

generate performance data. Every object has

multiple monitoring functions. They are called

‘counters’.

▪ For example: the object ‘memory’ has the counters

‘pages/s’. ‘available bytes’, etc.

▪ Furthermore you can divide object into multiple

instances.

▪ For example in a multiprocessor system you can look

for all processors together or for each single processor.

© 2009 Autodesk

Overview

The hierarchy is:

Object → Counter → Instance

Last but not least you can select a computer for monitoring. By default you use the

local computer. So the updated hierarchy is:

Computer → Object → Counter → Instance

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The system monitor / performance monitor

As reported the look and feel between XP on the one side is sometimes different to

Windows Vista and Windows 7 on the other side.

Windows XP

Windows 7

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Data Collector Sets / Counter Logs

▪ You can record performance data over a longer time.

▪ You can save these data for a later analyzes into a file.

Windows XP:

▪ There are 3 protocol functions:

▪ Trace logs: This is good for developers. They can track specific things as side errors. They

see here not only ‘how many’ but also ‘what are the errors’. For us it is not useful.

▪ Alerts: If some parameter are lower or higher of a specific value, you can start some actions

(network message, entry in event protocol, start a specific application, …)

▪ Counter Logs: This is what we need.

Windows 7:

▪ There are 4 sections:

▪ User-defined: With or without a template. This is what we need.

▪ System: Preconfigured settings for System Diagnostics and System Performance, generates reports.

Good for use.

▪ Event Trace Sessions: For software developer

▪ Startup Event Trace Sessions: For software developer

© 2009 Autodesk

Create and run a new performance protocol

Windows XP Windows 7

Start

Performance

Monitor

• Open Control Panel

• Double-click on ‘Administrative

Tools’ and then ‘Performance’

• Select the node ‘Counter Logs’

• Open ‘Control Panel’

• Double-click on ‘Administrative Tools’ and

then ‘Performance Monitor

• Select ‘Data Collector Sets’ and then ‘User

defined’.

Create a new

performance

protocoll

• Right-click into the right frame

and select ‚New protocoll settings‘

from the context-menu.

• Enter a name

• Click on ‚Add indicators…‘

• Add the indicators in the same

way you have done in the system

monitor.

•Right-click ‚User-defined‘ and select ‚New

Collection Set’.

• A wizard will oppen. Enter a name

• Select ‘Create manually (Advanced)’’.

• Click on ‘Next’ and then on ‘Finish’

• Right-Click on the left frame this new

collection set and select ‘New – Data

Collector’.

•Enter a name and check ‘Performance

Counter Data Collector’

•Click ‘Next’

• Click on ‚Add‘ and add the indicators in the

same way you have done in the system

monitor.

© 2009 Autodesk

Create and run a new performance protocol

Windows XP Windows 7

Configure

the new

protocoll

• Select the tab ‚Protocoll files‘.

• Validate that ‚Binary file‘ is selected.

• Watch that by default the protocoll file will be saved in

C:\perflogs (if this folder doesn‘t exist, it will be created). You

can change here path and file-name.

• Select the tab ‚Schedule‘. Here you can define a schedule,

but normally you start amd stop the tracking manually.

• Click ‚Ok‘.

Like XP

Start the

tracking

• Right-click the new protocoll and select ‚Start‘.

• The symbol turns to greenLike XP

© 2009 Autodesk

Create and run a new performance protocol

Windows XP Windows 7

Duration of

the tracking

• The user has to work now for several hours. There is no

disadvantage of a lower performance because of this

tracking.

• Microsoft recommends a duration of one week, but this is

really to long.

• My own experiences: 2 – 3 hours are enough.

Like XP

Stop the

tracking• Righ-click the protocoll and stop it. The symbol turns to red. Like XP

Sending the

tracked data

•The user has now to sent the tracked file to you.

• It is saved by default in C:\perflogs and has the extension

BLG.

Like XP

© 2009 Autodesk

Create and run a new performance protocol

Windows XP Windows 7

Open the

sent data in

the system

monitor

• Open the system monitor.

• Right-click into the system monitor and select ‚Properties‘.

• Select to the tab ‚Source‘.

• Select the option ‚Protocoll files‘ and click on ‚Add…‘.

• Browse to the blg-file and open it.

• Like XP but you

have to add after

opening the blg-file

the indicators which

are saved in the

blg-file on the tab

‚Data‘.

Different

views in the

system

monitor

• Graphic (sometimes)

• Histogramm (never)

• Report (everytime)

• Like XP

Analyze the

data

• The next pages • The next pages

© 2009 Autodesk

Analyze the data

• Normally it is recommended to track the base behaviour of a computer at

a time there is no issue with performance. Later you can compare the

values between the two conditions.

• Ok for an administrator, useless for product support.

The indicators on the next pages are a summary of indicators

that we can use.

© 2009 Autodesk

Object Indicator Analyze Background

Memory Pages/sec > 2: Operations will be

swapped out.

<= 2: All operations

are managed in the

RAM

Memory Pages Faults/sec High performance

computers: > 600:

Operations will be swapped

out.

How many times the

system cannot find

data in the cache

(also for parallel

applications) and has

to search on the hard

disk

Memory Available MBytes < 4 MB: To less RAM How many memory

you have available

Paging file % Usage Peak Nearby 100%: swap file

and/or RAM

to small

Show you how far the

swap file will be used.

Analyze the data

© 2009 Autodesk

Analyze the data

Object Indicator Analyze Background

Physical Disc Avg. Disk Queue

Length

> Count of the hard

disks + 2: Too slow hard

disk system

RAID-systems will be

watched as one disk.

Count of the system

requests which are

waiting for a hard disk

access.

Physical Disc % Disk Time Longer time:

> 90 %:

The hard disk is too

slow

The percentage of the

time while the hard disk

works active on write

and reading requests.

© 2009 Autodesk

Analyze the data

Object Indicator Analyze Background

Processor % Processor Time Longer time (report) > 80

%: processor too slow.

The time in which the

processor is not in idle

time

This parameter you can

analyze for each instance.

System Processor Queue Length Longer time: >= 2:

bottleneck processor

Show you the count of

threads which are waiting

for processor time.

Network Interface Output Queue Length

(instance: active network

card)

> 2: delay The count of packages

which are waiting of

transferring by the network

card. Delays at network

can have different

reasons. Here you have to

check the network.

© 2009 Autodesk

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

• Detecting the bottleneck of the system

• Objective data of analyzes for the customer

• Only 5 minutes of preparation of the customer

Disadvantages:

• No indicator for graphic cards

© 2009 Autodesk

Example 1

Looks like a antagonism:

Bad value for Pages/sec

(>2), but good value for

Available Mbytes

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Example 1

For more information look at the Line

View:

There are only short peaks for pages/sec

with values about 100, not a continous

line with values of 9

Solution: Here is a defect: Using a

special command rises up the values for

pages/sec, but the computer is ok.

© 2009 Autodesk

Example 2

Here the pages/sec

are very high (> 60

pages/sec)

It is a Windows 7

32bit machine there

the 3GB Switch is

not set.

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Example 2

After setting the 3

GB switch the

value of

pages/sec

decreases to less

than 1 pages/sec

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Summary

Performance Monitor for AutoCAD:

▪ For free

▪ For Users

▪ Easy to handle

▪ Good for Warning (you can do some actions)

Windows Performance Monitor:

▪ Already installed on Windows (could be disable by a group policy)

▪ Good for a solid performance check

▪ More complicated

▪ For administrators, supporters and developers

© 2009 Autodesk