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Tuning and Sizing Windows 2000 for Maximum Performance
- By Curt Aubley
- Published Dec 20, 2000 by Pearson.
Book
- Sorry, this book is no longer in print.
Description
- Copyright 2001
- Dimensions: K
- Pages: 640
- Edition: 1st
- Book
- ISBN-10: 0-13-089105-3
- ISBN-13: 978-0-13-089105-1
- Maximize Windows 2000 Server performance and scalability-through a hands-on, step-by-step approach that provides immediate solutions to your performance issues
- Practical "rules of thumb" for identifying and resolving performance bottlenecks
- Specific techniques for optimizing file servers, backup servers, IIS, SQL Server, and Microsoft Exchange
- Covers sizing and optimizing the latest hardware technology
- Exclusive management scripts for tracking performance and availability
- By one of the world's leading Windows 2000 benchmarking and performance experts!
- Specific recommendations for Windows 2000 tuning and sizing: hardware and software
- Practical rules of thumb for tracking and eliminating Windows 2000 bottlenecks
- Exclusive management scripts for tracking performance and availability
- Learn where to start when sizing systems for your Windows 2000 solutions
- Optimizing file servers, IIS 5 Web servers, and backup servers
- Optimizing Microsoft Exchange
- Optimizing SQL Server
- Unlock all of the Windows 2000, back office application, and hardware options to improve your solutions performance!
The complete, hands-on, experience-based guide to configuring Windows 2000 systems for maximum performance!
Squeeze every dime of performance, scalability, and reliability out of the entire Windows 2000 family-and dramatically reduce the cost of enterprise networking! In this book, Windows 2000 performance expert Curt Aubley shows you how. You'll walk through every aspect of optimizing Windows 2000 systems for your unique environment, stress testing it to evaluate performance, and sizing hardware to deliver maximum bang for the buck.
Aubley doesn't just show you how to make your current Windows 2000 based solutions run quickly and cost-effectively, he covers the "whys" you'll need to address any Windows 2000 performance challenge. You'll find specific, detailed recommendations for sizing and tuning of the Windows 2000 operating system, key back office applications, and system hardware, including CPU, memory, disk subsystem, network, and more!
This book contains expert guidance on optimizing the performance and scalability of every key Windows 2000 server application, including: file services, IIS 5 Web services, database servers running SQL Server, messaging servers running Exchange, and the commonly forgotten but crucial backup servers. You'll even find never-before-published information on the performance overhead issues associated with Windows 2000 Server security.
Make the most of your Windows 2000 Server investment, with the one book that shows you how, step by step: Tuning and Sizing Windows 2000 for Maximum Performance.
Extras
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Windows NT Performance Tuning for Web Server-Based Applications
Sample Content
Downloadable Sample Chapter
Click here for a sample chapter for this book: 0130891053.pdf
Table of Contents
1. Instant Rules of Thumb for Tuning and Sizing Windows 2000.
Gathering Performance Statistics: Start the Logs. Three Action Items to Complete So That All Relative Performance Counters Can Be Collected. Determining Which Applications (Processes) Are Running under Windows 2000. Windows 2000 Bottleneck Detection Strategy. General Windows 2000 System Observations. Key Performance Metrics to Observe in Detecting System Bottlenecks. Detecting Windows 2000 Bottlenecks. Immediate Tuning Tips to Implement: The Tuning Process. Tuning Windows 2000 Resources. Tuning Windows 2000 System's Network Subsystem. Lower the Overhead Associated with the Network Operations and Improve Efficiency. Windows 2000 Administration-Level Tuning. Network Interface Card (NIC) Tuning. Distributing Windows 2000 Network Load. Tuning CPU Resources. Controlling Windows 2000's CPU Quantum Allotment. Windows 2000 Service Packs. Sizing Rules of Thumb for Windows 2000 Systems. Sizing Disk Subsystems. Disk Subsystem Availability. SCSI Bus Implementation. Determining the Number of Disk Drives per SCSI Bus. Sizing the CPU(s). Sizing Network I/O Subsystems. Network Selection. The Number of Clients per Shared Network Segment. Server Network Interface Card Selections. Sizing Memory Requirements. Implementing Server Memory. Sizing and Tuning Specific Windows 2000-Based Implementations. Summary.
2. Tuning Strategies and Measurement Gathering.
Introduction. Setting Goals for Tuning Windows 2000-Based Systems. The Big Picture: Understanding the Entire Architecture. Tuning Strategy. Practical Guidelines. Tuning Methodology. Achieving a Nirvanic State. Focusing Your Tuning Efforts. The Tuning Process. Performance Baselines. Customizing the CPWMM Scripts. Performance Management. Third-Party Performance Management Tools. Sysmon Operations. Using Auditing to Zero in on Resource Usage. Windows Task Manager. Additional Performance-Related Tools from Windows 2000. Windows 2000 Resource Kit Performance Management Tools. Freeware Performance Management Tools. Windows 2000 System Checkup. Putting It All Together: The Environment. Summary.
3. Capacity Sizing.
Introduction. Goals of Sizing. Reality of Sizing. Sizing Methodology. Exploring the Sizing Methodology in Detail. Benchmarks. Historical Baselines. How Server Architecture Relationships Affect System Configurations. Properly Sizing Memory. Server I/O Relationships. Server CPUs Drive More than Applications Alone. Commercially Available Sizing Tools. Summary.
4. CPU Performance.
Introduction. Central Processing Unit. Pentium III and Pentium III XEON CPUs. Windows 2000 and CPU Resource Usage. Detecting CPU Bottlenecks. Sizing CPU Subsystems. CPU and Memory Sizing Relationships. Tuning Strategies for Removing CPU Bottlenecks. Thinking Outside of the Box. Summary.
5. Windows 2000 and Memory Performance.
Introduction. Memory Hardware Technology Review. How Windows 2000 Uses Memory Resources. Windows 2000 File System Cache. Sizing the Memory Subsystem. Detecting Memory Bottlenecks. Quick Reference: Helpful Tools to Use When Tracking Down Windows 2000 Memory Details. What to Observe in Sysmon When Diagnosing a Memory Bottleneck. Tuning Strategies for Removing Memory Bottlenecks. Hands-on Tactics for Tuning around Memory Bottlenecks. Removal of Potential Memory Road Blocks. Remove Unnecessary Workload from the System. The Last Resort: Purchase More RAM. Summary.
6. Windows 2000 and Disk Subsystem Performance.
Introduction. Disk Subsystem Technology: Following the Data. Disk Drive Technology. Disk Drive Selection. Performance Perspective: Physical Disk View vs Windows 2000 View. Disk Subsystem Performance. SCSI Technology. Fibre Channel Technology. HBAs. I/O Bus Technology and Selection. The System Bus. Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID). RAID 1-Disk Mirroring. RAID 5-Disk Striping with Parity. How Windows 2000 Uses the Disk Subsystem. Windows 2000 Device Drivers. Sizing a Windows 2000 Disk I/O Subsystem. Detecting Disk Subsystem Bottlenecks. Tuning Strategies for Removing Disk Subsystem Bottlenecks. File System-Related Tuning. Tuning Disk Subsystem SCSI Channel and HBA. RAID Tuning Considerations. The Most Important Disk Tuning Concept. Disk Storage Capacity Tuning. Additional Disk Subsystem Hardware-The Last Resort. Thinking Outside of the Box: Windows 2000 RAM Disk. Summary.
7. Windows 2000 and Network Performance.
Network Subsystem Technology: Following the Data. Network Interface Card. Relative Throughputs of Different Network Technologies. Realistic Network Throughput under Windows 2000. Windows 2000 and GBE Performance. Applications Can Affect Network Performance. Windows 2000 Ethernet Performance Characteristics. Other Network Technologies. Understanding the Network Architecture in Which Your Windows 2000 System Operates. Windows 2000 Server Placement in the Network. How Windows 2000 Takes Advantage of the Network. Windows 2000 TCP/IP Performance Enhancements. Windows 2000 Network Performance and the CPU. It Takes Two to Tango. Network Subsystem and Intelligent I/O (I2O) Technology. Sizing the Windows 2000 Network Subsystem. Detecting Windows 2000 Network Bottlenecks. Beyond Windows 2000 Systems: Tracking Down Internetwork Device Performance Problems. Tuning Strategies for Removing Network Subsystem Bottlenecks. Summary.
8. Putting Theory into Practice: Sizing and Tuning Back Office Solution Scenarios.
Introduction. Solution Scenario 1: Windows 2000 File Server Consolidation. Scenario 1 Step by Step: Sizing and Tuning a Mid-Range Windows 2000 File Server. Windows 2000 File Server Sizing Configuration Chart Summary. Windows 2000 File Server Tuning Summary. Solution Scenario 2: Windows 2000 Backup Servers. Scenario 2 Step by Step: Mid-Range Windows 2000 Backup Server. Backup Server Sizing Configuration Chart Summary. Windows 2000 Backup Server Tuning Summary. Solution Scenario 3: Windows 2000 Exchange Servers. Scenario 3 Step by Step: Mid-Range (3,000 User) Windows 2000 Exchange Server. Exchange Server Sizing Configuration Chart Summary. Windows 2000 Exchange Server Tuning Summary. Solution Scenario 4: Database Server Implemented with Microsoft SQL 7.0. Scenario 4 Step by Step: Sizing and Tuning Mid-Range Windows 2000 SQL Server. SQL Server Sizing Configuration Chart Summary. Windows 2000 SQL Server Tuning Summary. Solution Scenario 5: World Wide Web Server Implemented with Microsoft IIS 5.0. Scenario 5 Step by Step: Sizing and Tuning a Mid-Range Windows 2000 Web Server. IIS 5.0 Web Server Sizing and Configuration Chart Summary. Windows 2000 IIS 5.0 Web Server Tuning. ASP CPU Optimization. Optimizing IIS for Web Publishing. Thinking Outside of the Box: Xtune. Literally Thinking Outside of the Box: Network Load Balancing. Windows 2000 IIS 5 Web Server Tuning Summary. Web Server Solution Scenario Summary. Summary.
Index.
Preface
Preface
Someone asked me what this book is about, and my response was surprisingly simple, "It is all about making computers go faster, specifically Windows 2000 solutions go faster." When someone feels that their application is running slowly, it doesn't matter why. Is it a network problem? Is it a Windows 2000 Server issue, or perhaps a troublesome desktop? In this book, we focus on making Windows 2000 Server, workstations, and networks operate at their very best, so together they can provide the maximum performance possible. What are the common performance questions that surround Windows 2000 systems today? Can Windows 2000 actually be tuned? Where do I start when sizing a new Windows 2000 system? What size system is required? Will it scale as needed? Why does system performance appear sluggish? How do you determine if Windows 2000 has a bottleneck from a lack of resources? How can we help our solution to scale? Anyone developing Windows 2000 solutions commonly runs into these questions. Performance related issues arise in many enterprises; this book will help you to resolve these questions and more. The concepts and recommendations in this book are experience based, not just regurgitation of available reference material.
Feedback from my first book Tuning and Sizing NT Server (Prentice Hall, 1998) has been excellent. Some of these responses are posted on http://www.TuningAndSizingNT.com, while others have been incorporated into this book. Although many of the core performance concepts have stayed the same from Windows NT to Windows 2000, the approaches have been enhanced through continued research, testing, benchmarking, and developing new solutions from the workgroup to the enterprise level. A tremendous amount of new information and proven techniques is incorporated in this book. Approximately 50% of the material in this book is new. Key areas include: new Windows 2000 performance monitoring tools; new Windows 2000 tuning options; evaluation of the latest system technologies; insight into how Windows 2000 operates internally to take advantage of these technologies; and sizing and performance information on the latest disk, memory, and CPU subsystems.
This book takes a practical approach to tuning and sizing Windows 2000 systems so that you can immediately begin to maximize Windows 2000's overall performance. My approach is to discuss and characterize system-level hardware technologies and then explain how Windows 2000 takes advantage of them. Once this knowledge base is in place, the guesswork that revolves around tuning and sizing is eliminated. This in turn enables you to make more intelligent decisions regarding your Windows 2000 system's performance and optimization. Instead of providing lists of registry or other Windows 2000 variables that could possibly be changed (or found in the Windows 20000 documentation), specific rules of thumb are provided to help you get a jump start in the tuning and sizing of your Windows 2000 solution.
To help you integrate all of the information provided in this book, the final chapter incorporates in-depth sizing and tuning solution scenarios for File Servers and Server Consolidation, Backup Servers, Mail (Exchange) Servers, Database (Microsoft SQL 7) Servers, and Web (Microsoft IIS 5) Servers. These solution scenarios utilize the strategies; methodologies; rules of thumb; and bottleneck detection, tuning, and sizing techniques presented to size and then tune each solution. Specific application, Windows 2000, system and network component-level recommendations and performance test results are provided.
It is important to note that although numerous specific recommendations are provided, the concepts and principles discussed are applicable even as new Windows versions are released and server technology continues to improve. Of course the tools used to implement these concepts and principles will change. You can keep up with the new tools that can help your performance improvement efforts by periodically visiting http://www.TuningAndSizingNT.com. This web site also provides a location to share information surrounding the performance of Windows-based solutions.
Organization
Tuning and Sizing Windows 2000 follows the same approach as the Tuning and Sizing NT Server and jumps right in, with chapter 1 providing a series of quick tips and ideas that can be implemented immediately. These rules of thumb are ready to use as is, but are not thoroughly explained in the chapter. For those familiar with Windows 2000 and Windows NT, chapter 1 is a great place to start in the tuning process, while the beginner should consider the chapter a preview of what is to come and then move on to chapter 2. Continue reading the subsequent chapters to learn when to use the quick tips, what they do, and how to implement them and even more advanced techniques. A structured performance methodology is reviewed in chapter 2. In chapter 3, capacity planning of Windows 2000 is explored, providing a structured sizing methodology that discusses using native Windows 2000 tools, Windows 2000 support and resource kit tools, and freeware available for download from the Internet.
From there, the chapters follow a general information flow explaining the performance characteristics of system resources (CPU, memory, disk, and networks) from a system and component level; how Windows 2000 utilizes these system resources; and how to size the specific subsystems, detect bottlenecks, and explore specific tuning recommendations. Leading by example is something I consider important; who wants to end up like those humorous commercials that ask consultants to implement, and they don't know how! I use the techniques recommended in this book, and in chapter 8 I show you how.
Audience
Tuning and Sizing Windows 2000 is targeted for anyone who desires to learn where to start when sizing a new Windows 2000 solution (or migrating from a Windows NT-based system) or tuning a Windows 2000-based solution to operate faster than ever. To meet these goals, the following are investigated: hardware technology (workstation, server, and network), system design, Windows 2000 internals, system administration techniques, performance tool usage, and commercially available benchmarks. This book is not a basic system administration or troubleshooting book that also has some performance related information as an add-on. Here the focus is 100% on performance. Other facets of Windows 2000 solutions such as security, availability, system administration, and troubleshooting are mentioned as needed but only to enhance the performance or sizing of the overall Windows 2000 solution.
Everyone wants a high-performing system that is big enough to get the job done well, will efficiently use the resources that are available, and is not so overly configured that end users cannot use what they have purchased. With these thoughts in mind, performance should always be a consideration when developing a computer-based solution: system architects, system and network administrators, system engineers, software developers, and other IS professionals who develop or manage solutions based on Windows 2000 will find this book particularly helpful. This book helps those developing and managing Windows 2000 solutions to acquire a better understanding of the performance concepts involved with implementing specific solutions.
The book assumes a general knowledge of Windows 2000 or at least Windows NT planning, design, and administration. Because of this assumption, this book is targeted for medium to advanced levels. For some, much of this information will be new. Others may not feel comfortable with some of the advanced "Thinking Outside the Box" sections, while advanced Windows 2000 and Windows NT users may gravitate to these sections. Regardless of your experience level, you should review chapters 1, 2, 3, and 8 and then select the other material as it relates to your particular environment.
Which version of Windows 2000 is targeted? The entire family. The concepts are applicable to all versions of the Windows 2000 family of operating systems. Although the greatest focus is on Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Advanced Server technology, wherever the other server technologies differ, they are brought to your attention.
Accompanying this book is a web site (http://www.TuningAndSizingNT.com) dedicated to the performance of Windows 2000 and NT that provides updates on Windows 2000 technology and book errata.