Table of Contents

Microsoft Platform (Range 7.0.0.x)

Note

This connector range will be available soon.

About

The Microsoft Platform connector enables the monitoring of servers that run the Microsoft Windows OS. Leveraging Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), it provides visibility on system performance, health metrics, and operational status.

To query data from the monitored server, the connector uses Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) extensions.

All versions of Microsoft Windows are supported, as long as the connector is able to retrieve data using WMI.

Important

Currently, ranges 1.1.3.x and 6.0.0.x are still supported. However, we strongly recommend switching to range 7.0.0.x as soon as it is available.

Configuration

Prerequisites

WMI configuration

  1. To go to WMI Control Properties, go to Start > Run and enter wmimgmt.msc.
  2. Right-click WMI Control (Local) and select Properties.
  3. On the Security tab page, go to \Root\CIMV2 and click the Security button.
  4. Add the user that will be used to query data from the remote server to the list and give the user all rights.
  5. Apply all.

DCOM configuration

  1. Go to Start > Run and enter dcomcnfg (Component Services).
  2. Under Component Services > Computers, right-click My Computer and select Properties.
  3. Go to the tab COM Security.
  4. Under Launch and Activation Permissions, click Edit Limits.
  5. Add the user and give the user the Local Launch, Remote Launch, and Remote Activation permissions.
  6. Apply all.
Note
  • After DCOM settings have been changed, the WMI services sometimes need to be restarted.
  • This method works fine for a Windows XP system but cannot be used on a Windows Server 2003 SP1.
  • On a Win2K3, the local user must be added to the administrators group.
  • On a Win2K8, the local user must be added to the administrators group, Distributed COM Users, and Performance Monitor Users.

Connections

Virtual Connection

This connector uses a virtual connection and does not require any input during element creation. However, once the element has been created, you will need to configure the connection settings on the General > Connections page.

  • Local Connection: If you are trying to monitor the server where this element is running, you can use a loopback address (localhost or 127.0.0.1) or the IP address assigned to the server as the IP address in the Host parameter. For this type of connection, no credentials are needed (the Username and Password parameters can be left empty). Click Connect to start monitoring the server.

  • Remote Connection: If you are trying to monitor a remote server, you need to provide the IP address (or hostname) of the monitored server in the Host parameter. In addition, you need to provide valid credentials (username and password) of an account that has access to the monitored server. Finally, click Connect to start monitoring the server.

If the connection is successful, the Connection Status parameter will change to Connected, and the connector will start polling data from the monitored server. If the connection fails, the Connection Status parameter can display the following error messages:

  • Unauthorized: This error message indicates that the credentials provided in the Username and Password parameters are not valid. Please verify the credentials and try again.

  • Error: This error message can be caused by different reasons, such as network issues or WMI configuration problems. To resolve this, please refer to the Troubleshooting guide.

Important

As this is a virtual connector, WMI queries sent to the target server are not displayed in the Stream Viewer

How to use

  • The General page provides details about the operating system running on the monitored server, while the OS Updates page displays details about the recently installed patches on the server.

  • The CPU page offers information related to the processor, including usage metrics, as well as thread and handle counters, and the Logical Processors page presents utilization metrics for each logical processor.

  • The Memory page provides information about the physical and virtual memory allocation of the monitored server.

  • The Disk page offers information about the local storage in the monitored server. Further information, such as rates, and read, write and transfer times, is available on the Disk Details page.

    Note

    A sign that could indicate that the disk is busy is the Latency, i.e., how long it takes before it can process something. This metric can be tracked with the parameter Avg. Transfer Rate.

  • The Network page contains information about the network adapters available in the monitored server. Additional metrics, such as rates, are available on the Details subpage.

    Note

    By default, the column Name will contain the name of the adapter as retrieved by WMI. However, in some cases, the connector may not be able to retrieve the name.

  • The Process page lists all the current processes run by the monitored server (similar to the Task Manager tool available in any Microsoft Windows OS). This page has two tables:

    • Processes: Provides an overview of the processes of interest for validation. This table can be used for the following purposes:

      • Monitoring processes that are no longer running on the monitored server. By default, this table is empty. To add a specific process, right-click in the Process Instances table and select the option Validate process. If the selected process is no longer running on the monitored server, the column Count will be set to 0.

      • Monitoring multiple instances of the same process. For example, if you would like to monitor all the instances of the Microsoft Edge browser, you can add the process msedge.exe.

      Note
      • Only processes that are currently running on the monitored server can be added to the Processes table. If a process is not running, it will not be available in the context menu of the Process Instances table.
      • You can also add an existing process to the table Processes by right-clicking a process in the Process Instances table and selecting the option Validate process.
      • Wildcards are currently not supported.
      Tip

      In case you want to monitor processes related to the DataMiner Agent running on the monitored server, you can add them by right-clicking a process in the Process Instances table and selecting the option Validate DataMiner process.

    • Process Instances: This table provides details about all the processes currently running on the monitored server.

    Additionally, the Process Details page displays the Process Instance Details table. This table provides more information about the processes related to threads and IO rates.

  • The Services page provides information about the services available on the monitored server.

  • The Service Validation page allows you to track if services are still available in the monitored server. By default, this table is empty. You can right-click in the table to add or remove specific services via the context menu.

    Note

    You can also add an existing service to the Service Validation table by right-clicking a service in the Services table and selecting the option Validate service. Multiple services can be added this way.

  • The Software page displays the list of installed applications on the monitored server.

Polling Frequencies

Currently, the polling frequencies are hard-coded in the connector. Below you can find a summary of the polling frequencies per metric group.

  • Fast Timer (10 seconds):

    • CPU Utilization
    • Memory
    • Process Instances
    • Process Instance Details
    • Processes

  • Medium Timer (1 minute):

    • CPU Metrics
    • Disk Details
    • Network Adapters
    • Network Adapter Details

  • Slow Timer (1 hour):

    • System
    • Operating System
    • Operating System Updates
    • CPU Info

  • Timeout Settings:

    • Default timeout for a single command: 1.5 seconds

Additional Resources

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