Objective 4.2

Identify System Bottlenecks

17-13

Objective 4.2 Answers

1.

Correct Answers: C

A. Incorrect: Although leaving the counter log running will collect the data needed

to detect a bottleneck, the task of monitoring and evaluating that data is the

administrator’s responsibility. The Performance console only collects the data; it is

incapable of monitoring and evaluating the data.

B. Incorrect: Although you can monitor the values of the performance counters in

real time using System Monitor, you cannot configure the snap-in to sound alarms.

C. Correct: The Alerts feature in the Performance Logs And Alerts snap-in enables

you to specify values for particular performance counters and configure the pro-

gram to perform an action, such as generating a message on a computer, if any

counter reaches its specified value.

D. Incorrect: Trace logs do not monitor performance counters, so you cannot use

them to detect bottlenecks. Instead, trace logs record the particular system appli-

cation events that you specify.

2.

Correct Answers: A and D

A. Correct: The Processor Queue Length counter in the System performance object

indicates the number of threads that are currently waiting for processor time. If the

value of this counter increases over time, it indicates that the processor cannot

keep up with the tasks demanded of it. In other words, the processor is function-

ing as a bottleneck and is degrading system performance.

B. Incorrect: The Interrupts/Sec counter in the Processor performance object spec-

ifies the number of hardware interrupts the processor is receiving. This counter

does not measure the processor’s overall load, nor can its value identify the pro-

cessor as a system bottleneck.

C. Incorrect: The % User Time counter in the Processor performance object speci-

fies the amount of time that the processor is spending in user mode. This counter

value cannot indicate the presence of a system bottleneck.

D. Correct: The % Processor Time counter in the Processor performance object is

the primary indicator of processor activity. Consistently high values for this

counter indicate that the processor is operating at peak capacity much of the time

and might be a bottleneck preventing the system from achieving superior perfor-

mance.