Performance Logs and Alerts interface

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Performance Logs and Alerts interface

In Performance Logs and Alerts you define settings for counter logs, trace logs, and alerts. The details pane of the console window shows logs and alerts that you have created. You can define multiple logs or alerts to run simultaneously. Each log or alert is a saved configuration that you define. If you have configured the log for automatic starting and stopping, a single log can generate many individual log data files. For example, if you were generating a log file for each day's activity, one file would close at 11:59 P.M. today, and a new file would open at 12:00 A.M. tomorrow. The following table explains the query summary information provided by the columns in the details pane.

Column Description

Name

This is the name of the log or alert. It describes the type of data you are collecting or the condition you are monitoring. One log can generate multiple log files.

Note

  • Sample settings, named System Overview, have been predefined for counter logging. You can start logging using these settings or define your own settings, as appropriate.

Comment 

This can be any descriptive information about the log or alert.

Log File Type

This is the log-file format you define. For alert, the type will always be alerts. For trace logs, the type can be sequential or circular. For logs, this can be binary, binary circular, text file (comma delimited), text file (tab delimited) or SQL.

Log File Name

This is the path and base file name you defined for the files generated by this log. The base file name is used for automatically naming new files.

To see the parameters defined for each log, double-click the list entry for the log. In the dialog box that appears, you can choose how to name your log files, when logging is scheduled to occur, and what performance objects and counters you want to monitor in your log.

If a log is currently running and collecting data (based on the schedule you defined for the log or alert), a green data icon appears next to the log or alert. If a red icon appears, the log or alert has been defined but is not currently running.

Note

  • You can configure more than one type of log to run at a time. One log can generate multiple log files if the restart option is selected or if the user starts and stops the log multiple times. However, you will not see these individual log files listed in the console window. Use Windows Explorer to view a listing of these files.