How to Monitor Server Load on a Windows Cloud Instance
What do you understand by server load?
While checking the load on a server helps you determine if the server resources are enough to support the applications running on it. This can help you identify and fix any issues that may be causing slow performance. There are many tools available to do this, but one option is to use the Windows Task Manager. It allows you to quickly see what’s happening on the server and interact with applications, processes, and services to identify any issues.
Different ways to open Windows Task Manager.
Click on the Start menu and type task… then choose Task Manager
Right-click on the Taskbar area and choose Task Manager from the menu
Press the Ctrl+Alt+End keys on the keyboard when in a Remote Desktop session
Press Windows+r and run the command taskmgr
Using Windows Task Manager
If you open the Task Manager on a server where it has never been used before, you may see a basic display. However, by clicking on the “More details” button, you can access a wealth of information. The Windows Task Manager gives you quick access to information about Processes, Performance, Users, Details, and Services.
Processes Tab
The Processes tab in Task Manager shows us everything that is running in the Server and the amount of CPU and Memory resources it is using. At the top, you can see the total CPU and Memory (RAM) utilization.
By clicking on the CPU or Memory column headings, you can sort the processes list by that criteria, and use the sort arrow to determine whether to sort from highest to lowest usage or vice-versa. You can click on any individual Windo process and end the task, see resource usage, and more.
Performance Tab
The Performance tab in Task Manager provides a visual display of information and allows you to select from CPU, Memory, and Ethernet views to show activity over a 60-second period. This view helps you identify spikes or trends over time to determine if a condition is temporary or sustained.
User Tab
The Users tab in Task Manager displays a list of all users connected to the server node and their CPU and memory usage. If you have Administrator rights, you can click on a user to disconnect them, send a message, or take over their session.
Details Tab
The Details tab in Task Manager displays a list of all running applications and processes, their Process ID (PID) numbers, status, username, CPU and Memory usage, and a description. You can sort the list by clicking on any column name. The PID number is useful for identifying specific processes mentioned in event logs. By right-clicking on an item, you can access options such as:
Ending a process or process tree
Set a priority for the running process
Establish affinity to a specific processor or all processors
Additional options
Services Tab
The Services tab in Task Manager displays a list of service names, their Process ID (PID) numbers, a description, status, and the group they belong to. By right-clicking on a service, you can start, stop, restart it or access additional options. However, be cautious when changing the status of services as some depend on others and stopping the wrong one may have unintended effects on the system or devices. To learn more about a specific service, right-click on it and select Search Online.
Windows Resource Monitor
To open the resource monitor
Open Task Manager >> Performance Tab>> Open Resource Monitor. This will open a new window.
Open Server Manage>> Tools >> Select Resource Monitor.
Through Windows Resource Monitor and monitor your server resource utilization. Resource Monitor provides more detailed information than Task Manager, but the information is similar.
Monitoring Disk IO and Networking
Disk Tab
Resource Monitor >> Disk Tab. In this tab, you may monitor the servicers with high dis usage as this might affect the normal functions of the server. When it is high, your server creates a queue executing one by one which can cause performance issues.
Network Tab
Resource Monitor >> Network Tab. Similar to the Disk tab this tab monitors the network traffic, when the network traffic reaches its peak, this might result in a slower performance of your server.
When you know which process/service is causing the problem, you should gather more information about that process. And if it is not relevant to your use cases, you can stop them by clicking on the “End Task” button available in the right bottom corner of the task manager.
If you are not sure about the process, Based on the process name you can also look on the web which might have relevant troubleshooting information and to overcome it.
Also In case you have scheduled a backup, You can avoid running backup during business hours, so that it will not impact critical tasks. Also, you can schedule downloading and installing Windows updates in idle hours.
Scan for Viruses or Malware
Running several resource-intensive applications at once might result in high CPU or RAM utilization, which can be regarded as the primary cause of this. In addition, a virus assault might consume the entire CPU.
Using the antivirus software you may have installed, you can check for viruses or malware.
Or you can use the inbuilt Windows security tool. Open Start >> Settings >>Update & Security -> Windows security and Select “Virus & threat protection”.
You can run a “Full scan” by modifying “Scan options” instead of running “Quick Scan”.
Finally, if the server is still lacking performance and all the running processes are genuine, Then at this point you may consider upgrading the server resources to the next available plans with higher resources.
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