Activity Summary
The Activity page displays summaries of recent Windows activity.
To open the Activity Summary page
- Select the Spotlight connection in the Spotlight Browser.
-
Click Activity Summary.
Charts on the Activity Summary page
Notes:
- Click an item in the legend to highlight its series (line) in the chart. Click a second time to return the series to its normal appearance.
- Move the mouse pointer over an item in the legend to view the current value for that series within the chart.
| Chart | Description |
|---|---|
| Processor |
Shows the total CPU utilization across all processors in the machine, categorized into User Time and Privileged Time.
Note: The User Time and Privileged Time series are each represented by a single line, and by an item in the legend at the right of the chart. |
| Paging |
Shows the rate at which pages are being swapped in and out of memory.
A sustained high rate of paging can cause problems with overall system degradation due to disk thrashing and CPU load. Note: Each Paging Rate series is represented by a single line, and by an item in the legend at the right of the chart. |
| Network Packets |
Shows the incoming and outgoing packet rates as an aggregate across all network cards in the system. Note: The Packets Sent and Packets Received series are each represented by a single line, and by an item in the legend at the right of the chart. |
| Processor Queue Length |
Shows the total number of threads (program execution units) that are waiting to be run on ALL processors. A sustained processor queue length greater than three times the number of processors can indicate processor congestion. Note: To view Server Work Queues for the individual CPUs in the system, see the CPUs Page in the CPU drilldown. |
| Disk Queue Length |
Shows the number of I/O requests that were queued for each logical disk. Disk Queue Length indicates how heavily loaded a disk subsystem is. High queue lengths mean the disks are struggling to process the I/O load being put on them. Note: Each logical disk on the system is represented by a single line on the chart, and by an item in the legend at the right of the chart. |
| Memory |
Shows how much physical memory (RAM) and Virtual Memory Windows is using. Physical Memory usage will normally remain close to the total amount of physical memory installed on the system unless the amount of physical memory you have exceeds the amount of virtual memory that Windows is using. Windows normally keeps some physical memory available (free) for immediate reuse. Virtual Memory usage increases and decreases as Windows processes requests and gives up memory and as processes are started and stopped. A steady increase in Virtual memory usage can indicate that a process on the system has a memory leak. Note: The Virtual Used and Physical Used series are each represented by a single line, and by an item in the legend at the right of the chart. |
Event Log
The Windows Event Log is where application or operating system information is written and can be accessed by system administrators. Spotlight on Windows allows you to analyze event data from your Windows system's various logs, and to display the relevant data in the Event Log drilldown.
Note: If the content of this page is disabled then Event Logs are disabled. You can enable them. Windows Event Log Metrics
To open the Event Log page
- Select the Spotlight connection in the Spotlight Browser.
-
Click Event Log.
| Page Control | Description |
|---|---|
| Event Log |
Select an event log to show in the Event Grid. Depending on the monitored system, the logs to select from may include:
|
| Event Grid | A display of the selected event log. |
| Total | The number of entries in the selected log. |
| Days | The period of time for which the oldest entries in the log have been kept. |
About the Event Grid
Notes:
- Not all of these columns will be visible by default. To view hidden columns, right-click the grid heading and choose Organize Columns... from the shortcut menu.
- Click an event to display the Event Log Details page.
- Right click the body of the grid and select Event Log Options to configure the Event Log. You can filter, alarm or expand the list of Event Log items. Windows Event Log Metrics.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
|
Date/Time |
The time when the entry was entered into the Windows event log, not when it was brought into Spotlight on Windows. |
|
Event ID |
A code that identifies the event. |
|
Message |
A description of the event. |
|
Source |
The software that logged the event. |
|
Type |
The type of event:
|
|
Category |
The category of the event. This is used in auditing, and is primarily used by the security log. |
|
Log |
Where the error message was generated:
Note: The Directory Service and File Replication Service event logs are available only for Windows domain controllers. The DNS Server event log is available only for DNS servers. |
|
Severity |
Shows information on alarms associated with the event log item. This is assigned by the Spotlight on Windows event log rules (available through the Windows Event Log Metrics in Spotlight on Windows Options). |
|
Clear |
Select to acknowledge the event and return its status to Normal. |
|
Computer |
The name of the machine where the event occurred. |
|
User |
The user account which instigated the event log item. This is particularly pertinent to security items. |
Single Application
Spotlight is a powerful diagnostic and problem-resolution tool for Windows operating systems. Its unique user interface provides you with an intuitive, visual representation of the activity on the host machine.
For information on Spotlight on Windows, see these sections
| Section |
Description |
|---|---|
| Background Information |
Introductory material to Spotlight on Windows. |
| Connect to a Windows System | Create / Modify / Delete connections to Windows systems. |
| Home Page | The Spotlight home page shows the flow of information and commands between various sub-components and the size and status of internal resources such as processes, disk files and memory structures. |
| Alarms |
Spotlight alerts you to problems with your system by issuing an alarm. You can configure Spotlight in the level of severity that constitutes an alarm, to disable an alarm, and the actions Spotlight takes on raising the alarm. |
| Drilldowns | When you have isolated a problem, you can display a drilldown page, whose charts and tables provide a detailed breakdown of the underlying statistics. |
| View | Options | Customize Spotlight. |
| Troubleshooting | Solve problems using Spotlight. |
For information on using Spotlight applications See
Summary Page
The Summary Page of the Single Application drilldown provides an overview of the Windows performance for the one or more applications chosen in the Windows Applications Metrics options of the Spotlight on Windows Options window.
To open the Summary page
- Select the Spotlight connection in the Spotlight Browser.
-
Click Single Application | Summary.
Charts on the Summary page
Notes:
- Click an item in the legend to highlight its series (line) in the chart. Click a second time to return the series to its normal appearance.
- Move the mouse pointer over an item in the legend to view the current value for that series within the chart.
- To choose applications to measure the performance of, right click the page and select Select Application. This opens the Windows Applications Metrics dialog. Windows Files Metrics
| Chart | Description |
|---|---|
| Processors | For the specified applications, this corresponds to the CPU Utilization chart chart in the CPUs page of the CPU drilldown. |
| Paging | For the specified applications, this corresponds to the Paging chart in the Summary page of the Memory drilldown. |
| Virtual Memory Size | For the specified applications, this corresponds to the Virtual Memory Size graph on the Memory chart in the Process History page of the Processes drilldown. |
| Processor Queue Length | For the specified applications, this corresponds to the Processor Queue Length chart in the Activity Summary drilldown. |
| Disk Queue Length | For the specified applications, this corresponds to the Disk Queue Length chart in the Activity Summary drilldown. |
| Network Packets | For the specified applications, this corresponds to the Network Packets chart in the Activity Summary drilldown. |