KB44814: How to monitor CPU usage on MicroStrategy Web Servers running on Windows operating systems?

Symptom

One of the simplest ways to get an accurate measure of the Strategy Web Server's performance is through the Windows Performance Monitor (Perfmon). Its data is often critical in determining the cause of high CPU issues, for instance, and can also be extremely helpful in getting a “big picture” view of how an application performs. The Windows Task Manager usually provides only a high-level view of a server's performance, while Performance Monitor can provide a detailed look at the specific processes on a Web Server.
In order to help troubleshooting high CPU usage in Web Servers that run Strategy, the list of counters to be monitored and respective definitions are presented below using the convention Counter Group Name / Counter Name. In the Data Collector Set, include all instances for all counters when available:
 
.NET CLR Memory
Counters for Common Language Runtime (CLR) Garbage Collected heap.
 
ASP.NET
ASP.NET global performance counters
 
ASP.NET Applications
ASP.NET application performance counters
 
Process / % Processor Time (make sure you expand Process and not Processor)
The Process performance object consists of counters that monitor running application program and system processes.  All the threads in a process share the same address space and have access to the same data. % Processor Time is the percentage of elapsed time that all of process threads used the processor to execution instructions. An instruction is the basic unit of execution in a computer, a thread is the object that executes instructions, and a process is the object created when a program is run. Code executed to handle some hardware interrupts and trap conditions are included in this count.
 
Process / Private Bytes
Private Bytes is the current size, in bytes, of memory that this process has allocated that cannot be shared with other processes.
 
Process / Virtual Bytes
Virtual Bytes is the current size, in bytes, of the virtual address space the process is using. Use of virtual address space does not necessarily imply corresponding use of either disk or main memory pages. Virtual space is finite, and the process can limit its ability to load libraries.
 
Thread / % Processor Time
The Thread performance object consists of counters that measure aspects of thread behavior.  A thread is the basic object that executes instructions on a processor.  All running processes have at least one thread. % Processor Time is the percentage of elapsed time that all of process threads used the processor to execution instructions. An instruction is the basic unit of execution in a computer, a thread is the object that executes instructions, and a process is the object created when a program is run. Code executed to handle some hardware interrupts and trap conditions are included in this count.
 
Thread / ID Thread
ID Thread is the unique identifier of this thread.  ID Thread numbers are reused, so they only identify a thread for the lifetime of that thread.
 
It may also be helpful to include following counters which also monitor the ASP.NET applications and give information such as how many requests are being executed:
ASP.NET Apps v2.0.50727
ASP.NET Apps v4.0.30319
 
All of those counters can be accessed in Performance Monitor by clicking the '+' sign or through the context menu, selecting 'Add Counters' .
The new Data Collector Set with the suggested list of counters can be defined in Performance Monitor by following the steps below:

1. Open Performance Monitor from the Administrative Tools in the Windows Control Panel.
2. Expand the Data Collector Sets node.
3. Right-click on User Defined and select New > Data Collector Set
4. Enter the name of the data collector set.
5. Select the Create Manually (Advanced) radio button; click Next.
6. Select the Create Data Logs radio button and check the Performance Counter checkbox; click Next.
7. Click the Add button to see the list o available counters that will be added to the Data Counters Set.
8. If your application is NOT an ASP.NET application, then there is no need to add the *.NET counters to your list.
9. Go ahead an include the other counters mentioned above to the list.
10. Click Next and make note of where the data collector set is being saved.
11. Click Next and keep the Save and Close radio button selected; click Finish.
12. The data collector set is not yet running. To start collecting, right-click on the newly created Data Collector Set under the User Defined node and select Start from the menu.

 
TO LEARN MORE:
For information related to performance monitoring of windows web servers, refer to the following web sites:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb727100.aspx
http://www.iis.net/learn/troubleshoot/performance-issues/troubleshooting-high-cpu-in-an-iis-7x-application-pool
 
Related technical notes:
KB19155: Recommended performance logging counters to enable when troubleshooting memory or performance issues in MicroStrategy Intelligence Server Universal 9.4.x - 10.x in UNIX/Linux environments
KB13313: How to enable logging of performance counters using the Diagnostics and Performance Logging tool for MicroStrategy Intelligence Server 9.x in Microsoft Windows and Unix
 
Third Party Software Installation:
WARNING:
The third-party product(s) discussed in this technical note is manufactured by vendors independent of Strategy. Strategy makes no warranty, express, implied or otherwise, regarding this product, including its performance or reliability.