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In Windows Media Load Simulator, you can query Windows NT Performance Monitor counters on the Windows Media server that is being load-tested. You can also specify how often values for each performance counter are captured and a location for the results to be stored in. By default, the Performance Monitor log file is stored in SystemDrive\Program Files\Windows Media Components\WMLoad\ServerWMLog.csv on the computer running Windows Media Load Simulator, where Server is the name of the Windows Media server that is being load-tested. For more information, see To log load-test results.
The following performance counters are logged.
| Object | Counter | Definition |
| Windows Media Unicast Service | Authentications Denied | The number of times clients are denied access to unicast content by authentication plug-ins. Clients are denied access by an authentication plug-in when their IDs cannot be verified, no user accounts exist, or the authentication plug-in is not working. |
| Windows Media Unicast Service | Authorizations Refused | The number of times clients are denied access to unicast content by authorization plug-ins. Authorization plug-ins deny access to clients based on their function. For example, a billing plug-in may deny access to unicast content if the user account contains insufficient funds. |
| Windows Media Unicast Service | Late Reads | The number of late-read completions per second. |
| Windows Media Unicast Service | PlugIn Errors | The number of times plug-ins failed to perform their function. For example, a plug-in couldnÆt reach its user database, the plug-in crashed, and so on. |
| Windows Media Unicast Service | Stream Errors | The cumulative number of errors occurring per second. A stream error is always logged for the first entry, which allows the e-mail address of the user to be recorded in the Windows Media Load Simulator log file. |
| Windows Media Unicast Service | Stream Terminations | The rate at which streams are terminated due to errors. |
| Windows Media Unicast Service | Pending Connections | The number of clients attempting to connect to the server but that have not yet been connected. This number may be high if the server is running near maximum capacity and cannot process a large number of connection requests in a timely manner. |
| Processor | % Processor Time | Percentage of time that a processor is busy performing useful work, such as processing client requests for streams. |
| Memory | Available Bytes | The amount of virtual memory available for to use. |
Windows NT Performance Monitor can generate warnings in the log file when conditions warrant it. Warnings appear in the log file in the following format:
<Date & Time>, <Counter>, <Warning Text>, <Condition>, <Recommendation>,
<Counter Value>For example, if Available Bytes is less than 4194305 bytes over three consecutive intervals, the following warning appears in the log file:
<Thu May 13 12:35:16 1999>, <Memory/Available Bytes>, <Server is
paging, which reduces performance.>, <If this counter is less than
4194305 bytes (4 MB plus one additional byte), this indicates that the
system is paging. A Windows Media server should never use more memory
than is installed in the system, as any paging will impact real-time
performance.>, <Reduce the amount of memory required or add additional
memory to the server.>, <3>Warnings can appear in the log file when any of the following conditions are met:
| Warning condition | Most likely causes |
| Authentications Denied increase over three consecutive intervals. | The database that stores authentication information cannot be accessed. |
| Authorizations Refused increase over three consecutive intervals. | Either the database that stores authorization information cannot be accessed or an unauthorized user is attempting to access the server. |
| Late Reads is non-zero for any interval. | The server is overloaded, causing a disk I/O problem. |
| PlugIn Errors increase from one interval to the next interval. | A problem with a server plug-in is affecting server performance. |
| Stream Errors increase from one interval to the next interval. | A problem exists with the streaming media file or a simulated client connection. |
| Stream Terminations increase for three consecutive intervals. | A problem exists with the streaming media file or a simulated client connection. |
| Pending Connections increase for three consecutive intervals. | The server is at or near capacity. |
| % Processor Time is greater than 50 percent for three consecutive intervals. | The system is overloaded. The disk might not be fast enough for the system. |
| Available Bytes is less than 4194305 bytes (4 MB plus one byte) for three consecutive intervals. | The server is paging, which reduces performance. |