Overview of Performance Data Collection

Windows 2000 defines the performance data it collects in terms of objects, counters, and instances. A performance object is any resource, application, or service that can be measured. Using System Monitor and Performance Logs and Alerts, you can select performance objects, counters, and instances to collect and present data about the performance of system components or installed software.

Each object has performance counters that are used to measure various aspects of performance, such as transfer rates for disks or, for processors, the amount of processor time consumed. The object may also have an instance, which is a unique copy of a particular object type; not all object types support multiple instances.

This Help file describes objects, counters, and instances using the following syntax:

\\Computer_name\Object(ParentInstance/ObjectInstance#InstanceIndex)\Counter

The \\Computer component is optional; it specifies the name of the computer. The local computer is the default.
The \Object component specifies the performance object that contains the performance counter. If this object has a variable list of instances, then an instance string is included.
The (ParentInstance/ObjectInstance#InstanceIndex) component is only required if the object supports multiple instances. The format of the string depends on the object type. If the object has single instances, the format is the instance name enclosed in parentheses. For example:

    (Explorer)

For objects with multiple instances, the parent instance name comes before the object instance, and is separated by a forward slash ( / ) character. For example:

    (Explorer/0)

If the object has multiple instances that have the same name string, they can be indexed sequentially by specifying the instance index (a number starting with "1") preceded by a pound sign. Instance indexes are zero-based, so all instances have an implicit zero index. For example:

    (Explorer/0#1)

The \Counter component is required; it specifies the performance counter.

An instance called _Total instance is available on most objects and represents the sum of the values for all instances of the object for a specific counter.

In addition to the counter descriptions provided in this Help file, you can click the Explain button in the Add Counters dialog box in System Monitor or Performance Logs and Alerts to display counter descriptions.