70-215 QOTD 25/06/2004

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Users at your office are complaining that the time to access their data on a Windows 2000 file server is getting longer and longer. To identify the problem, you use System Monitor utility to monitor the file server and receive the following data:

% Processor Time (Average): 50%
Pages /sec (Average): 4
Average Disk sec/Transfer: 0.8
Disk Queue Length (Average): 4

Which of the followings should you upgrade?


A) RAM.

B) Hard disk.

C) Network Adaptor.

D) Processor.

 

Correct answer is: B

Explanation:
In general, deciding whether or not performance is acceptable is a judgment that varies significantly with variations in user environments. The values you establish as the baselines for your organization are the best basis for comparison. Nevertheless, the following table containing threshold values for specific counters can help you determine whether values reported by your computer indicate a problem. If System Monitor consistently reports these values, it is likely that hindrances exist on your system and you should take tune or upgrade the affected resource.
For the processor, if the % Processor Time is consistently high (greater than 80%) and disk and network counter values are low, it is an indication that the processor is a likely bottleneck.
A sustained processor queue length of greater than 2 generally indicates a processor bottleneck.
For pages /sec if the counter value is consistently greater than 5, suspect memory.
A high value (values greater than 0.3 seconds) for Average Disk sec/Transfer may mean that the disk controller is continually retrying the disk because of failures.
If the counter value for %Disk Time is consistently high and disk queue length is greater than 2, it is likely that the physical disk represents a bottleneck.