Windows System Monitoring

Windows is an operating environment developed by Microsoft. A Windows system refers to any computing environment running a version of Microsoft Windows.

Monitoring Windows systems involves tracking availability and performance metrics such as CPU usage, memory consumption, and disk utilization. Effective monitoring helps ensure system stability, optimize performance, identify potential issues, and maintain the overall efficiency of Windows-based environments.

Prerequisites

Before configuring a Windows system for monitoring in IT-Conductor, follow the instructions in the pages specified below.

• WinRM Configuration

• Domain User Access

• Configure Access to WMI Namespace

• Allow Windows Service Configuration Manager Access

Configure Microsoft Windows for Monitoring in IT-Conductor

To configure Windows system monitoring in IT-Conductor, follow the instructions below.

Add New Windows System

1. Visit service.itconductor.com and enter your login credentials.

2. Navigate to Dashboards → Administrator to access the Administrator's Dashboard.

3. Locate the Windows Systems actions panel and click the title to access the complete list.

Figure 1: Windows Systems Actions Panel in Administrator's Dashboard

4. Click the New Windows System button to start adding a new system for monitoring.

Figure 2: Windows Systems Actions Panel Page

5. Fill out all the necessary information in the New Windows System wizard. Once completed, click to add the system.

Figure 3a: New Windows System Wizard (New Windows System Screen)

• Description - refers to any relevant information about the system being added.

• Organization - refers to an administrative structure that defines objects with a common goal or purpose. If you previously created an organization, please select it.

• Role - refers to the environment where the system will be used.

• Site - refers to a logical object that describes a particular area or location, depending on the context in which it is used.

• Gateway - allows communication between the customer's site network and the IT-Conductor cloud platform. Select the previously configured gateway from the dropdown menu. See Gateway Setup for more details.

• Timeout - refers to the maximum time IT-Conductor will attempt to establish a connection to the host agent (It is set to 120 seconds by default).

Authentication

• Authentication - refers to the authentication mechanism, such as Kerberos, NTLM, Basic, Negotiate, or Custom, to verify user identities.

• Realm - refers to a domain or administrative boundary within a network environment. If the server supports Kerberos authentication, input the domain name.

• KDC - refers to a component of Kerberos authentication that issues ticket-granting tickets.

• Domain Controller - refers to a server in a Windows domain responsible for authenticating users and enforcing security policies.

HTTP Proxy Configuration

• Proxy - refers to the HTTP proxy communication protocol that facilitates routing HTTP requests between a client and the Internet. When selected, you can enter the host and port to be used.

WinRM Connection

• Protocol - refers to the communication protocol (HTTP or HTTPS) that will be used to access the Windows system.

• Host - refers to the host of the system being added.

• Port - refers to the port number (Port 5985 by default) used to access the Windows system being added.

6. Provide the account information in the New Account screen and click to complete the configuration.

Figure 3b: New Windows System Wizard (New Account Screen)

• Description - refers to any relevant information about the user account being added.

• Application - refers to the name given to the system being added.

• Person - refers to the name of the user who is adding the system.

• User Name - refers to the Windows user created aligned with the Account Requirements.

• Password - refers to the password of the previously created Windows user.

• Retype Password - refers to the same password provided in the Password field.

7. Verify if the system was added to the Windows Systems actions panel and check its status.

Figure 4: Newly Added Windows System in Windows Systems Actions Panel Page

Note: The status will remain on Ready for a few minutes. Refresh the panel if needed. If there are configuration issues, such as incorrect connection parameters or an invalid account, the status will remain Ready. Click to display the logs and troubleshoot. If everything is configured correctly, the status will change to In Progress.

8. Navigate to the service grid and verify if the system was added under the Windows Systems node.

Monitor Windows System in IT-Conductor

To view the availability and performance metrics of a Windows system, locate the Windows Systems node in the service grid.

Figure 5: Windows Systems View in Service Grid

Windows System Key Metrics

• Availability - refers to the operational state and accessibility of the Windows system.

• Connection Failures - refer to the events where attempts to establish a connection are unsuccessful.

• Heartbeat - refers to the periodic signal sent to the system, enabling real-time detection of system downtime.

• Missing Account - refers to the absence of a required user account or resource within the Windows system.

• Retriever Failures - refer to the errors or issues encountered during the retrieval process of essential data or information within the Windows system.

• Available Memory - indicates how much memory is utilized by all the running services and applications in a server.

• Committed Memory in Use - refers to the amount of virtual memory that Windows has allocated for all running processes, reflecting active memory demand.

• Peak Processor Time - refers to the highest utilization recorded at a specific point in time.

• Processor Time - indicates how much processing power is being utilized. The higher the CPU utilization, the more work is being done by the system, and the greater the potential for system instability.

Note: All metrics will not show data when a system is unavailable.

To access a historical view of each of these metrics, click and a pop-up chart will be displayed.

Figure 6: Available Memory chart in Service Grid

File Systems Utilization Metrics

File systems are also part of the default monitoring setup upon adding a Windows system in IT-Conductor. The following metrics are automatically tracked for file systems:

• Free Space % - refers to the amount of disk space left for use represented in percentage

• Free Space - refers to the amount of disk space left for use, megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB).

• I/O Utilization - Measures the overall input/output activity of the file system, indicating how busy it is with read and write operations.

• Idle Time - refers to the percentage of time the file system is not handling any I/O operations, reflecting its inactivity.

• Read Utilization - refers to the percentage of time the file system is occupied with read operations, showing how much of the activity involves data reading.

• Write Utilization - refers to the percentage of time the file system is occupied with write operations, indicating the activity level involving data writing.

Figure 7: File System Metrics

Health Explorer

To view a more detailed analysis of metrics and time-synchronized data, click Health in the service grid, and you will be redirected to the Health Explorer page.

Figure 8: Windows Systems Health Explorer

Scheduled Maintenance Events

To view the scheduled maintenance events for monitored Windows systems, click Events in the service grid, and a pop-up list of Scheduled Maintenance Events will be displayed. You may enlarge the pop-window to find the option to create a maintenance event.

Alternatively, you may click the Maintenance On option to set the system on maintenance immediately.

Figure 9: Creating Maintenance Events

Retrievers

Retrievers deliver all information about a monitored system. Every component or application has a dedicated retriever that can help ensure that each application's state is reported accurately. You may check which retrievers are being monitored by clicking on Retrievers on the service grid.

Figure 10: Monitored Retrievers in Windows Systems

Application Log

An application log records events or messages generated by software during its execution. It is typically used for debugging and troubleshooting purposes. To view the logs for the Windows system, click Application Log in the service grid, and you will be redirected to a page with a list of all events and their status.

Figure 11: Windows System Application Log