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  The File I/O Performance Monitor

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Introduction

A major feature of the hIOmon File I/O Performance Monitor is its support for Microsoft® Windows® Management Instrumentation (WMI).  WMI is a key Microsoft initiative to advance systems management within the Windows operating system environment.  The hIOmon WMI Support enables you to not only control the overall operation of hIOmon, but to also access the rich set of real-time summarized file I/O operation performance metrics uniquely collected by hIOmon.  The hIOmon WMI Support allows you to quickly and easily incorporate hIOmon into your standard, familiar, overall management/monitoring schemes.  Moreover, you can now easily correlate specific file I/O operation performance metrics with the vast array of other performance and management information available through WMI and in conjunction with performance and management applications that leverage WMI and the Common Information Model (CIM) standard. 

By enabling broad, industry-standard access, the hIOmon WMI Support lets you focus on the productivity of your computer systems in a new way (i.e., storage I/O performance at the application level upon an individual file basis) that was previously unavailable.

Please refer to the "hIOmon User Guide" (HMG-1093) for more information about the hIOmon WMI Support; this document is available in PDF format within the hIOmon Documentation directory where you installed the hIOmon software. 

Getting Started with the hIOmon WMI Support

A "Quick Start" guide is provided to help show how you can use the hIOmon WMI Browser to quickly begin using hIOmon simply through the hIOmon WMI Support.

General Considerations

Depending upon the number and type of files selected to be monitored (along with the actual amount of associated file I/O activity), the quantity of I/O trace information collected by the hIOmon I/O Monitor can vary and sometimes become quite large.  As a first step, we recommend that you consider the use of the hIOmon filters and summary capabilities to begin your observations of file I/O operation performance from the overall perspective (i.e., a “top-down” approach); the Alert options, along with the ability to display the summarized file I/O operation performance information in a sorted order based upon a selected performance metric, can be especially helpful in this regard.  Then, based upon the file I/O operation performance information results provided by hIOmon, drill-down as necessary to the particular files of interest.  (The more advanced features of hIOmon, such as the support for "replay" mode and the ability to configure hIOmon I/O Monitor memory usage, do allow you to completely capture, if necessary, the entire I/O trace information for highly accessed files). 

hIOmon WMI Browser

The hIOmon WMI Browser is an HTML Application (HTA) that has been developed by hyperI/O LLC to help show how easy and powerful WMI access to hIOmon can be.  Making use of the Microsoft® WMI Scripting API within HTML pages, the hIOmon WMI Browser requires Microsoft® Internet Explorer version 5.5 or above.

The hIOmon WMI Browser include options to:

• Display a list of the top ten files based upon your selected sort order.

• Display a list of the top ten devices based upon overall "Device Summaries" and your selected sort order.

• Display a list of the top ten processes based upon your selected sort order.

• Display the selected real-time summarized file I/O operation performance metrics for a particular file of interest (and also display a list of files for which the hIOmon I/O Monitor currently has summarized file I/O operation performance metrics); in addition, you can display the names of the particular processes that performed the file I/O operations directed to the respective files.

• Display the selected real-time summarized file I/O operation performance metrics on a "Device Summary" basis for a particular device of interest (and also display a list of devices for which the hIOmon I/O Monitor currently has summarized file I/O operation performance metrics on a Device Summary basis).

• Display the selected real-time summarized file I/O operation performance metrics for a particular process of interest (and also display a list of processes for which the hIOmon I/O Monitor currently has summarized file I/O operation performance metrics); in addition, you can display the names of the particular, respective files to which the processes performed the file I/O operations.

• Display the current status and operational settings for the hIOmon Manager and the hIOmon I/O Monitor (as well as modify several of the hIOmon Manager and hIOmon I/O Monitor operational settings).

• Display and modify the various Filter Selection and associated Filter options and settings. 

• Display all of the current File I/O Log files present at the hIOmon Manager (and modify several of the File I/O Log file operational settings).

• Display all of the current hIOmon Manager Export Files present at the hIOmon Manager (and modify several of the hIOmon Manager Export File operational settings). 

• Display and modify various hIOmon Performance Monitor / System Monitor (PerfLib) support configuration and sort options.

• Display the usage statistics for both the hIOmon Manager and the hIOmon I/O Monitor.

• Display the hIOmon version information. 

• Display all of the hIOmon-specific CIM/MOF classes, including a description of their associated properties and methods. 

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hIOmon WMI VBScript Samples

VBScript demonstration samples have also been provided by hyperI/O LLC.  These VBScript samples also help illustrate how you can access hIOmon by means of the WMI support for scripting; they can be run in either interactive mode or in non-interactive mode (e.g., from the DOS command line).

Each of the sample scripts is commented; you can use Notepad or a similar viewer/editor to open the sample scripts and view the comments that are included within the scripts.  Please note once again that these are simple demonstration sample scripts and include minimal error handling or reporting.  See the hIOmon ReadMe document for the location of the VBScript demonstration samples.

These demonstration scripts enable you to:

1. Perform an "Automated Monitoring Configuration Setup" (i.e., quickly create a simple Filter Selection, which will automatically be loaded/activated, along with one or more hIOmon Manager Export Files to which the I/O operation metrics collected by hIOmon will be exported in real-time and within a CSV-file format):

   • hIOmonAMCSSR.vbs (automated monitoring configuration setup script). 

2. Access the real-time summarized file I/O operation performance metrics:

   • hIOmonTopTenFiles.vbs (displays/exports a list of the top ten files based upon your selected sort order).

   • hIOmonFilePerfStats.vbs  (displays the current summarized file I/O performance metrics for the file you select).

   • hIOmonTopTenProcesses.vbs (displays/exports a list of the top ten processes based upon your selected sort order).

   • hIOmonProcessPerfStats.vbs  (displays the current summarized file I/O performance metrics for the process you select).

3. Query hIOmon Manager and hIOmon I/O Monitor Status:

   • hIOmonManagerStatus.vbs  (displays current hIOmon Manager status).

   • hIOmonIOmonitorStatus.vbs (displays current hIOmon I/O Monitor status).

4. Usage statistics: 

• hIOmonManagerUsageStats.vbs (displays current hIOmon Manager usage statistics).

• hIOmonMonitorCurrentUsageStats.vbs (displays current hIOmon I/O Monitor usage statistics).

5. Modify hIOmon Manager and hIOmon I/O Monitor operation:

   • hIOmonManagerSetAutoStartOptions.vbs (enable/disable hIOmon Manager AutoStart options).

   • hIOmonIOmonitorSetOperation.vbs (enable/disable hIOmon I/O Monitor file I/O operation monitoring (does not stop hIOmon I/O Monitor running), enable/disable preparation of file I/O operation performance information records for hIOmon clients such as the hIOmon Presentation Client, enable/disable high precision time duration recording, set maximum number of files and processes allowed to be concurrently monitored by the hIOmon I/O Monitor, enable/disable the start of the hIOmon I/O Monitor as part of the operating system boot startup process, enable/disable the hIOmon I/O Monitor from attaching to specified physical devices as part of the hIOmon I/O Monitor startup as part of the operating system boot startup process, and adding (or removing) a specified device from the list of physical devices to be attached when the hIOmon I/O Monitor is started as part of the operating system boot startup process).

6. hIOmon I/O Monitor Filter Selections:

   • hIOmonSetFilters.vbs (supports a variety of operations on Filter Selections such as enable/disable a Filter Selection as the default, activate a Filter Selection, remove a Filter from a Filter Selection, and add a new Filter to a Filter Selection).

7. hIOmon Manager File I/O Log Files:

   • hIOmonSetFileIOlogFile.vbs (supports a variety of operations on File I/O Log files such start/stop hIOmon Manager saving file I/O operation performance information to a  specified File I/O, create and start a new File I/O Log file, change the maximum allowed size of a File I/O Log file, and enable/disable a File I/O Log file as the default).

8. hIOmon Manager Export Files:

   • hIOmonSetMgrExportFile.vbs (supports a variety of operations upon hIOmon Manager Export Files such start/stop hIOmon Manager saving the selected file I/O operation performance information to a specified hIOmon Manager Export File, create and start a new hIOmon Manager Export File, reset or delete a particular hIOmon Manager Export File, and enable/disable a hIOmon Manager Export File as a default).
     

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hIOmon Add-Ons

The “hIOmon Add-Ons” are auxiliary software utilities that are targeted towards specific tasks and that leverage the extensive functionality of the hIOmon File I/O Performance Monitor software.  The hIOmon Add-Ons make use of the variety of interfaces provided by hIOmon.  The hIOmon WMI support, for instance, is used to configure and manage the operation of the hIOmon software.  For example, the hIOmon "Automated Monitoring Configuration Setup" VBScript is used to configure the hIOmon software in accordance with the particular hIOmon Add-On selected to be used.  The hIOmon Add-Ons also include hIOmon Excel template/macros, which are used with the Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheet program to easily and quickly generate charts and graphs that display the pertinent set of file and device I/O operation performance metrics uniquely collected by hIOmon.

The hIOmon "Device and File I/O Performance Analysis Add-On" enables you to characterize the I/O operation performance of specific files (and their associated logical and physical devices) that are of particular interest to you, moreover based upon empirical metrics that have been collected by hIOmon and which reflect the normal, everyday use of your very own files (even within production environments).  This I/O operation performance characterization can highlight key metrics, including read and write I/O operation counts, I/O operation (IOPS) rates, amount of data transferred along with MB/s rates, average and maximum response times, random and sequential access counts, average and maximum queue lengths, system file cache "hit" and "miss" statistics, etc.  And with its Excel charting and graphing support, this Add-On lets you perform file and device comparisons, various "Top Ten" rankings, "Hot Spot" analyses, problem diagnosis, capacity and performance analyses, and much more.

The hIOmon "Fragmented File I/O Operation Metrics Analysis Add-On" can be used to determine the actual file I/O operation performance impact incurred by file fragmentation.  This hIOmon Add-On enables you to easily and quickly determine such impact based upon empirical metrics that have been collected by hIOmon and which reflect the normal, everyday use of your very own files.  Moreover, no file, application, or operating system changes are required!

Please refer to the "hIOmon Add-On User Guide" (HMG-1004) for more information about the hIOmon Add-Ons; this document is available in PDF format within the hIOmon Documentation directory where you installed the hIOmon software.

Also see the hIOmon tutorials for "step-by-step" screen shot demonstrations that illustrate how to use the hIOmon "Fragmented File I/O Operation Metrics Analysis Add-On".   

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