Windows Tips & Tricks UPDATE, December 6, 2004, —brought to you by the Windows IT Pro Network and the Windows 2000 FAQ site
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FAQs
- Q. How can I install Windows System Resource Manager (WSRM)?1
- Q. How can I configure Windows System Resource Manager (WSRM)?
- Q. What type of resource capping does Windows System Resource Manager (WSRM) use?
- Q. How can I add the Windows XP Tweak UI PowerToy to the Control Panel?
- Q. What's the Microsoft Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer Tool?
Commentary
by John Savill, FAQ Editor, [email protected]
This week, I tell you how to install and configure Windows System Resource Manager (WSRM) and explain what type of resource capping WSRM uses. I also tell you how to add the Windows XP Tweak UI PowerToy to the Control Panel and discuss the Microsoft Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer Tool.
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You'll be able to read more about these IT Prolympians in the January 2005 issue of Windows IT Pro.
Although the contest is over, you can still test your AD knowledge and see how you stack up against your peers. Simply go to http://www.windowsitpro.com/itprolympics, download the study guide, then take the written and virtual-lab exams. Challenge yourself and learn at the same time.
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FAQs
Q. How can I install Windows System Resource Manager (WSRM)?
A. You can install WSRM on a system running Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition or Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition. After you've downloaded WSRM at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/downloads/wsrm.mspx (the downloaded file is in International Organization for Standardization--ISO--image format), you'll need to either burn the file to a CD-ROM or open it in a virtual CD-ROM drive by using special software (such as Virtual CD).
To install WSRM, perform the following steps:
- Start the setup.exe program (<cdrom>:\setup\x86).
- At the installation dialog box's welcome screen, click Next.
- Select "I accept the license agreement" and click Next.
- Click Next to install the server and client components.
- Accept the default of "accounting enabled" and click Next. The installation files will be copied and services will be installed.
- When the installation is completed, click Finish; by default, the WSRM server management component starts.
Q. How can I configure Windows System Resource Manager (WSRM)?
A. When WSRM is installed, it adds the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Windows System Resource Manager snap-in to the Start menu's Administrative Tools folder. After the snap-in is started, it displays a dashboard view that simplifies WSRM configuration. The configuration process consists of these basic steps:
- Use the Process Matching Criteria component to identify all the processes that WSRM should manage.
- Use the Resource Allocation Policies component to create a resource-allocation policy that allocates resources to processes you identified in step 1.
- Use the Calendar component to schedule when the various resource-allocation policies take effect.
Other WSRM components include Resource Monitor, which shows the current resource usage (similar to Performance Monitor) and Accounting, which you can use to generate reports of resource usage on a per-process basis.
Q. What type of resource capping does Windows System Resource Manager (WSRM) use?
A. Traditionally, two types of resource capping exist: hard and soft. Hard caps set a resource limit that can't be exceeded; for example, setting a hard cap of 20 percent of CPU means that the process never can use more than 20 percent of CPU resources. A soft cap sets a limit that can be exceeded if no other processes are competing for the resource. For example, in the previous example, the process can use more than 20 percent of CPU if other processes on the system aren't using their allocations.
WSRM uses soft capping, which is the most efficient method and lets processes use hardware as much as possible while allocating resources efficiently to competing processes. When hard caps are used, a resource is limited to its allocation although the CPU has spare resources. With soft caps, the CPU is more efficiently utilized because a cap can be exceeded if necessary, as long as processes aren't competing for resources.
Q. How can I add the Windows XP Tweak UI PowerToy to the Control Panel?
A. After you download TweakUI at the Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP Web page (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx) and install it, tweakui.exe will be located in the \%systemroot%\system32 folder. To add tweakui.exe to the Control Panel folder, paste the following listing into a text file (name it tweakui.reg) or download tweakui.reg at http://www.windowsitpro.com/content/content/44704/tweakui_reg.zip, then execute it by double-clicking the file. When you open the Control Panel, you'll have a TweakUI link.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
\[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\\{D14ED2E1-C75B-443c-BD7C-FC03B2F08C17\}\]
@="TweakUI"
"InfoTip"="Starts TweakUI for Windows XP"
\[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\\{D14ED2E1-C75B-443c-BD7C-
FC03B2F08C17\}\DefaultIcon\]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74
,00,25,00,5c,00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,5c
,00,74,00,77,00,65,00,61,00,6b,00,75,00,69,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,2c,00
,30,00,00,00
\[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\\{D14ED2E1-C75B-443c-BD7C-FC03B2F08C17\}\Shell\]
\[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\\{D14ED2E1-C75B-443c-BD7C-
FC03B2F08C17\}\Shell\Open\]
\[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\\{D14ED2E1-C75B-443c-BD7C-
FC03B2F08C17\}\Shell\Open\Command\]
@="tweakui.exe"
\[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\\{D14ED2E1-C75B-443c-BD7C-
FC03B2F08C17\}\ShellFolder\]
"Attributes"=dword:00000030
\[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ExplorerControlPanel\NameSpace\\{D14ED2E1-C75B-443c-BD7C-FC03B2F08C17\}\]
@="Tweakui for Control Panel"
Q. What's the Microsoft Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer Tool?
A. Microsoft recently released this tool, which you can download at http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/downloads/2003/exbpa/default.asp and which you can use to scan an Exchange Server organization and compare it with Microsoft's best practices. The tool reports suboptimal configuration settings, provides an overview of your Exchange Server system's health, and helps fix specific problems. Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer works on Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange 2000 Server systems (and also on Exchange Server 5.5 systems that are part of a mixed-mode Exchange organization). I recommend that you check out a Microsoft TechNet Webcast about how to get the most from the tool at http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/webcasteventdetails.aspx?culture=en-us&eventid=1032259582&countrycode=us.
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