Mark Friedman recently presented his paper at the CMG ’11 International Conference in Washington DC and we have made it available as a White Paper in our download area. You can use this link to retrieve it: Measuring Processor Utilization in Windows

“This paper discusses the legacy technique for measuring processor utilization in Windows that is based on sampling. This technique for measuring processor utilization is efficient and generally adequate for capacity planning. However, it lacks the precision performance engineers require for application optimization and tuning, particularly over small measurement intervals. The paper then introduces newer techniques for measuring processor utilization in Windows that are event-driven. The event-driven approaches are distinguished by far greater accuracy, enabling the reconstruction of the precise path that threads, processes and processors take when they execute. Gathering event-driven measurements entails significantly higher overhead, but measurements indicate this overhead is well within acceptable bounds on today’s high powered server machines.”

After a 4+ year hiatus while I was working at Microsoft, I am back working at DemandTech Software, the company I started in 1998, as of the beginning of 2011.

My name is Mark B. Friedman. I am a professional software developer, author of several popular software products over the years, many of them tools used in computer performance analysis and capacity planning, including NTSMF, Performance Sentry, and the Performance Sentry PDB and Portal.

Before I go any further, let me express my utmost gratitude to Phil Henninge, Joanne Decker, Steve Campbell (and everyone else at DemandTech) who kept the company humming while I was AWOL. I was confident they would, of course, having taken steps to keep the business intact when I left Florida for the Redmond, WA area and the new job in October 2006. But the job they did exceeded my expectations — well done, guys. I am really, really proud of you, and also grateful for the manner in which you have welcomed this prodigal employee back into the fold.

Well, I think that is enough of that mushy stuff, though. Not my style at all.

While at Microsoft, I worked in the Developer Division, the part of the company that produces Visual Studio, the .NET Framework, and other developer tools. If you would like to catch up with some of the work I did there, you can check out the DevDiv performance engineering team blog I started in 2008 located at http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ddperf/ .

I just set up a new blog at http://performancebydesign.blogspot.com/, which is intended as both a continuation and extention of the old one at Microsoft. It is a place where I can ruminate on current topics of interest, and consolidate some older material that I have been stockpiling, possibly for an updated version of my Windows Performance Guide book. (I noticed recently that MS Press is no longer selling the Win2K3 Resource Kit, the original Win2K book is definitely its age, and there currently isn’t a suitable up-to-date replacement or substitute available.)

However, while there is definitely a need, I am not promising anything in the book department. (Writing a book is so time consuming!) Near term, I am quite busy helping to get the next version of Sentry and the Portal ready to ship, and reconnecting with our customers to figure out how we go forward from here.

In the meantime, if you want to touch base, please drop me a line at my old, familiar markf @ demandtech.com e-mail address.

It is great to be back.

Regards,

– Mark

Summary
 

There is a known problem whereby binding in the Telerik RadNumericUpDown control is broken.  If a minimum value is greater than zero, then the WPF binding of the control will break during initialization. For our design, this rendered the control unusable.

Since this problem has not been fixed nor appears to be fixed any time soon, I took it upon myself to investigate and code a workaround to prevent design changes, further development costs, and a schedule impact.

 
Background

For the next generation of our Performance Sentry™ Administration application we chose WPF as the platform and elected to utilize the Telerik for WPF controls.  Our Data Collection Sets (DCSs) have numerous data collection parameters with different custom types that allow very flexible data collection through our Performance Sentry™ product.  To allow the user to edit these properties, I created a DCS property editor user control.  This component takes advantage of WPF in that it renders each property with a content presenter based upon the property type.  The property types each have a class to represent them and new classes and presenters can be added as needed. With this framework in place, maintenance is easier since the code is object oriented and located in one place.

Implementation

For numeric properties with a specified range, we had previous used a numeric up down control in WinForms which did not require data validation.  Telerik has a RadNumericUpDown control that would be a perfect replacement for the WinForms version.

Here is a picture of the DCS property editor constructed in WPF using Telerik controls:

Take a look at the xaml for the ListView that is used to allow the user to edit these properties.

<ListView Grid.ColumnSpan=”2″ x:Name=”CycleProperties”
Style=”{StaticResource PropListView}”
ItemsSource=”{Binding Path=CycleProps}”
ItemContainerStyle=”{StaticResource ResourceKey=PropListViewItemStyle}”>
<ListView.View>
<GridView AllowsColumnReorder=”False”
ColumnHeaderContainerStyle=”{StaticResource myHeaderStyle}”>
<GridViewColumn CellTemplate=”{StaticResource ResourceKey=PropDescription}”/>
<GridViewColumn CellTemplate=”{StaticResource ResourceKey=CustomPresenter}”/>
</GridView>
</ListView.View>
</ListView>

In the C# code behind, you would see the following initialization to define the cycle collection properties as an array.  Only one property is shown to save space.

// Collection Parameters
_CycleProps = new PropertyBase[] {
new IntegerProperty(dcs,
“Cycle Duration”,
“Length of the data collection cycle in hours.”,
“CycleDuration”,
1.0,
999.0),
…

Of course this initialization could be moved to a configuration file but our features do not change enough to warrant that during this release.

The integer property has a range as indicated by the min and max parameters.  These would be bound to the RadNumericUpDown control.

class IntegerProperty : PropertyBase
{
public IntegerProperty( object DataContext,
string DisplayName,
string Description,
string PropertyName, double Min, double Max, bool) : base(DataContext, DisplayName, Description, PropertyName, ReadOnly)
{
this._Min = Min;
this._Max = Max;
}
private double _Min;
public double Min { get { return _Min; } set { _Min = value; OnPropertyChanged(“Min”); } }
private double _Max;
public double Max { get { return _Max; } set { _Max = value; OnPropertyChanged(“Max”); } }
}

The base class for all properties handles the property change notification and defines the Value property to retrieve the value from the object that was being edited.  The property is created with a data context that is used to get the value to be rendered or set by the custom content presenter.

public class PropertyBase : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
…
public PropertyBase( object DataContext,
string DisplayName,
string Description,
string PropertyName,
… )
public object Value … Implemented Get/Set logic for the data context…
}

The custom presenter xaml for the IntegerProperty is below.

<DataTemplate DataType=”{x:Type dts:IntegerProperty}”>
<telerik:RadNumericUpDown HorizontalAlignment=”Right”
HorizontalContentAlignment=”Right”
Margin=”2 2 2 2″
SmallChange=”1″
LargeChange=”10″
AutoReverse=”True”
MinWidth=”60″
IsTabStop=”True”
ValueFormat=”Numeric”
IsEditable=”{Binding Path=IsEditable}”
IsEnabled=”{Binding Path=IsEditable}”
IsInteger=”True”
DataContext=”{Binding}”
Minimum=”{Binding Path=Min, Mode=TwoWay}”
Maximum=”{Binding Path=Max, Mode=TwoWay}”
Value=”{Binding Path=Value, Converter={StaticResource ResourceKey=RadNumericUpDownConverter}, Mode=TwoWay}”
Loaded=”RadNumericUpDown_Loaded” />
</DataTemplate>

The problem

We have a parameter for the data collection cycle duration in hours which previously had the range of 1-999.  As the data files were loaded and I began to test the implementation, the horror began.  The common value of 24 found in our data files would not bind in the control.  The value was being set to the minimum value of 1.

After MUCH debugging and questioning of the infrastructure I created, I discovered that Telerik has a bug in this the seemingly simplest of controls!  If the minimum value is > 0, the binding is broken and the value bound is set to the minimum.  Here is the PITS record I was referred to although it has a slightly different definition than what I submitted.  This issue was initially part of a different post so I speculate there was some confusion on Telerik’s part to the full extent of the problem.

http://www.telerik.com/support/pits.aspx#/public/wpf/4266

A workaround?

The initial response from telerik was to not use the control in a data template which obviously was not an option for this type of design.  They apologized for not getting it into Q3 but until it was fixed this control would be useless for our design.  These are the darkest times of trying to accomplish reuse in software engineering.  You never know what is lurking around the next corner to throw a wrench in your product plans.   Having invested in Telerik, we did not want to incur licensing for another control library and go through another learning curve in the middle of the project.  And of course we don’t want to reinvent the wheel for something as common place as a numeric up down control.  So we need a workaround to make progress.

What about setting the minimum to zero until Telerik fixed their problem?  This is something we could put in release notes.

It was decided that it was important that the user not be able to set this parameter to zero and we better find a workaround.

So that brings us to the point of this whole article.  Trying to relieve the pain and suffering of anyone in a similar situation.  There were several code/run/debug attempts and then it occurred to me.  After the control is loaded what would happen if we set the minimum property again even though the binding was supposed to be set?

Purists, look away from your screen.  This is the type of code that you rarely get to see from the outside, but I think most developers will admit it is the glue that holds systems and commerce together even in 2010.  This is the compromise between the business world of dollars and cents and the theoretical world of computer science that must be often must be reached to deliver systems even with advanced tools as WPF and Visual Studio 2010.

Change the minimum value on the property to the control so it is bound to a minimum greater than zero.  This prevents the binding from breaking.

new IntegerProperty(dcs,
“Cycle Duration”,
“Length of the data collection cycle in hours.”,
“CycleDuration”,
0.0,  // Telerik Bug Requires 0.0 should be 1.0
999.0),

In the custom content presenter, add the following event to get called after the control loads.

…

Loaded=”RadNumericUpDown_Loaded” />

Then implement the following event handler to change your minimum binding to what it should be:

// Work around for Telerik RadUpDownNumeric bug when you cannot specify a minimum

private void RadNumericUpDown_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
Telerik.Windows.Controls.RadNumericUpDown c = sender as Telerik.Windows.Controls.RadNumericUpDown;
if (c != null)
{
IntegerProperty i = c.DataContext as IntegerProperty;
if (i.Name == “Cycle Duration”)
c.Minimum = 1;
else if (i.Name == “Disk Limit MB”)
c.Minimum = 1;
}
}

It turns out if you set the minimum just after the control loads the binding will still take effect and your minimum value > 0 will be applied successfully.

To this day the fix is not schedule for release Q4.   Maybe some renegade working for Telerik will see this post and add it to Q4 or and work “off task” fixing this while editing a nearby file!

Phil Henninge explaining our Performance Sentry VM Product to an interested attendee

The 2010 CMG International Conference opened on Monday to extremely positive reviews.  Educational sessions have been both well attended and well received and there are a larger than usual number of first time attendees this year.  It’s amazing what having the show in a warm weather climate does for attendance.

We had a great time at the booth yesterday catching up with old friends and meeting a lot of very interesting people for the first time.    CMG is one of those shows that people try and attend every year and it doesn’t take long for a sense of community to develop.

If you are in Orlando for the conference please stop by our booth to introduce yourself and let us know your thoughts on the show so far.

CMG’10, the 36th Annual International Conference on Resource Management and Computer Performance Evaluation is being held December 5th -10th at the beautiful Gaylord Hotel in Orlando, Florida.

This is a conference that Demand attends every year and we’re extremely pleased to have it held in our home state this year.    We’re looking forward to showing off both our technology and the wonderful weather we have in Florida each December.  If you’re on the fence about this years CMG it’s time to jump off and make plans to attend.

Program Chair Timothy Hill and his Program Committee have assembled an agenda that offers the systems performance and capacity planning community a full week of comprehensive training by industry-recognized experts as well as IT professionals just like you. This conference offers attendees a chance to interface with presenters in a variety of venues including workshops, “how-to” tutorials, and informal networking, as well as user-experience and problem-solving presentation sessions.  And of course a chance to meet with your friends at Demand Technology.

For more information on CMG ’10 please visit the CMG website here.

Bryce Olson, at The Server Room Blog has written an interesting and detailed post on how server performance can reduce overall IT expenses.  In the post he quotes Vernon Turner, the Senior VP of IDC’s Enterprise Infrastructure, Consumer and Telecom research group as saying:

“I think TCO is top of mind when customers evaluate server infrastructure.  Performance is important because that drives how many servers are required to achieve the customers productivity goals.  And that drives the downstream costs associated with software, power & cooling, rack/floor space, networking and maintenance fees.”

Seems obvious, right?    But is it really something you’re thinking about when you’re managing the performance of your server farm?  There are performance issues that impact the user experience and there are performance guidelines and sizing issues that can seriously impact your IT budget.

Please read the entire Server Room Blog post here.

We’re very pleased to announce the General Availability of Performance Sentry VM.  The product has been in beta for the past few months and the GA version went live on the site early this morning.  To learn more or kick the tires please click the appropriate link.

Learn more about Performance Sentry VM

Kick the Tires – Try out Performance Sentry VM

Find out what objects and counters Performance Sentry VM collects

Download a Management Pack to use Performance Sentry VM with Microsoft’s SCOM

Or, just send us an email at sales@demandtech.com.

I needed to set up a mobile demo environment to show off our new VMware performance monitor and wanted something that could be hosted on a Windows laptop running ESX Server and a few different Virtual Machines.

I started with an HP Pavilion dv7 quad-core Intel i7 running Windows 7 x64  with 8 GB of memory.

Then I installed VMware Workstation 7 and defined an ESX 3.5 Server Virtual machine in Workstation with 6GB of memory and a 100 GB virtual disk.

(Please note all videos are HD and look great in full screen mode)

After setting up the ESX Server the next step was to download and install vClient to manage the Virtual Server.

The final step in the process was to configure and install virtual machines and VMware tools. For our purposes we needed two different virtual machines but the video below just shows the installation of Windows Server 2008 and VMware tools.

When I was done we had the mobile demonstration environment we needed to show off our new product.

Demand Technology Software is pleased to announce the release of the Performance Sentry VM Management Pack for Systems Center Operations Manager .  The Management Pack integrates the VMware ESX performance metrics provided by Performance Sentry VM with Microsoft’s popular Systems Center Operations Manager (SCOM) data center management product.

The PSVM Management Pack requires both Performance Sentry VM and Systems Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 (SCOM 2007 R2).

Guest vs Host Aggregate CPU Displayed in SCOM

Performance Sentry VM uses Server 2008 counters.  There can be issues with SCOM 2007 R2 not showing these 2008 counters. As a result, we recommend installing SCOM 2007 Cumulative Update 2 if you have not already done so from  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/979257.

Guest CPU Displayed in SCOM

The Performance Sentry VM Management Pack for Systems Microsoft Center Operations Manager is currently free and can be downloaded from our download page or directly from here.

Phil put together this quick video demonstrating the installation steps for installing Performance Sentry VM on Windows Server 2008.  At the end of the video he also adds some counters and shows the data in real time using Perfmon.

The video is in HD and is easily viewed in full screen mode.