Windows 7 / Getting Started

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Creating a Data Collector Set

You create a DCS by using a wizard or a preconfigured XML template. The data can be a single performance log, event trace, or system configuration data set, or any combination of the three. You can also configure Performance Counter Alerts from this interface.

To create a new DCS, follow these steps:

1. Open the Performance Monitor snap-in and select the User Defined node beneath the Data Collector Sets node.
2. Right-click the User Defined node, select New, and then select Data Collector Set to start the Create New Data Collector Set wizard.
3. Provide a name for the data collector set and choose to create from a template or create manually by following the remaining steps of the wizard.

When you create a new DCS, it is simplest to use the Create From A Template option in the Create New Data Collector Set wizard. You can create templates for common monitoring scenarios and use them to quickly configure and start a new logging session using the template settings. The templates are in XML format; all settings for the DCS are specified in the template. There are three preconfigured templates for creating a new DCS:

• Basic
• System Diagnostics
• System Performance

You can also export a DCS as a template that can be modified and imported to create a new DCS. To export a DCS configuration XML file, right-click the DCS name under the Data Collector Sets node in Performance Monitor and select Save Template. The template files are not saved to a template store; you must import them each time you use them. You can save the XML template files to any folder to which you have access.

Generally, a template is exported from a manually configured DCS. After you export the DCS template, you can edit the template to customize it for particular scenarios (different computer, different folder, and so on). After you have exported the template, you can import it into the DCS by selecting Create From A Template in the Create New Data Collector Set wizard and browsing to the location of the XML file.

Note Performance Monitor no longer installs a default System Overview log as it did in Windows XP and earlier versions. However, it does provide a System Diagnostics Data Collector Set template.

To manually create a DCS, follow these steps:

1. In the Create New Data Collector Set wizard, select Create Manually and then click Next.
2. Select the desired data collector(s) and then click Next.
3. Select the performance counters, if any, that will be collected in the data collector and then click Next.
4. Select the event trace providers, if any, that will be used and then click Next.
5. Select registry keys to be monitored, if any, and then click Next.
6. Choose the path to the DCS and then click Next. All of the data files for the DCS will use this path and will share the parent folder that you specify. The default path for saving data collector sets is %SystemDrive%\PerfLogs\Admin\DCS_name.
7. Click Change and then select the user account that will run this DCS.
8. Before completing the wizard, you can select options to open the properties of the data set when completing the wizard and start the data collection immediately after completing the wizard.
9. Click Finish to display the DCS in the Reliability And Performance Monitor. You can view the status of all of the configured DCSs by selecting the desired parent node under the Data Collector Sets node.
10. To view the data collector(s) contained within a DCS in the Reliability And Performance Monitor, expand the User Defined node in the left pane. Then, either click the DCS name under the User Defined node or double-click the DCS name if it appears in the right pane.

To start the DCS, click the DCS name to highlight it and either click the green arrow on the toolbar to start logging or right-click the DCS name and then select Start from the shortcut menu.