Monitoring File Transfers

Each World Wide Web page sent by Internet Information Server results in the transfer of at least one file. Most static Web pages include multiple files, such as a file of text and one or more files of graphics.

Performance Monitor includes counters for each IIS service. These counters display the number of files sent and received by the HTTP service and the FTP server, and the number of files and directory listings sent by the Gopher service. The file counters are listed and described in the following table.

Table 7.5 Performance Monitor Counters for IIS File Transfers

Counter

Indicates

HTTP Service: Files Sent
FTP Server: Files Sent
Gopher Service: Files Sent

The number of files sent by the service since the service was started.

HTTP Service: Files Received
FTP Server: Files Received

The number of files received by the service since the service was started.

Counter

Indicates

HTTP Service: Files Total
FTP Server: Files Total

The number of files sent and received by the service since the service was started. Files Total is the unweighted sum of Files Sent and Files Received.

Gopher Service: Directory Listings Sent

The number of directory listings sent by the Gopher service since the service was started.


The file counters for a particular service can be used as indicators of the network activity of that service. They can also be associated with other performance measures to determine the effect of high and low rates of file activity on server components.

Note, however, that the file counters for an IIS service display cumulative totals on all traffic since the service was started, regardless of when Performance Monitor was started. The counters do not display current values or the rate at which files are transmitted.

To calculate file transmission rates, you can use Performance Data Log Service (PerfLog) to log the file counters. PerfLog automatically logs the time at which measurement is taken. After you have generated a PerfLog log, you can use the PerfLog output files as input to a spreadsheet that associates the time of the measurement and the file count to derive the transmission rates. For more information on PerfLog, see Chapter 11, "Performance Monitoring Tools," in Microsoft Windows NT Workstation Resource Kit: Windows NT Workstation Resource Guide and the Help file Pdlcnfig.hlp on the Windows NT Server Resource Kit CD.