ISA Server Performance.

Windows 2000
Server performance issues can be a big headache for administrators.
After all, Windows 2000 is a complex system, and when things aren’t
running quite the way they should, finding and resolving the performance
problem can be difficult.

ISA Server is not exception to the rule – after all, from handing
Web caching to firewall rules and client requests, ISA Server can
become a network bottleneck in and of itself. Your first and foremost
defense is to ensure that:

Your server’s
hardware meets the recommended requirements. In fact, if it can
be much greater than the recommended requirements, you are likely
to see better results.
Load-balance
user arrays. You should configure the necessary number of ISA
Server arrays to support the clients in your environment. Sure,
you can cut some corners here, but the performance cost is likely
to be more than you want to pay.

Aside from following
these two general rules, you can also make use of ISA Server’s
Performance counters that can give you some clues as to what is
causing the problem.
If you click Start | Programs | Microsoft ISA Server | ISA Server
Performance Monitor, you see the standard Performance interface
provided by Windows 2000, shown in Figure 1. In truth, the difference
here is that the ISA Server objects and counters are available for
your use.

Curt Simmons is the Author of ‘Microsoft
Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2000 Study Guide : Exam
70-227 ( Certification Study Guides)‘

Amazon.com
(June 2001)

CHAPTER
10 of this book available on ISAserver.org! CLICK HERE!!!!

Curt Simmons is also the Author of ‘Microsoft
ISA Configuration and Administration ‘

To
setup a new chart / log, click the New Counter Set button on the
toolbar, and then click the Add button on the toolbar. This takes
you to the Add Counters window, shown in Figure 2. From this window,
you can browse the available performance objects, and then view
the available counters for that objects. For example, the ISA Server
Firewall Service has a number of available counters, including accepting
TCP connections, active sessions, active TCP connections, Bytes
Read/sec, Bytes Written/sec, and a number of others.

After selecting the desired object
and counter, click the Add button and repeat the process until you
have added all of the items that you want to monitor. At this point,
you return to the counter where you can view real-time information
in a chart, histogram, or report format. Wisely using the available
ISA Server objects and counters can help you discover potential
and existing performance problems with ISA Server.

Curt Simmons, MCSE, MCT, CTT, is a technology
author and trainer from Dallas. Visit Curt on the Internet at http://curtsimmons.hypermart.net.