Handles Usage - OS Test

This test monitors and tracks the handles opened by processes running in a Windows system.

Target of the test : A Windows Systems Group

Agent deploying the test : A remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each Windows system in the target Windows Systems Group

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameter Description

Test Period

How often should the test be executed. By default, this is set to 15 mins.

Host

The nick name of the Windows Systems Group component for which this test is to be configured.

Port

Refers to the port at which the specified host listens to. By default, this is NULL.

Inside View Using

To obtain the 'inside view' of performance of the systems - i.e., to measure the internal performance of the systems - this test uses a light-weight eG VM Agent software deployed on each of the systems. Accordingly, this parameter is by default set to eG VM Agent.

Report By User

This flag is set to No by default. This implies that the Windows systems in environments will always be identified using the system name. In other words, this test will, by default, report measures for every systemname. On the other hand, if you want this test to report the measures for every user on a system, then set this flag to Yes. In such a case, this test will report the measures for every username_on_systemname.

Report Powered OS

By default, this flag is set to Yes, then the 'inside view' tests will report measures for even those Windows systems that do not have any users logged in currently. The systems will be identified by their name and not by the username_on_systemname. On the other hand, if this flag is set to No, then this test will not report measures for those systems to which no users are logged in currently.

Is Cloud VMs?

This flag is set to Yes by default. The value of this flag cannot be changed. This implies that the cloud-based Windows systems in environments will always be identified using the login name of the user. In other words, in cloud environments, this test will, by default, report measures for every username_on_systemname.

Handles Growth Limit

This defines the upper limit of the handles opened by any process. By default, this parameter is set to 100000.

DD Frequency

Refers to the frequency with which detailed diagnosis measures are to be generated for this test. The default is 2:1. This indicates that, by default, detailed measures will be generated every time this test runs, and also every time the test detects a problem. You can modify this frequency, if you so desire. Also, if you intend to disable the detailed diagnosis capability for this test, you can do so by specifying none against DD frequency.

Detailed Diagnosis

To make diagnosis more efficient and accurate, the eG suite embeds an optional detailed diagnostic capability. With this capability, the eG agents can be configured to run detailed, more elaborate tests as and when specific problems are detected. To enable the detailed diagnosis capability of this test for a particular server, choose the On option. To disable the capability, click on the Off option.

The option to selectively enable/disable the detailed diagnosis capability will be available only if the following conditions are fulfilled:

  • The eG manager license should allow the detailed diagnosis capability

  • Both the normal and abnormal frequencies configured for the detailed diagnosis measures should not be 0.
Measurements made by the test
Measurement Description Measurement Unit Interpretation

Handles used by processes of the system

Indicates the number of handles opened by various processes running in each Windows systems during the last measurement period.

Number

Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to determine the top-10 processes in terms of number of handles opened. This information brings to light those processes with too many open handles. By closely tracking the handle usage of these processes over time, you can identify potential handle leaks.

Processes using handles above limit in the system

Indicates the number of processes that have opened the handles on or above the value defined in the input parameter - HANDLES GROWTH LIMIT.

Number

Using the detailed diagnosis of this measure, you can accurately isolate the process(es) that has opened more handles than the permitted limit.

A high value of this measure indicates that too many processes are opening handles excessively. You might want to closely observe the handle usage of these processes over time to figure out whether the spike in usage is sporadic or consistent. A consistent increase in handle usage could indicate a handle leak.