Microsoft

Microsoft Premier
Premier Services
Services

Windows Server – Reliability Monitor

Prepared for

Department of State - ENM

2/12/2018

Version 1.1 Draft

Prepared by

Jim Ratsch

Premier Field Engineer

Delivered by

Mitchell Reiter, Roberto Rodriguez

Technical Account Managers

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Revision and Signoff Sheet

Change Record

Date Author Version Change Reference

10-4-2016 Mitchell Reiter 1.0 Initial Draft

Reviewers

Name Version Approved Position Date

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1

Details ................................................................................................................................................... 1
Using Reliability Monitor to Troubleshoot: ...................................................................................................... 1

System Stability Chart ............................................................................................................................................... 1

Viewing Historical Data........................................................................................................................................ 1

System Stability Report ............................................................................................................................................ 2

Reliability Events..................................................................................................................................................... 2

System Clock Changes ......................................................................................................................................... 2

Using Reliability Monitor Results.......................................................................................................................... 2

Software failures ..................................................................................................................................................... 2

Hardware failures ................................................................................................................................................... 3

Putting it all together ........................................................................................................................................... 3

Use Case Scenarios at DOS:.......................................................................................................... 5

What would be needed to enable this functionality? ................................................................................... 5

Why do we feel this is necessary? ........................................................................................................................ 5

What is the impact? Any downsides? ................................................................................................................. 5

Reference(s) ........................................................................................................................................ 6

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Executive Summary
Reliability Monitor calculates a System Stability Index that reflects whether unexpected problems
reduced the reliability of the system. A graph of the Stability Index over time quickly identifies
dates when problems began to occur. The accompanying System Stability Report provides
details to help troubleshoot the root cause of reduced reliability. By viewing changes to the
system (installation or removal of applications, updates to the operating system, or addition or
modification of drivers) side by side with failures (application failures, operating system crashes,
or hardware failures), you can develop a strategy for addressing the issues.

Details
Using Reliability Monitor to Troubleshoot:
Reliability Monitor shows you your system stability history at a glance and lets you see details
on a day-by-day basis about events that impact reliability. This topic helps you understand the
results and take steps to improve reliability based on what you learn.

System Stability Chart

Reliability Monitor maintains up to a year of history for system stability and reliability events.
The System Stability Chart displays a rolling graph organized by date.

The top half of the System Stability Chart (see reference) displays a graph of the Stability Index.
In the lower half of the chart, five rows track Reliability Events that either contribute to the
stability measurement for the system or provide related information about software installation
and removal. When one or more Reliability Events of each type are detected, an icon appears in
the column for that date.

 For Software Installs and Uninstalls, an Information icon indicates a successful event of
that type occurred, or a Warning icon indicates a failure of that type occurred.

 For all other Reliability Event types, an Error icon indicates a failure of that type occurred.

If more than 30 days of data are available, you can use the scroll bar at the bottom of the
System Stability Chart to find dates outside the visible range.

Viewing Historical Data

Reliability Monitor displays the most recent date's data by default.
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To view data for a specific date, click the column for that date in the System Stability Chart or
click the drop-down date menu to select a different date.

To view all available historical data, click the drop-down date menu and click Select all.

If more than 30 days of data are available, you can also use the scroll bar at the bottom of the
System Stability Chart to browse dates outside the visible range.

System Stability Report

The System Stability Report helps you identify changes that contribute to a lower Stability Index
by identifying Reliability Events. Click the plus sign in the title bar of each Reliability Event
category to view events.

If you have clicked on a date column in the System Stability Chart, the System Stability Report
will display events from that date. To see all events or choose a date outside the visible range in
the System Stability Chart, click the date drop-down menu in the top right corner of the window
and use the calendar, or select All dates.

Reliability Events
The Reliability Events recorded in the System Stability Report are as follows:

System Clock Changes

Significant changes to the system time are tracked in this category.

Note: This category does not appear in the System Stability Report unless a day is selected on
which a significant clock change occurred. An Information icon will appear on the System
Stability Graph for any days where a significant clock change has occurred.

Using Reliability Monitor Results

If Reliability Monitor reports frequent Reliability Failure Events, use the data it provides
to decide what steps you can take to improve your operating system stability.

Software failures

If Reliability Monitor reports consistent application failures, Windows failures, or

software installation or removal failures, you may need to update the failing application
or components of the operating system. Use the Windows Update control panel and the

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Problem Reports and Solutions control panel to search for application updates that may
resolve your problems.

If the failing application is not a Microsoft product, and a solution does not exist in the
Problem Reports and Solutions control panel, try searching the application
manufacturer's web site for software updates.

Hardware failures

If Reliability Monitor reports consistent hardware failures, your computer may have
serious technical problems that cannot be resolved by a software update. Contact the
manufacturer of the hardware device for additional troubleshooting steps and
information.

Putting it all together

In addition to identifying problems with individual applications and hardware

components, Reliability Monitor's graph lets you see, at a glance, whether significant
changes in stability began at the same time. Since you can see all of the activity on a
single date in one report, you can make informed decisions about how to troubleshoot.
For example, if frequent application failures are reported beginning on the same date
that memory failures appear in the Hardware section, you can replace the faulty memory
as a first step. If the application failures stop, they may have been a result of problems
accessing the memory. If application failures continue, repairing their installations would
be the next step.

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Use Case Scenarios at DOS:

1. For both servers and clients, this tool can provide a first look at “what last
changed on the machine?” regardless of whether the user or operator provides
accurate information.
2. Provides insight into problematic applications or issues on a wider scale,
including clients.
3. If history is generated, the output file is in XML format. This format can then be
used for more comprehensive reporting, viewing in Excel, and even could be used
in SCOM or SCCM.

What would be needed to enable this functionality?

This functionality is already built into client and server operating systems, including
Server 2012 R2. On clients, it is enabled by default. On Servers it is enabled by enabling
a scheduled task that already exists by default. A simple PowerShell command can be
used to turn this on (assuming PowerShell v4 is installed, which should be the case as it
is current standard on DOS images):

“enable-scheduledtask -taskpath "\Microsoft\Windows\RAC\" -taskname RACtask”

Why do we feel this is necessary?

It is not necessary, but extremely helpful when taking a first look at a server or client
stability problem.

Note: This initiative is included in the Service Delivery Plan.

What is the impact? Any downsides?

The impact is minimal (no expected performance impact). No downsides anticipated.

We would recommend that this be enabled as a pilot initially, just to ensure that there
are no unexpected issues.

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Reference(s)
TechNet: Using Reliability Monitor:
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc722107(v=ws.10).aspx

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