Java-based Presentation Client

With an automated-start option, hIOmon examines and efficiently records the performance of the selected I/O operations for real-time and/or subsequent "replay" display.  The hIOmon I/O Performance Monitor includes a Java™-based Graphical-User-Interface (GUI) application that allows you to view (either locally or remotely over the network) the file I/O operation performance information collected by hIOmon, both I/O Trace (within a customized tabular format) and/or Summarized (aggregated for a concise, higher-level survey of the selected file I/O activity) display.

Command-Line-Interface (CLI) Support

In addition to the Java-based Graphical-User-Interface (GUI), the hIOmon I/O Performance Monitor includes a component that provides "command-line-interface (CLI)" support for Microsoft® Windows® 7, Windows Vista™, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2008.  This hIOmon CLI component is an executable file that can be run from the command line within the DOS Command Prompt window and which provides an alternate means of controlling the overall operation of hIOmon and of displaying, in a simple and efficient manner, a set of real-time summarized I/O operation performance information collected by hIOmon for files, devices, and processes.

Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Support

hIOmon additionally features support for Microsoft Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).  WMI is a key Microsoft initiative to advance systems management within the Windows operating system environment.  The hIOmon WMI Support not only allows for control over the operation of hIOmon but additionally enables broad, industry-standard access to the robust set of I/O operation performance metrics uniquely collected by hIOmon for files, devices, and processes.  The hIOmon real-time summarized I/O operation performance metrics can be accessed by simple scripts (including VBScript, JScript, and Perl), the Windows Script Host (WSH), Active Server Pages (ASP), Internet Explorer, and C/C++ applications along with a variety of management applications, such as Storage Resource Management (SRM) applications and the IBM® Tivoli® Monitoring enterprise solutions, that leverage WMI and the Common Information Model (CIM) standard.  The hIOmon WMI Support allows you to quickly and easily incorporate hIOmon into your standard, familiar, overall management/monitoring schemes.

The hIOmon I/O Performance Monitor software includes the "hIOmon WMI Browser" (an HTML application) that enables the simple use of Microsoft Internet Explorer to easily control hIOmon operation and display the real-time summarized I/O operation performance metrics collected by hIOmon.  Finding your "Top Ten Processes" and "Top Ten Devices" along with your "Top Ten Files" – with more than 170 sort options to choose from – has never been easier, quicker, or simpler.  Click here for screen shots of this new unique hIOmon feature.

Windows Performance Monitor (PerfMon) and System Monitor (SysMon) Support

The hIOmon I/O Performance Monitor also provides a "Performance Extension DLL" (PerfLib) component that lets you use the Windows System Monitor (7/Vista/XP/2003/2008) and other performance-monitoring applications to collect, display, and further process the summarized file I/O operation performance metrics which are observed, measured and monitored by hIOmon for files, devices, and processes.  The hIOmon PerfLib supports the hIOmon "File", "Device", and "Process" performance objects with over 70 performance counters representing real-time, summarized I/O operation performance metrics.  In addition, the hIOmon "Sorted File", "Sorted Devices", and "Sorted Processes" performance objects enable you to retrieve a set of performance object instances based upon the particular sort options that you can choose (with more than 170 different sort options supported).

You can also dynamically adjust the maximum number of performance instances along with the particular hIOmon performance object types to be provided by the hIOmon PerfLib support.  This enables you to more easily correlate specific file I/O operation performance metrics provided by hIOmon with the many other performance counters available through the Windows Performance/System Monitor and other performance-monitoring applications.  The hIOmon "Windows PerfMon/SysMon Support", together with the hIOmon CLI support, the hIOmon WMI Browser, hIOmon Disk I/O Ranger application and WMI support and the hIOmon Java-based GUI, provide you with the complete package required to easily, simply, quickly and precisely both measure and monitor the I/O operation performance of your files and processes/applications.

Alert Threshold Support

The hIOmon I/O Performance Monitor monitoring facilities support sophisticated Alert capabilities as well.  Specific thresholds (such as maximum response time, average data transfer rate, amount of data transferred, I/O operations per second, etc.) can be set for selected file I/O operations; upon the detection of these thresholds having been reached, hIOmon can optionally generate a System Event Log record (which in turn allows notification via system management tools that monitor the System Event Log).

Export File Support

The hIOmon I/O Performance Monitor provides several  "export" options that allow you to write the I/O trace or summarized operation information to a "Comma Separated Values (CSV)" file for use by spreadsheets (such as Microsoft Excel), databases, and other application programs so that you can perform your own specific analysis upon the performance information and generate customized charts and reports.  The hIOmon Presentation Client can optionally be used to create CSV export files based upon either real-time or "replay" (saved) I/O operation performance metrics.  Similarly, a VBScript is also provided that can be used to create a CSV export file based upon the real-time performance metrics retrieved using the hIOmon WMI support.

In addition, the hIOmon Manager service can optionally be configured to save/export directly to a CSV-format "hIOmon Manager Export File" the file/device I/O operation performance information that it has retrieved in real-time from its associated hIOmon I/O Monitor.  The I/O operation performance information that resides within a hIOmon File I/O Log file can also be optionally used to create export files.  Moreover, you can optionally specify the particular types of performance metrics that are to be included within the CSV-format with the hIOmon Manager Export File; this option enables you to restrict the contents of the export file to only your particular metrics of interest.  The hIOmon Manager can also create an export file for use by the MXG® Software (see below) and the "hIOmon Add-Ons", including an "I/O trace" export file within the XML trace input file format required by the "Intel® NAS Performance Toolkit (NASPT)".

"AutoGen Options" are also supported by the hIOmon Manager Export Files (as they are the hIOmon File I/O Log Files).  These "AutoGen Options" can be optionally used to request that the hIOmon Manager automatically create successive hIOmon Manager Export Files (and/or File I/O Log files as applicable) based upon the particular AutoGen option(s) selected.  The AutoGen Options include four time-based options (i.e., hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly) along with an "at maximum allowed size" option.  The added flexibility provided by the new AutoGen Options further enhances the extensive automation capabilities provided by the hIOmon software.

The "Relative Time Stamp (RTS)" format option provided by the hIOmon Manager Export Files is an export file that includes by default a limited set of I/O Trace operation performance metrics, which include both the starting and ending timestamps in units of seconds that are relative to when the computer system was started.  The RTS option also allows the generation of an individual export record/row within the hIOmon Manager Export Files for each individual "Data Set Range (DSR)" associated with the SSD-related TRIM I/O operations.  That is, for each TRIM I/O operation, a separate export record/row is written for each individual DSR associated with the TRIM I/O operation (and with each such export record/row indicating both the corresponding starting offset and length for the respective DSR).  In addition, the RTS option can also provide specific details regarding the “Power IRPs” I/O operations that have been monitored by the hIOmon software, including details regarding the type of Power IRP I/O operation along with the particular input parameter values that were specified by the respective Power IRP.

The "Access Range Summary (ARS)" option can also be optionally specified for the hIOmon Manager Export Files.  The ARS option provides summarized I/O operation performance metrics that pertain to individual, specific "Access Ranges", where an "Access Range" is an address span to which read and/or write I/O operations have performed data transfers as observed by the hIOmon I/O Monitor.  The "Access Range Summary" records written/exported to the hIOmon Manager Export File are based upon "I/O Trace" operation performance metrics collected by the hIOmon I/O Monitor.

MXG® Software Support

As an extension of its CSV export file support, the hIOmon Manager can easily be configured to create a "hIOmon Manager Export File" that can be processed by the MXG® Software from Merrill Consultants (www.MXG.com).  This support enables the hIOmon file I/O operation performance metrics to be easily incorporated into enterprise-level capacity planning and performance analysis practices.

System Event Log Support

For Microsoft Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2008, summarized information about selected file I/O operations can also be written by the hIOmon I/O Performance Monitor to the System Event Log for display and other use by popular system management tools that monitor the System Event Log.

Performance Threshold Range Metrics

hIOmon enables you to collect, display, and export a specific set of automatically-summarized I/O operation performance metrics that are specifically focused upon the ranges of I/O operations per second (IOPS), megabytes-per-second (MB/s) data transfer rates, response times, and I/O operation queue depths/lengths actually observed by the hIOmon I/O Monitor for individual devices, files, and processes.  These metrics are automatically included within the summarized I/O operation performance information that can be collected by the hIOmon I/O Monitor and can be displayed by the hIOmon "Disk I/O Ranger Display" application and the hIOmon Presentation Client.

The hIOmon "Performance Threshold Range Metrics" provide a quick and easy way to assess the actual "speeds and feeds" I/O performance of your particular files, devices and applications in everyday, normal usage! 

System File Cache Metrics

The hIOmon I/O Performance Monitor enables you to collect, display and export (upon an individual, specific file basis in addition to a device and a process/application basis) "system file cache" metrics such as:

• The number (and percentage) of file I/O operations (both read and write separately) that were a system file cache hit (i.e., those file I/O operations that were successfully performed using the system file cache and which completed within less than one millisecond as observed by the hIOmon I/O Monitor).

• The number (and percentage) of file I/O operations that were considered to be a system file cache miss (i.e., those file I/O operations that were successfully performed using the system file cache, but which took one or more milliseconds to complete as observed by the hIOmon I/O Monitor; this generally occurs when the requested data was not found within the system file cache and so had to be retrieved from the device).

• The amount (and percentage) of data transferred per system file cache hits and misses (and moreover upon a random or sequential file access basis). 

The system file cache metrics uniquely provided by hIOmon give you a new ability to easily and quickly determine which particular files (and associated applications) are best making use of the system file cache (i.e., those that are "cache-friendly") as well as those whose overall I/O operation performance is effectively contingent upon the capabilities and particular utilization of the underlying storage subsystem and infrastructure.  Similarly, the hIOmon "system file cache" metrics can also help you determine the impact of adding, for instance, additional system memory.  Moreover, this impact can be substantiated based upon actual, empirical metrics in terms of specific files, devices, or processes/applications.  (Please note that the "system file cache" is also referred to as the "file system cache", the "system cache", or the "file cache" within various versions of the Windows operating systems).

Raw Device Support and "Physical Device Extended Metrics"

In addition, hIOmon also features a "Raw Device Extended Feature" option that gives you the ability to measure and monitor disk I/O operation activity below the file system level (so that you can actually see, for example, how much a particular physical device contributes to (specific) file I/O operation performance).  This Feature additionally enables you to optionally collect, display, and export "Physical Device Extended Metrics" (which require the "Raw Device Extended Feature").

“Physical Device Extended Metrics” are I/O operation performance metrics that are collected by the hIOmon I/O Monitor software component at the "physical device" level within the operating system and which are associated by the hIOmon I/O Monitor with their related file I/O operations.  These metrics essentially reflect those physical device I/O operations that were performed so as to satisfy file I/O operations which were also monitored by the hIOmon I/O Monitor at the associated file level (i.e., they basically reflect “physical device” I/O operations that were required to complete file I/O operations for those files that were also being monitored by the hIOmon I/O Monitor).

Note that hIOmon can optionally monitor an entire physical disk and/or a particular physical disk partition/volume. Moreover, hIOmon can collect I/O operation performance information concurrently at the file-level, at the physical disk, and at the physical disk partition/volume.

In addition to basic I/O operation performance metrics (such as I/O operation counts, minimum and maximum response times, amount of data transferred, etc.), the "Physical Device Extended Metrics" provided by hIOmon also include several metrics related to physical device "split I/O" operations (which can occur, for example, when the data requested by a file I/O operation resides upon noncontiguous areas of the physical device so that multiple physical device I/O operations must be performed to satisfy the file I/O operation).  These new metrics can help provide, for instance, empirical data (moreover based upon actual file I/O operations) regarding the issue of file fragmentation by helping to show the actual performance impact of accessing fragmented files and of file fragmentation overall.

The hIOmon support for the "Physical Device Extended Metrics" includes the ability to collect these metrics upon an individual, specific file basis.  Moreover, these metrics can be displayed by the hIOmon Presentation Client, the hIOmon CLI Support and the hIOmon WMI Support.  The metrics can also be selectively exported to hIOmon Manager Export Files.  Together with the extensive set of "System File Cache" metrics already provided by hIOmon, the "Physical Device Extended Metrics" enable you to get a clearer, firsthand picture as to the exact extent to which your particular files of interest actually incur disk I/O operations and the actual related performance impact.

With these and many more features and capabilities (along with a flexible, efficient architecture), hIOmon allows you to quickly, easily and effectively answer the question:  "How fast are your files?"™

Boot Logging Support

hIOmon is normally used to measure and monitor file and device I/O operation activity sometime after the operating system is started (e.g., upon an ad-hoc basis for application and/or device performance troubleshooting, or upon a scheduled basis for benchmarking, trending, etc.).

The hIOmon "Boot Logging" capability gives you the additional option of capturing both I/O trace and/or summary (i.e., automatically aggregated) I/O operation performance information when the hIOmon I/O Monitor software component is loaded as part of the operating system boot start process.  Moreover, when used together with the hIOmon "Raw Device Extended Feature Option", this "Boot Logging" capability allows you to capture the I/O operation performance information (i.e., the "Physical Device Extended Metrics") even down at the "physical device" level as the operating system is started.  In addition, file I/O operation performance metrics can also be collected by hIOmon as part of the system boot process!

hIOmon "Add-Ons" Support

The "hIOmon Add-Ons" are auxiliary software utilities that are targeted towards specific tasks and which leverage the extensive functionality of the hIOmon I/O Performance Monitor (hIOPM) software.  The hIOmon software package includes an Add-On that can be used to easily and quickly characterize the I/O operation performance of specific files (and their associated logical and physical devices).  Another Add-On can be used to easily and quickly evaluate and understand the particular "I/O profile" of your specific processes/applications in normal, everyday use and in production environments.  A separate Add-On can be used to quickly and easily configure the hIOmon software to collect and export Solid State Disk (SSD) related metrics (e.g., those pertaining to the use of the SSD TRIM commands) with an ancillary "hIOmon SSD TRIM Metrics Display Gadget" Add-On that provides a simple and quick way to display a selected subset of the SSD TRIM-related metrics that can be captured by the hIOmon I/O Performance Monitor.  Yet another included Add-On can be used to similarly determine the actual file I/O operation performance impact incurred by file fragmentation.  Add-On support is also available for the IBM Tivoli Monitoring solutions as well as the Intel NAS Performance Toolkit (NASPT).  The hIOmon "Disk I/O Ranger Display" Add-On application is also included within the hIOmon I/O Performance Monitor software package.

Most of these hIOmon Add-Ons leverage the "hIOmon Manager Export File" support and make use of a simple VB script together with the Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheet program to generate charts/graphs in a simple and quick manner.  Displaying the file and device I/O operation performance metrics uniquely collected by hIOmon upon an individual file, device, and process basis is now even easier!

hIOmon "Intel® NAS Performance toolkit (NASPT) Support Add-On"

The hIOmon "INASPT Support Add-On" enables you to quickly and easily utilize the hIOmon software so as to capture "I/O Trace" operation information (i.e., a separate trace record for each and every I/O operation being monitored by hIOmon) for those specific files that you select. You can also further limit the collection of I/O trace operation information to those particular processes that you select.  Moreover, the I/O trace information collected by hIOmon can reflect the actual file and device I/O operation activity generated by your very own applications in everyday usage!  This Add-On also allows you to configure the hIOmon software so that the I/O trace operation information collected by hIOmon is written/exported in real-time to a "hIOmon Manager Export File" disk file within the XML trace input file format that is required by the Intel NASPT tools. The resulting hIOmon Manager Export File can be used directly (without conversion) as a NASPT trace input file for both the NASPT Analyzer and the NASPT Exerciser tools.

hIOmon "Add-On Support for IBM Tivoli Monitoring"

The hIOmon "Add-On Support for IBM Tivoli Monitoring" enables the IBM Tivoli Monitoring solutions to access the "summary" I/O operation performance metrics that are uniquely collected by hIOmon upon an individual file, device, and process basis.  Once retrieved by the IBM Tivoli Monitoring components, these hIOmon metrics can then be viewed, graphed/charted, monitored for specific thresholds (i.e., "situations"), and used for trending analysis, capacity planning, service level agreement (SLA) monitoring along with a variety of other enterprise management tasks supported by the IBM Tivoli Monitoring solutions.