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Comprehensive guide to desktop monitoring tools
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How critical is desktop management?
All the servers, networking and storage in the world are useless without functioning endpoints for employees to use. As a result, desktop management tools such as ManageEngine's Desktop Central and AppSense's DesktopNow Plus are critically important. Read Now
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Pick the right tool for your desktop management needs
Desktop management tools cover five major areas: inventory, monitoring, software deployment, patching and security. It's important to find the tool that emphasizes your areas of need the most. Read Now
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Top desktop management tools and best practices for SMBs
Small companies need desktop management tools that help with key processes such as monitoring and patching, but SMBs don't need enterprise scale. Tools such as Microsoft Intune and Desktop Central can fit the bill because they don't require physical hardware. Read Now
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Explore cloud-based desktop and Web app monitoring
Web application monitoring tools can help admins manage Windows desktops from a cloud-based interface. Microsoft Intune is an obvious choice, but other utilities such as Mobile Device Manager from 2x may also be useful. Read Now
Editor's note
IT administrators need to be sure everything from the servers to the applications are running smoothly and that users are employing their devices correctly to keep an enterprise data center running properly.
For example, if a user complains that his computer is slow, admins must be able to identify the source of the issue so they can fix the right problem. There can be many root causes that manifest themselves in the same symptoms: Maybe the user accidentally downloaded some malware, or he doesn't have any disk space left on his computer. But there could also be a bigger problem with the network connection, for example, and maybe other users experience the same slowness. With the right set of desktop monitoring tools, admins can find the answers to important questions associated with keeping desktops, applications and users running.
Dive into this comprehensive guide to learn more about desktop monitoring tools, including how they work, what Microsoft monitoring tools exist and where third-party monitoring tools come into play.
1A look at desktop monitoring tools from Microsoft
Microsoft offers some native desktop monitoring tools such as Windows Performance Toolkit to help admins keep track of performance without having to look outside the Windows family. Windows Sysinternals utilities, including Process Monitor and Process Explorer can help admins examine Windows processes. Some of these tools come with the Windows OS and others are separate downloads.
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Windows Performance Toolkit simplifies performance monitoring
The Windows Performance Toolkit introduces a host of features to make performance monitoring easier. For example, the Performance Recorder introduces a graphical user interface admins can use to point and click on the exact event they're interested in, rather than wrestling with the command line. Read Now
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Get to the bottom of computer problems faster
IT admins can use the Reliability and Performance Monitor tool built into Windows Vista to view change management and event log information in one place and determine if a workstation is stable. The tool tracks events such as installs and uninstalls, as well as hardware or software failures. Read Now
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What to expect from Sysinternals tools
Sysinternals are valuable management tools that can help scan for open network shares, monitor system activity during an intrusion and analyze transmission control protocol sessions. Read Now
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Sysinternals tools scrub behind the ears
When users' computers start moving slowly and it's time for a cleaning, the tools Microsoft includes in Windows OS are often too basic for the task. Sysinternals' Process Monitor and Process Explorer are two free tools that pick up the slack by understanding exactly how Windows processes work. Read Now
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Dive deeper into details with Process Monitor
Process Monitor, a free Windows Sysinternals tool, shows admins what a process is actually doing and logs process-related information to deliver a greater level of granularity than native OS diagnostics. Read Now
2Third-party monitoring tools
Although Microsoft offers a plethora of desktop monitoring tools, sometimes they just aren't enough for some organizations. That's where third-party monitoring tools such as WireShark, which allows admins to perform a network trace, and SolarWinds Patch Manager come in. These third-party tools are particularly helpful for organizations that need to meet more stringent compliance or security regulations.
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How to perform a network trace
Users are not forgiving when it comes to performance problems. With a network trace package such as WireShark, admins can watch what data is traveling between the network and the device to identify the source of any slowdowns and keep user complaints to a minimum. Read Now
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Turn spyware into a good guy
Spyware isn't always bad. Although there are some liability concerns, IT admins can actually use spyware to track employees they believe may be stealing intellectual property or breaking another policy. Read Now
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Network analyzers provide cheap, reliable user monitoring
Network analyzers are generally used to identify and fix application problems or analyze performance, but they can also keep tabs on user activity, including visits to nonwork or malware-infested websites. Read Now
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How to pick a patch management product
With all of the patch management options available to IT admins, it can be tough to find the right product. ManageEngine's Desktop Central and SolarWinds Patch Manager are just two of the top offerings on the market. Read Now
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Explore the third-party Active Directory audit market
In many cases the Active Directory audit tools in Windows Server 2008 and later cannot meet the regulatory compliance, security and monitoring needs of many organizations. As a result, many IT shops turn to third-party products such as Netwrix Auditor. Read Now
3Definitions
Take a look at some desktop monitoring tool terms you might not know.
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Microsoft Windows Task Manager
Microsoft Windows Task Manager is a component of Microsoft Windows intended to assist administrators or advanced system users in monitoring, managing and troubleshooting a Windows computer system. Read Now
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application monitoring
Application performance monitoring (APM) is software designed to help IT administrators ensure that the applications users work with meet performance standards and provide a quality user experience. Read Now
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application manager
An application manager (app manager) is programming for overseeing the installation, patching and updating and perhaps access of software applications. Read Now
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patch management
Patch management is an area of systems management that involves acquiring, testing, and installing multiple patches (code changes) to an administered computer system. Read Now
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system tray
The system tray (or "systray") is a section of the taskbars in the Microsoft Windows desktop user interface that is used to display the clock and the icons of certain programs so that a user is continually reminded that they are there and can easily click one of them. Read Now