The place for real-world Windows performance data

Welcome to the Windows Sentinel blog. Here, you’ll learn all about real-world Windows performance based on analysis of data and trends extracted from the exo.repository of Windows performance data. That repository contains aggregated data on more than 1,000 systems — a number that will grow as people join the InfoWorld Windows Sentinel monitoring service.

Monitor your Windows systems over the Web

Windows Sentinel is a free performance monitoring and analysis service for Microsoft Windows-based systems. Delivered through a partnership between InfoWorld and Devil Mountain Software (the creators of the exo.performance.network), Windows Sentinel allows you to monitor system, process and network performance across up to three Windows-based clients or servers.

Using a simple monitoring agent (the DMS Clarity Tracker), Windows Sentinel taps the OS’s built-in performance-monitoring counters to sample a series of system, process and network metrics. The collected data is then uploaded to a central Web site (the exo.repository) and presented to you, the user, via a series of HTML widgets that analyze and report the data according to rules that you define. It’s a great way to keep tabs on your Windows-based systems, leveraging the Internet as your free monitoring backbone.

Building a community of performance results

Of course, there’s more to the Windows Sentinel story than just the freebies. By participating in the project, you’re helping to build the industry’s first comprehensive database of Windows performance statistics: the exo.repository. This dynamic, living compilation of OS metrics will allow researchers from InfoWorld and the exo.performance.network to identify critical performance-related trends and to extract common threads of knowledge and information that we can share with the broader IT community.

But we need your help to build it. You can start by registering for you free Windows Sentinel account. You’ll then be provided with a private dashboard page where you can access the various Windows Sentinel monitoring widgets, check out our FAQ and help documentation, and download the DMS Clarity Tracker agent for installation on up to three systems. The monitors are also available as desktop and mobile widgets.

It’s quick, painless and — best of all — free. You can be up and running in minutes, and receiving usable results in as little as one hour (the time it takes the agent to collect some data and upload it to the exo.repository). So register today and start reaping the rewards as you help us build this exciting new global IT resource.