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Windows

Plugin: go.d.plugin Module: windows

Overview

This collector monitors the performance of Windows machines, collects both host metrics and metrics from various Windows applications (e.g. Active Directory, MSSQL).

It collect metrics by periodically sending HTTP requests to Prometheus exporter for Windows machines, a native Windows agent running on each host.

This collector is supported on all platforms.

This collector supports collecting metrics from multiple instances of this integration, including remote instances.

Default Behavior

Auto-Detection

It detects Windows exporter instances running on localhost (requires using Netdata MSI installer).

Using the Netdata MSI installer is recommended for testing purposes only. For production use, you need to install Netdata on a Linux host and configure it to collect metrics remotely.

Limits

The default configuration for this integration does not impose any limits on data collection.

Performance Impact

Data collection affects the CPU usage of the Windows host. CPU usage depends on the frequency of data collection and the enabled collectors.

Setup

Prerequisites

Install Windows exporter

To install the Windows exporter, follow the official installation guide.

Configuration

File

The configuration file name for this integration is go.d/windows.conf.

You can edit the configuration file using the edit-config script from the Netdata config directory.

cd /etc/netdata 2>/dev/null || cd /opt/netdata/etc/netdata
sudo ./edit-config go.d/windows.conf

Options

The following options can be defined globally: update_every, autodetection_retry.

Name Description Default Required
update_every Data collection frequency. 1 no
autodetection_retry Recheck interval in seconds. Zero means no recheck will be scheduled. 0 no
url Server URL. yes
timeout HTTP request timeout. 1 no
username Username for basic HTTP authentication. no
password Password for basic HTTP authentication. no
proxy_url Proxy URL. no
proxy_username Username for proxy basic HTTP authentication. no
proxy_password Password for proxy basic HTTP authentication. no
method HTTP request method. GET no
body HTTP request body. no
headers HTTP request headers. no
not_follow_redirects Redirect handling policy. Controls whether the client follows redirects. no no
tls_skip_verify Server certificate chain and hostname validation policy. Controls whether the client performs this check. no no
tls_ca Certification authority that the client uses when verifying the server’s certificates. no
tls_cert Client TLS certificate. no
tls_key Client TLS key. no

Examples

Basic

A basic example configuration.

jobs:
  - name: win_server
    url: http://192.0.2.1:9182/metrics

HTTP authentication

Basic HTTP authentication.

jobs:
  - name: win_server
    url: http://192.0.2.1:9182/metrics
    username: username
    password: password

HTTPS with self-signed certificate

Do not validate server certificate chain and hostname.

jobs:
  - name: win_server
    url: https://192.0.2.1:9182/metrics
    tls_skip_verify: yes

Virtual Node

The Virtual Node functionality allows you to define nodes in configuration files and treat them as ordinary nodes in all interfaces, panels, tabs, filters, etc. You can create a virtual node for all your Windows machines and control them as separate entities.

To make your Windows server a virtual node, you need to define virtual nodes in /etc/netdata/vnodes/vnodes.conf:

Note: To create a valid guid, you can use the uuidgen command on Linux, or the [guid]::NewGuid() command in PowerShell on Windows.

# /etc/netdata/vnodes/vnodes.conf
- hostname: win_server
  guid: <value>
jobs:
  - name: win_server
    vnode: win_server
    url: http://192.0.2.1:9182/metrics

Multi-instance

Note: When you define multiple jobs, their names must be unique.

Collecting metrics from multiple remote instances.

jobs:
  - name: win_server1
    url: http://192.0.2.1:9182/metrics

  - name: win_server2
    url: http://192.0.2.2:9182/metrics

Metrics

Metrics grouped by scope.

The scope defines the instance that the metric belongs to. An instance is uniquely identified by a set of labels.

The collected set of metrics depends on the enabled collectors.

Supported collectors:

Per Active Directory instance

These metrics refer to the entire monitored host.

This scope has no labels.

Metrics:

Metric Dimensions Unit
windows.cpu_utilization_total dpc, user, privileged, interrupt percentage
windows.memory_utilization available, used bytes
windows.memory_page_faults page_faults events/s
windows.memory_swap_utilization available, used bytes
windows.memory_swap_operations read, write operations/s
windows.memory_swap_pages read, written pages/s
windows.memory_cached cached KiB
windows.memory_cache_faults cache_faults events/s
windows.memory_system_pool paged, non-paged bytes
windows.tcp_conns_established ipv4, ipv6 connections
windows.tcp_conns_active ipv4, ipv6 connections/s
windows.tcp_conns_passive ipv4, ipv6 connections/s
windows.tcp_conns_failures ipv4, ipv6 failures/s
windows.tcp_conns_resets ipv4, ipv6 resets/s
windows.tcp_segments_received ipv4, ipv6 segments/s
windows.tcp_segments_sent ipv4, ipv6 segments/s
windows.tcp_segments_retransmitted ipv4, ipv6 segments/s
windows.os_processes processes number
windows.os_users users users
windows.os_visible_memory_usage free, used bytes
windows.os_paging_files_usage free, used bytes
windows.system_threads threads number
windows.system_uptime time seconds
windows.logon_type_sessions system, interactive, network, batch, service, proxy, unlock, network_clear_text, new_credentials, remote_interactive, cached_interactive, cached_remote_interactive, cached_unlock seconds
windows.processes_cpu_utilization a dimension per process percentage
windows.processes_handles a dimension per process handles
windows.processes_io_bytes a dimension per process bytes/s
windows.processes_io_operations a dimension per process operations/s
windows.processes_page_faults a dimension per process pgfaults/s
windows.processes_page_file_bytes a dimension per process bytes
windows.processes_pool_bytes a dimension per process bytes
windows.processes_threads a dimension per process threads
ad.database_operations add, delete, modify, recycle operations/s
ad.directory_operations read, write, search operations/s
ad.name_cache_lookups lookups lookups/s
ad.name_cache_hits hits hits/s
ad.atq_average_request_latency time seconds
ad.atq_outstanding_requests outstanding requests
ad.dra_replication_intersite_compressed_traffic inbound, outbound bytes/s
ad.dra_replication_intrasite_compressed_traffic inbound, outbound bytes/s
ad.dra_replication_sync_objects_remaining inbound, outbound objects
ad.dra_replication_objects_filtered inbound, outbound objects/s
ad.dra_replication_properties_updated inbound, outbound properties/s
ad.dra_replication_properties_filtered inbound, outbound properties/s
ad.dra_replication_pending_syncs pending syncs
ad.dra_replication_sync_requests requests requests/s
ad.ds_threads in_use threads
ad.ldap_last_bind_time last_bind seconds
ad.binds binds binds/s
ad.ldap_searches searches searches/s
adfs.ad_login_connection_failures connection failures/s
adfs.certificate_authentications authentications authentications/s
adfs.db_artifact_failures connection failures/s
adfs.db_artifact_query_time_seconds query_time seconds/s
adfs.db_config_failures connection failures/s
adfs.db_config_query_time_seconds query_time seconds/s
adfs.device_authentications authentications authentications/s
adfs.external_authentications success, failure authentications/s
adfs.federated_authentications authentications authentications/s
adfs.federation_metadata_requests requests requests/s
adfs.oauth_authorization_requests requests requests/s
adfs.oauth_client_authentications success, failure authentications/s
adfs.oauth_client_credentials_requests success, failure requests/s
adfs.oauth_client_privkey_jwt_authentications success, failure authentications/s
adfs.oauth_client_secret_basic_authentications success, failure authentications/s
adfs.oauth_client_secret_post_authentications success, failure authentications/s
adfs.oauth_client_windows_authentications success, failure authentications/s
adfs.oauth_logon_certificate_requests success, failure requests/s
adfs.oauth_password_grant_requests success, failure requests/s
adfs.oauth_token_requests_success success requests/s
adfs.passive_requests passive requests/s
adfs.passport_authentications passport authentications/s
adfs.password_change_requests success, failure requests/s
adfs.samlp_token_requests_success success requests/s
adfs.sso_authentications success, failure authentications/s
adfs.token_requests requests requests/s
adfs.userpassword_authentications success, failure authentications/s
adfs.windows_integrated_authentications authentications authentications/s
adfs.wsfed_token_requests_success success requests/s
adfs.wstrust_token_requests_success success requests/s
exchange.activesync_ping_cmds_pending pending commands
exchange.activesync_requests received requests/s
exchange.activesync_sync_cmds processed commands/s
exchange.autodiscover_requests processed requests/s
exchange.avail_service_requests serviced requests/s
exchange.owa_current_unique_users logged-in users
exchange.owa_requests_total handled requests/s
exchange.rpc_active_user_count active users
exchange.rpc_avg_latency latency seconds
exchange.rpc_connection_count connections connections
exchange.rpc_operations operations operations/s
exchange.rpc_requests processed requests
exchange.rpc_user_count users users
exchange.transport_queues_active_mail_box_delivery low, high, none, normal messages/s
exchange.transport_queues_external_active_remote_delivery low, high, none, normal messages/s
exchange.transport_queues_external_largest_delivery low, high, none, normal messages/s
exchange.transport_queues_internal_active_remote_delivery low, high, none, normal messages/s
exchange.transport_queues_internal_largest_delivery low, high, none, normal messages/s
exchange.transport_queues_retry_mailbox_delivery low, high, none, normal messages/s
exchange.transport_queues_poison low, high, none, normal messages/s
hyperv.vms_health ok, critical vms
hyperv.root_partition_device_space_pages 4K, 2M, 1G pages
hyperv.root_partition_gpa_space_pages 4K, 2M, 1G pages
hyperv.root_partition_gpa_space_modifications gpa modifications/s
hyperv.root_partition_attached_devices attached devices
hyperv.root_partition_deposited_pages deposited pages
hyperv.root_partition_skipped_interrupts skipped interrupts
hyperv.root_partition_device_dma_errors illegal_dma requests
hyperv.root_partition_device_interrupt_errors illegal_interrupt requests
hyperv.root_partition_device_interrupt_throttle_events throttling events
hyperv.root_partition_io_tlb_flush flushes flushes/s
hyperv.root_partition_address_space address_spaces address spaces
hyperv.root_partition_virtual_tlb_flush_entries flushes flushes/s
hyperv.root_partition_virtual_tlb_pages used pages

Per cpu core

TBD

Labels:

Label Description
core TBD

Metrics:

Metric Dimensions Unit
windows.cpu_core_utilization dpc, user, privileged, interrupt percentage
windows.cpu_core_interrupts interrupts interrupts/s
windows.cpu_core_dpcs dpcs dpcs/s
windows.cpu_core_cstate c1, c2, c3 percentage

Per logical disk

TBD

Labels:

Label Description
disk TBD

Metrics:

Metric Dimensions Unit
windows.logical_disk_utilization free, used bytes
windows.logical_disk_bandwidth read, write bytes/s
windows.logical_disk_operations reads, writes operations/s
windows.logical_disk_latency read, write seconds

Per network device

TBD

Labels:

Label Description
nic TBD

Metrics:

Metric Dimensions Unit
windows.net_nic_bandwidth received, sent kilobits/s
windows.net_nic_packets received, sent packets/s
windows.net_nic_errors inbound, outbound errors/s
windows.net_nic_discarded inbound, outbound discards/s

Per thermalzone

TBD

Labels:

Label Description
thermalzone TBD

Metrics:

Metric Dimensions Unit
windows.thermalzone_temperature temperature celsius

Per service

TBD

Labels:

Label Description
service TBD

Metrics:

Metric Dimensions Unit
windows.service_state running, stopped, start_pending, stop_pending, continue_pending, pause_pending, paused, unknown state
windows.service_status ok, error, unknown, degraded, pred_fail, starting, stopping, service, stressed, nonrecover, no_contact, lost_comm status

Per website

TBD

Labels:

Label Description
website TBD

Metrics:

Metric Dimensions Unit
iis.website_traffic received, sent bytes/s
iis.website_requests_rate requests requests/s
iis.website_active_connections_count active connections
iis.website_users_count anonymous, non_anonymous users
iis.website_connection_attempts_rate connection attempts/s
iis.website_isapi_extension_requests_count isapi requests
iis.website_isapi_extension_requests_rate isapi requests/s
iis.website_ftp_file_transfer_rate received, sent files/s
iis.website_logon_attempts_rate logon attempts/s
iis.website_errors_rate document_locked, document_not_found errors/s
iis.website_uptime document_locked, document_not_found seconds

Per mssql instance

TBD

Labels:

Label Description
mssql_instance TBD

Metrics:

Metric Dimensions Unit
mssql.instance_accessmethods_page_splits page splits/s
mssql.instance_cache_hit_ratio hit_ratio percentage
mssql.instance_bufman_checkpoint_pages flushed pages/s
mssql.instance_bufman_page_life_expectancy life_expectancy seconds
mssql.instance_bufman_iops read, written iops
mssql.instance_blocked_processes blocked processes
mssql.instance_user_connection user connections
mssql.instance_locks_lock_wait alloc_unit, application, database, extent, file, hobt, key, metadata, oib, object, page, rid, row_group, xact locks/s
mssql.instance_locks_deadlocks alloc_unit, application, database, extent, file, hobt, key, metadata, oib, object, page, rid, row_group, xact locks/s
mssql.instance_memmgr_connection_memory_bytes memory bytes
mssql.instance_memmgr_external_benefit_of_memory benefit bytes
mssql.instance_memmgr_pending_memory_grants pending processes
mssql.instance_memmgr_server_memory memory bytes
mssql.instance_sql_errors db_offline, info, kill_connection, user errors
mssql.instance_sqlstats_auto_parameterization_attempts failed attempts/s
mssql.instance_sqlstats_batch_requests batch requests/s
mssql.instance_sqlstats_safe_auto_parameterization_attempts safe attempts/s
mssql.instance_sqlstats_sql_compilations compilations compilations/s
mssql.instance_sqlstats_sql_recompilations recompiles recompiles/s

Per database

TBD

Labels:

Label Description
mssql_instance TBD
database TBD

Metrics:

Metric Dimensions Unit
mssql.database_active_transactions active transactions
mssql.database_backup_restore_operations backup operations/s
mssql.database_data_files_size size bytes
mssql.database_log_flushed flushed bytes/s
mssql.database_log_flushes log flushes/s
mssql.database_transactions transactions transactions/s
mssql.database_write_transactions write transactions/s

Per certificate template

TBD

Labels:

Label Description
cert_template TBD

Metrics:

Metric Dimensions Unit
adcs.cert_template_requests requests requests/s
adcs.cert_template_failed_requests failed requests/s
adcs.cert_template_issued_requests issued requests/s
adcs.cert_template_pending_requests pending requests/s
adcs.cert_template_request_processing_time processing_time seconds
adcs.cert_template_retrievals retrievals retrievals/s
adcs.cert_template_retrieval_processing_time processing_time seconds
adcs.cert_template_request_cryptographic_signing_time singing_time seconds
adcs.cert_template_request_policy_module_processing processing_time seconds
adcs.cert_template_challenge_responses challenge responses/s
adcs.cert_template_challenge_response_processing_time processing_time seconds
adcs.cert_template_signed_certificate_timestamp_lists processed lists/s
adcs.cert_template_signed_certificate_timestamp_list_processing_time processing_time seconds

Per process

TBD

Labels:

Label Description
process TBD

Metrics:

Metric Dimensions Unit
netframework.clrexception_thrown exceptions exceptions/s
netframework.clrexception_filters filters filters/s
netframework.clrexception_finallys finallys finallys/s
netframework.clrexception_throw_to_catch_depth traversed stack_frames/s
netframework.clrinterop_com_callable_wrappers com_callable_wrappers ccw/s
netframework.clrinterop_interop_marshallings marshallings marshallings/s
netframework.clrinterop_interop_stubs_created created stubs/s
netframework.clrjit_methods jit-compiled methods/s
netframework.clrjit_time time percentage
netframework.clrjit_standard_failures failures failures/s
netframework.clrjit_il_bytes compiled_msil bytes/s
netframework.clrloading_loader_heap_size committed bytes
netframework.clrloading_appdomains_loaded loaded domain/s
netframework.clrloading_appdomains_unloaded unloaded domain/s
netframework.clrloading_assemblies_loaded loaded assemblies/s
netframework.clrloading_classes_loaded loaded classes/s
netframework.clrloading_class_load_failures class_load failures/s
netframework.clrlocksandthreads_queue_length threads threads/s
netframework.clrlocksandthreads_current_logical_threads logical threads
netframework.clrlocksandthreads_current_physical_threads physical threads
netframework.clrlocksandthreads_recognized_threads threads threads/s
netframework.clrlocksandthreads_contentions contentions contentions/s
netframework.clrmemory_allocated_bytes allocated bytes/s
netframework.clrmemory_finalization_survivors survived objects
netframework.clrmemory_heap_size heap bytes
netframework.clrmemory_promoted promoted bytes
netframework.clrmemory_number_gc_handles used handles
netframework.clrmemory_collections gc gc/s
netframework.clrmemory_induced_gc gc gc/s
netframework.clrmemory_number_pinned_objects pinned objects
netframework.clrmemory_number_sink_blocks_in_use used blocks
netframework.clrmemory_committed committed bytes
netframework.clrmemory_reserved reserved bytes
netframework.clrmemory_gc_time time percentage
netframework.clrremoting_channels registered channels/s
netframework.clrremoting_context_bound_classes_loaded loaded classes
netframework.clrremoting_context_bound_objects allocated objects/s
netframework.clrremoting_context_proxies objects objects/s
netframework.clrremoting_contexts contexts contexts
netframework.clrremoting_remote_calls rpc calls/s
netframework.clrsecurity_link_time_checks linktime checks/s
netframework.clrsecurity_checks_time time percentage
netframework.clrsecurity_stack_walk_depth stack depth
netframework.clrsecurity_runtime_checks runtime checks/s

Per exchange workload

TBD

Labels:

Label Description
workload TBD

Metrics:

Metric Dimensions Unit
exchange.workload_active_tasks active tasks
exchange.workload_completed_tasks completed tasks/s
exchange.workload_queued_tasks queued tasks/s
exchange.workload_yielded_tasks yielded tasks/s
exchange.workload_activity_status active, paused status

Per ldap process

TBD

Labels:

Label Description
workload TBD

Metrics:

Metric Dimensions Unit
exchange.ldap_long_running_ops_per_sec long-running operations/s
exchange.ldap_read_time read seconds
exchange.ldap_search_time search seconds
exchange.ldap_write_time write seconds
exchange.ldap_timeout_errors timeout errors/s

Per http proxy

TBD

Labels:

Label Description
workload TBD

Metrics:

Metric Dimensions Unit
exchange.http_proxy_avg_auth_latency latency seconds
exchange.http_proxy_avg_cas_processing_latency_sec latency seconds
exchange.http_proxy_mailbox_proxy_failure_rate failures percentage
exchange.http_proxy_mailbox_server_locator_avg_latency_sec latency seconds
exchange.http_proxy_outstanding_proxy_requests outstanding requests
exchange.http_proxy_requests processed requests/s

Per vm

TBD

Labels:

Label Description
vm_name TBD

Metrics:

Metric Dimensions Unit
hyperv.vm_cpu_usage gues, hypervisor, remote percentage
hyperv.vm_memory_physical assigned_memory MiB
hyperv.vm_memory_physical_guest_visible visible_memory MiB
hyperv.vm_memory_pressure_current pressure percentage
hyperv.vm_vid_physical_pages_allocated allocated pages
hyperv.vm_vid_remote_physical_pages remote_physical pages

Per vm device

TBD

Labels:

Label Description
vm_device TBD

Metrics:

Metric Dimensions Unit
hyperv.vm_device_bytes read, written bytes/s
hyperv.vm_device_operations read, write operations/s
hyperv.vm_device_errors errors errors/s

Per vm interface

TBD

Labels:

Label Description
vm_interface TBD

Metrics:

Metric Dimensions Unit
hyperv.vm_interface_bytes received, sent bytes/s
hyperv.vm_interface_packets received, sent packets/s
hyperv.vm_interface_packets_dropped incoming, outgoing drops/s

Per vswitch

TBD

Labels:

Label Description
vswitch TBD

Metrics:

Metric Dimensions Unit
hyperv.vswitch_bytes received, sent bytes/s
hyperv.vswitch_packets received, sent packets/s
hyperv.vswitch_directed_packets received, sent packets/s
hyperv.vswitch_broadcast_packets received, sent packets/s
hyperv.vswitch_multicast_packets received, sent packets/s
hyperv.vswitch_dropped_packets incoming, outgoing drops/s
hyperv.vswitch_extensions_dropped_packets incoming, outgoing drops/s
hyperv.vswitch_packets_flooded flooded packets/s
hyperv.vswitch_learned_mac_addresses learned mac addresses/s
hyperv.vswitch_purged_mac_addresses purged mac addresses/s

Alerts

The following alerts are available:

Alert name On metric Description
windows_10min_cpu_usage windows.cpu_utilization_total average CPU utilization over the last 10 minutes
windows_ram_in_use windows.memory_utilization memory utilization
windows_inbound_packets_discarded windows.net_nic_discarded number of inbound discarded packets for the network interface in the last 10 minutes
windows_outbound_packets_discarded windows.net_nic_discarded number of outbound discarded packets for the network interface in the last 10 minutes
windows_inbound_packets_errors windows.net_nic_errors number of inbound errors for the network interface in the last 10 minutes
windows_outbound_packets_errors windows.net_nic_errors number of outbound errors for the network interface in the last 10 minutes
windows_disk_in_use windows.logical_disk_space_usage disk space utilization

Troubleshooting

Debug Mode

Important: Debug mode is not supported for data collection jobs created via the UI using the Dyncfg feature.

To troubleshoot issues with the windows collector, run the go.d.plugin with the debug option enabled. The output should give you clues as to why the collector isn’t working.

  • Navigate to the plugins.d directory, usually at /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/. If that’s not the case on your system, open netdata.conf and look for the plugins setting under [directories].

    cd /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/
    
  • Switch to the netdata user.

    sudo -u netdata -s
    
  • Run the go.d.plugin to debug the collector:

    ./go.d.plugin -d -m windows
    

Getting Logs

If you’re encountering problems with the windows collector, follow these steps to retrieve logs and identify potential issues:

  • Run the command specific to your system (systemd, non-systemd, or Docker container).
  • Examine the output for any warnings or error messages that might indicate issues. These messages should provide clues about the root cause of the problem.

System with systemd

Use the following command to view logs generated since the last Netdata service restart:

journalctl _SYSTEMD_INVOCATION_ID="$(systemctl show --value --property=InvocationID netdata)" --namespace=netdata --grep windows

System without systemd

Locate the collector log file, typically at /var/log/netdata/collector.log, and use grep to filter for collector’s name:

grep windows /var/log/netdata/collector.log

Note: This method shows logs from all restarts. Focus on the latest entries for troubleshooting current issues.

Docker Container

If your Netdata runs in a Docker container named “netdata” (replace if different), use this command:

docker logs netdata 2>&1 | grep windows

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