Windows Server 2008 R2 : DirectAccess Scenario (part 6) - Monitoring the DirectAccess Server

Monitoring the DirectAccess Server

The DirectAccess server includes an excellent tool to monitor the activity of the DirectAccess clients. Shown in Figure 14, it provides an overall status of the DirectAccess server, status and activity of the individual DirectAccess components, and detailed statistics on the components. The figure shows that the Teredo components are active, indicating that there are DirectAccess clients using Teredo but none using IP-HTTPS.

Figure 14. DirectAccess component status.

The DirectAccess monitoring provides information on the traffic activity, data, and control traffic counters for the following components:

• Teredo Relay

• Teredo Server

• 6to4

• IPHTTPS

• ISATAP

• Network Security

• DNS Server

The status is updated every 10 seconds. The status indicators for the components will change depending on the health and activity of the component. The various states are as follows:

• Green indicates current activity in the component.

• Orange indicates the component is idle.

• Yellow indicates the component is experiencing issues.

• Red indicates that the component has failed.

To use the DirectAccess server monitoring, run the following steps:

1.	Launch Server Manager on the DirectAccess server DA1.
2.	Expand Features, DirectAccess, and select Monitoring.
3.	The details window will show the component status screen. As connections are made, the status will update every 10 seconds to show the activity.
4.	To see the performance metrics for any given component, click on the Details button to launch Performance Monitor with the appropriate counters. For example, click ISATAP Details.
5.	Select the Change Graph Type pull-down menu to change between the different graph types. The Line Graph is shown in Figure 15. From the selected Packets/sec, it looks like there was a maximum of six thousand packets per second during the measuring window. Figure 15. DirectAccess performance monitoring.

The DirectAccess Monitoring tool gives access to dozens of key performance metrics in graphical or tabular format. These metrics are invaluable for monitoring and troubleshooting the DirectAccess infrastructure.