Use the Task Manager to provide an instant view of system resources, such as processor activity, process activity, memory usage, and resource consumption.
Use the Event Viewer to check whether Windows Server 2003 is experiencing problems.
Filter for specific events in the Event Viewer.
Archive security logs to a central location on your network and then review them periodically against local security logs.
Set an auditing policy to shut down the server immediately when the security log is full. This will prevent generated logs from being overwritten or old logs from being erased.
Establish a process for monitoring and analyzing system performance to promote maximum uptime and to meet service-level agreements.
Run the System Monitor from a remote computer to monitor servers.
Use logging when monitoring a larger number of servers.
Establish performance baselines.
Create new baselines as applications or new services are added to a server.
Consider reducing the frequency of data collection to reduce the amount of data that must be collected and analyzed.
Use logs to capture performance data.
Filter data captured from Netmon to assist with administration, maintenance, and troubleshooting efforts.
Consult the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit for tools and documentation to assist with monitoring, analyzing, and troubleshooting.
Don't use the INCLUDE and EXCLUDE filters in Netmon at the same time.
Use Tracert to determine the number of hops and the latency of communications between two points.