Windows Server 2012 – Task Manager

Posted:  May 14th, 2016

 

The Task Manager in Windows Server 2012 is similar to the older versions (2003, 2008). It is an interesting tool that enables you to:

 

    > Verify and monitor resources performance and usage (RAM, CPU,…) for your server.

 

    > Manage processes, applications and services.

 

    > Manage users connected to your server (see the applications and processes they use, disconnect users, access to the users account manager).

 

To access the Task Manager, right click on the task bar and select Task Manager from the menu.

 

Processes tab functions:

 

    > You can display the memory usage in percentage or in quantity (Mb).

 

    > You can sort the usage by ascending or descending order by clicking on the relevant column title.

 

    > You can display more details for each process (if available), stop a process or display the services manager window by right-clicking.

 

    > You can stop a process by selecting it and clicking on the End Task button.

 

    > Task Manager is also useful when you want to inspect suspicious processes and open a file location.

 

    > You can create a full memory dump to debug an application by right clicking on the relevant process.

 

Performance tab functions:

 

    > You can monitor your server’s performance in real time by displaying charts on the processor, memory and network usage, and access the Resources Monitor.

 

    > You can copy the information of a specific component (processor, memory, network card) by right clicking on the relevant tab, copying and pasting in your favorite text editor.

 

    > To open the Resources Monitor from the Performance tab of the Task Manager, click on Open Resource Monitor (at the bottom of the screen).

 

    > The Resource Monitor provides useful information about resource usage, in real time (processor, memory, disk, network).

 

Users tab functions:

 

    > This tab is used to manage users connected to your server.

 

    > You can view the applications and processes being utilized by a specific user, its resource usage (processor and memory in percentage or quantity).

 

    > You can also disconnect a user or open the users account manager to change a password or general parameters (EFS certificates).

 

Details tab functions:

 

    > From this tab, you can view more details about processes.

 

    > You can terminate a process, obtain a tree structure view, define its priority, analyze dependencies, create a full memory dump and open a file location.

 

    > The End Task button at the bottom-right of the screen lets you stop the selected process.

 

Services tab functions:

 

    > From this tab, you can manage services by stopping, starting and restarting them.

 

    > You can open the services manager utility by clicking on the Open Services button found at the bottom of the screen.