System Center Guide

I often times will find myself needing to spike CPU utilisation while demonstrating the ability of System Center Operations Manager 2007 to detect and alert on the CPU monitoring threshold. While opening numerous copies of Internet Explore is one means of doing it, the results can be unpredictable depending on the system configuration and whether it can perform the required tasks without impacting the CPU performance enough to exceed the threshold.

However, I’ve found a foolproof way of being able to spike the CPU to 100% utilisation. Simply follow the steps below.

1. Open Task Manager and select the tab for Performance. Note your current CPU utilisation percentage.
2. Open Calculator from the start menu by typing CALC, then press ENTER
3. Maneuver your windows so Task Manager and Calculator are both within view.
4. From the menu bar, select  VIEW | SCIENTIFIC
5. Next,  type 123456789
6. Press the n! button

This will immediately result in your processor utilisation peaking at 100% and remaining there until a dialog box is displayed stating “The requested operation may take a very long time to complete. Do you want to let the calculation continue, or stop the operation now.” After a few moments, I would suggest clicking Stop.

This is a highly effective means of being able to test your Management Packs with Operations Manager 2007.

PS’SOFT ANNOUNCES ASSET AND SERVICE MANAGEMENT SUITE: “PS’Soft, a global provider of IT asset and service management solutions, today announced the general availability of its Asset and Service Management Suite which integrates the rich asset inventory data collected by Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007. PS’Soft Asset Management solution integrates with Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 to deliver rich end-to-end software license management capabilities. Integration with Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 enables PS’Soft to address the needs of a vast user base of Microsoft System Center customers. “