Analyze Tab – No data or inconsistent data

The Analyze tab is a feature available for monitoring Windows servers only.

If no data is in the Analyze tab after updating the AimBetter Agent, proceed with the following checks and procedures.

Make sure to proceed with the following checks with the user running the AimBetter Agent

1- Verify Basic Connectivity (Remote Monitoring Only)

This step applies only to remote monitoring, where the AimBetter Agent and the monitored server are on different machines.

• Open the AimBetter Configuration program and click on “more info” beside the Monitor Status red light.
• If the message is “RPC server is unavailable,” there may be an issue with the communication between the agent and the monitored server. Proceed with Steps 1.1 and 1.2.
• If the message is a different one, proceed with Step 2.

1.1 – Ping Test

• Ensure there is a successful Ping between the agent server and the monitored server.

1.2 – Firewall and Port Configuration

• Enable Remote Event Log Management in the monitored server’s Windows Firewall.
• Check that ports 49152-65535 are open.

After any change, restart the AimBetter Agent and check for data in the Analyze tab. If the issue persists, proceed to Step 2.

2- Verify the Server_Performance task

2.1 – Check the Existence of the Server_Performance task

• Open Computer Management (run as administrator) on the monitored server.
• Navigate to:

Performance -> Data Collector Sets -> User Defined

2.2 Troubleshoot Task Issues

• Task Not Present: The task may not have been created automatically after updating the AimBetter Agent.
  • Restart the AimBetter Agent service to attempt to recreate the task.
  • If the task is still missing, the issue may lie with the WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) counters – proceed with Step 6 for WMI Counters Rebuild.
  • If the WMI Counters have been rebuilt and the issue persists, proceed to Step 2.3.
• Task Not Running: If the task exists but isn’t running, proceed with Step 3.
• Other Tasks: Sometimes, other tasks in the User_Defined folder conflict with the Server_Performance task. If there are other tasks, they should be deleted. After deletion, restart the AimBetter Agent service and check for data in the Analyze tab. If the issue persists, proceed to Step 2.3.

2.3 – UAC Remote Restrictions (for Remote Monitoring)

• Open the AimBetter Configuration program and click on “more info” beside the Monitor Status red light.
• If the message when clicking on more info beside the Monitor Status red light is “Access is denied,” there may be an issue related to UAC remote restrictions.

You can disable UAC remote restrictions following these steps (source – Microsoft Documentation):

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then press ENTER.
2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
3. If the LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy registry entry doesn’t exist, follow these steps:
   1. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then select DWORD Value.
   2. Type LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy, and then press ENTER.
4. Right-click LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy, and then select Modify.
5. In the Value data box, type 1, and then select OK.
6. Exit Registry Editor.

After this change, restart the AimBetter Agent and check and check for data in the Analyze tab. If the issue persists, proceed to Steps 7, 8 and 9.

If the message on the AimBetter Configuration “more info” is not “Access Denied”, proceed with Step 6 – WMI Counters.

3- Start the Server_Performance task from CMD

3.1 – Local monitoring

For local monitoring, run the following script from the CMD. Make sure to “Run as administrator”.

logman start Server_Performance

Go to Computer Management (right click -> run as administrator) -> Performance -> Data Collector Sets -> User Defined and look for the Server_Performance task.

Check that the Server_Performance task is running. A small running icon will appear beside the task name. If not, proceed to Step 4.

3.2 – Remote monitoring

For remote monitoring (where the Agent Server and Monitored Server are not the same), run the following script from the CMD on the Agent Server. Make sure to “Run as administrator”.

wmic /node: "{computer name/IP}" process call create "logman start Server_Performance"

Go to Computer Management on the monitored server (right click -> run as administrator) -> Performance -> Data Collector Sets -> User Defined and look for the Server_Performance task.

Check that the Server_Performance task is running. A small running icon will appear beside the task name. If not, proceed to Step 4.

4- Start the Server_Performance from the Computer Management

If you can’t start the Server_Performance task from the CMD, as explained above (Step 3), go to Computer Management on the monitored server (right-click -> run as administrator) -> Performance -> Data Collector Sets -> User Defined and look for the Server_Performance task.

Right-click the Server_Performance task, click “Start.” and check if you receive an error.

4.1-If you receive an Error: “The operator or administrator has refused the request”

On the Windows start button, search for Task Scheduler -> Task Scheduler Library -> Microsoft -> Windows -> PLA.

Right-click on the job “server_performance,” click on “End,” and then “Run.”

Restart the AimBetter Agent service and check for data in the Analyze tab. If the issue persists, proceed to Step 5.

4.2- If you receive an Error: “The operator is already in use”

• Go to Computer Management (right click -> run as administrator) -> Performance -> Data Collector Sets -> Event Trace Sessions.

• Search for NT Kernel Logger, right-click, and stop.

• See that the status changes to “stopped.”

Restart the AimBetter Agent service and check for data in the Analyze tab. If the issue persists, proceed to Step 5.

5- Check files in the Server_Performance folder

When AimBetter Agent is working properly, a set of files from which Aimbetter pools the HTML report must exist in the monitored server.

5.1 – Local monitoring

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to:  C:\PerfLogs\Server\Server_Performance. Check the existence of XML and HTML file types in this folder.
2. If the folder does not exist:
   • Ensure the user running the AimBetter Agent service has the required permissions (see Section 5.3 for details).
   • Restart the AimBetter Agent service.
   • Check for data in the Analyze tab. If the issue persists, go back to Step 2.

5.2 – Remote monitoring

• From the agent server, check the path on the File Explorer:

 \\{serverIP}\c$\PerfLogs\Server\Server_Performance  

• If access is denied, coordinate with your Network Manager to enable proper permissions and access.

• Ensure the user running the AimBetter Agent service has the required permissions (see Section 5.3 for details).
• Restart the AimBetter Agent service.
• Check for data in the Analyze tab. If the issue persists, go back to Step 2.

5.3 – Required Permissions for the AimBetter Agent User

The user running the AimBetter Agent service must have Administrator privileges or at least the following minimal permissions:

1. Access Rights to the C:\PerfLogs Directory on the monitored server:
   • Write: To create the Server_Performance folder and its files.
   • Read/Modify: To read performance data and update the files.
2. WMI Access on the monitored server:
   • The user must have remote permissions to query Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) for performance counters and events.
   • How to grant remote access to query WMI:
     1. Add User to the Distributed COM Users Group
        • Open Computer Management (run as administrator).
        • Navigate to: System Tools -> Local Users and Groups -> Groups
        • Double-click the Distributed COM Users group.
        • Add the user running the AimBetter Agent service.
     2. Grant WMI Remote Access Permissions
        • Open Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management.
        • Right-click Computer Management (Local) -> Properties.
        • Navigate to the COM Security tab.
        • Under Launch and Activation Permissions, click Edit Limits.
        • Add the user and grant the following permissions:
          • Local Launch
          • Remote Launch
          • Local Activation
          • Remote Activation
        • Under Access Permissions, click Edit Limits.
        • Add the user and grant:
          • Remote Access.
     3. Configure WMI Namespace Security
        • Open Command Prompt (run as administrator).
        • Run: wmimgmt.msc
        • In the WMI Control Properties window, select Security.
        • Navigate to: Root -> CIMV2
        • Click Security, add the user, and grant:
          • Enable Account
          • Remote Enable
     4. Enable Remote WMI in Firewall
        • Open Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security.
        • Navigate to Inbound Rules.
        • Enable the following rules:
          • Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI-In).
          • Windows Management Instrumentation (DCOM-In).
          • Windows Management Instrumentation (ASync-In).

After any changes, restart the AimBetter Agent Service and repeat the above checks from Step 2.

6- WMI Counters

The problem with the Analyze tab may be related to the WMI counters.

If so, you should delete the Server_Performance task, if it exists (Step 2), and rebuild the WMI counters in the monitored server as per the following instructions.

• Open the CMD (command prompt program) as administrator, and run the following scripts, one at a time.

WMI rebuild – Script 1

cd c:\windows\system32
     lodctr /R

WMI rebuild – Script 2

 cd c:\windows\sysWOW64
     lodctr /R

WMI rebuild – Script 3

WINMGMT.EXE/RESYNC.PERF

• Restart the AimBetter Agent service and check that the Server_Performance task was re-created (Step 2).
• If not, proceed with the WMI counters reset, running the following scripts from the CMD as administrator, one at a time.

WMI reset- Script 1

net stop winmgmt

WMI reset- Script 2

winmgmt /resetrepository

• Restart the AimBetter Agent Service.
• Check for data in the Analyze tab. If the issue persists, go back to Step 2.

Notice:

If you receive an error during any of the steps related to WMI rebuild or reset, restart the Windows Management Instrumentation service. This service should run in automatic mode.

Restarting Windows Management Instrumentation Service takes a while, and while restarting it may become stuck as well. When stuck, not even partial monitoring will run on this server until the entire server has restarted.

Restart the AimBetter Agent Service and repeat the process.

7- Settings Checks

If the above checks didn’t solve the issue with the Analyze tab, check the following settings.

• Check the Firewall Settings
• Check that the AimBetter Agent service is running in “Automatic” mode with the correct user. Click here for more details about the AimBetter Agent Service Settings.
• Check that these additional services are also running in “Automatic” mode: Windows Management Instrumentation, WMI Performance Adapter, and Performance Logs & Alerts. – click here for more details about Additional Services Settings

8- User Permissions

In some specific Windows Server versions, the user who runs the AimBetter Agent Service must have Administrator privileges in the monitored server’s local environment to collect the Analyze Tab data.

In this case, change the Windows OS user in the AimBetter Agent Configuration program to a user with these strong credentials.

9- AimBetter folder logs

If all the previous checks and procedures didn’t solve this issue, follow the instructions to send the AimBetter folder logs to our support team.