PAL v2.3 (multi-threaded version)

Rating:        Based on 12 ratings
Reviewed:  10 reviews
Downloads: 29327
Released: Mar 20 2012
Updated: May 10 2012 by ClintH
Dev status: Stable

Recommended Download

Application PAL_Setup_v2.3_x64.zip
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Other Available Downloads

Example Sample_PAL_Report_For_SQL.zip
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Documentation IntroductionToPAL.xps
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Documentation IntroductionToPAL.pdf
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Example Sample_PAL_Report.zip
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Application PAL_Setup_v2.2.1_x86.zip
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Application PAL_Setup_v2.2.1_x64.zip
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Source Code PAL_Source_v2.2.zip
source code, 1143K, uploaded Mar 20 - 211 downloads
Application PAL_Setup_v2.3_x86.zip
application, 997K, uploaded May 10 - 84 downloads
Source Code PAL_Source_v2.3.zip
source code, 1351K, uploaded May 10 - 34 downloads

Release Notes

Introduction

PAL v2.0 is an easy to use tool which simplifies the analysis of Microsoft Performance Monitor Logs (.blg | .csv). It generates an HTML report containing graphical charts and alerts of the performance counters using known thresholds.

Usage

Execute the the PAL icon in your Start Programs menu or run the PAL.ps1 script from a PowerShell.

Installation

Tested only on Windows 7, but should work on Windows Server 2008 R2.

Run the PAL setup MSI file that ships in the zip file at http://pal.codeplex.com.

Required Products (free and public):
Warning: The PAL installer (MSI) will set the PowerShell execution policy to unrestricted. This will allow the execution of PowerShell scripts.

Globalization Known Issue: PAL has only been tested using an English-US locale. If you have problems using PAL v2.x, then try again using an English-US locale. This is an open source and voluntary project, so any assistance with globalization and localization is appreciated.

Big thank you to the Microsoft Premier Field Engineering (PFE) organization for the great support and feedback!

v2.3
  • New feature: Added an optional "multi-threading" feature. Big "thank you" to Horacio Mauricio for contributing the bulk of the code for this feature. This feature is not really multi-threaded, but will create multiple PowerShell sessions effectively making it multi-threaded at the cost of additional memory and CPU usage. We generally see about 2x faster processing of log files. Default behavior is single session (single-threaded). Set the number of threads in the execution settings in the PAL Wizard or set the parameter NumberOfThreads to a value greater than 1.
  • Threshold file fix: The Available MBytes analysis in the QuickSystemOverview.xml file failed to properly resolve the $TotalMemory question variable. Fixed. Thank you to Thomas Hunter for reporting this bug.
  • Threshold file fix: The VMWare.xml threshold file did not have the proper PALVERSION attribute and failed with "not compatible". Fixed.
  • Bug fix: Fixed the error: "The term 'IsGreaterThanZero' is not recognized...". This was induced by the new multi-threading feature.

v2.2
  • New feature: SQL Server named instances can be specified during the export of a threshold file to a templates (xml, htm, or txt).
  • Threshold file update: Removed the DPC rate thresholds from QuickSystemOveview.xml.
  • Bug Fix: Fixed another date time error.
  • Report change: When the background of a table cell is red, then the font is changed to white.
  • New Threshold File: Dynamics AX 2012 AOS and WCF (RTM) added by Dick Wenning.

Reviews for this release

     
Awesome tool! Thanks a ton.. not only does it do our job of analyzing and giving the summary, it also gives good help material to understand some of the counters..
by soni009 on May 4 at 11:47 AM
     
Thank you Jonathan very much for your work and contribution to the community - this is a great free tool. Hugo Shebbeare, SQL Server MVP (2010) BTW SQL MVP Brad McGehee also has a great Blog post on this here: http://www.sqlservercentral.com/blogs/aloha_dba/archive/2008/12/2
by hugosheb on Nov 21 2011 at 5:06 PM
     
Seems to be a problem when processing IIS logs. Keeps erroring out saying a process has the .html file open. Otherwise an awesome tool.
by franklinsj on Oct 8 2011 at 1:35 AM
     
The date for v2.0.8 still reflects the v2.0.7 date (Jan 18 2011). My biggest request for PAL is for multithreading (maybe using PowerShell 2.0 background jobs?) and overall just better performance.
by clandis on Sep 13 2011 at 1:10 PM
     
Great tool! Lots of details in the final report. Works fine for me in Windows XP. I haven't analyzed very large logs yet.
by aorozco on Jul 4 2011 at 2:42 PM
     
Fantastic Tool…Allows you to have a prescriptive snapshoot while presenting other issues that may be occurring
by johnbivins_com on Jun 1 2011 at 3:21 PM
     
Excellent tool, gives a full analysis of the system and the application in question and directs to the problematic area. Just loved it!
by rs_gujral on May 22 2011 at 5:50 PM
     
Great piece of perspective for reviewing a challenging .blg log. The final report is well organized and the description of each analysis and the counters involved sets the tool apart. Nicely done.
by whycantIuseliveid on Apr 22 2011 at 1:00 PM
     
i don't know
by salideng on Mar 7 2011 at 6:15 AM
     
I used this nice and helpful tool a few times on different computers and had'n any problems. Only the memory issue on 32bit machines is a little bit annoying but after I set up a 64bit-VM only for PAL, this isn't a serious problem for me and on this VM it works fine.
by TheGermanGuy on Jan 1 2011 at 7:21 AM