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SQL Server Wow64 Perfmon Issues

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I recently came across some issues running perfmon on Windows Server 2003 where the OS is 64-bit and SQL Server is 32-bit (Wow64). The SQL Performance counters were not appearing as the default Perfmon is 64-bit, which is unable to read the 32-bit SQL counters. Running the 32-bit version of Perfmon allows us to read the SQL counters. This can be done by either running the C:\WINDOWS\syswow64\smlogsvc.exe file directly or running the following from the command-line:

mmc /32 Perfmon.msc

So far, so good. However, attempts to create a performance counter log were failing as the Performance Logs and Alerts service was configured to use the 64-bit version of the smlogsvc executable. This was fixed by modifying the following registry keys (the usual warnings regarding modifying the registry apply here):

1)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SysmonLog\ImagePath, change ImagePath value from %SystemRoot%\system32\smlogsvc.exe to
%SystemRoot%\syswow64\smlogsvc.exe
2)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Eventlog\Application\SysmonLogEventMessageFile, change EventMessageFile value from
%SystemRoot%\system32\smlogsvc.exe to %SystemRoot%\syswow64\smlogsvc.exe

Perfmon can then be started with the /32 switch (or run the C:\WINDOWS\syswow64\smlogsvc.exe file directly) and the SQL counters succesfully logged.

How It Works: Almost Everything You Wanted To Know About The SQL Server (2005, 2008) Performance Counter Collection Components
https://blogs.msdn.com/psssql/archive/2009/03/03/how-it-works-almost-everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-sql-server-2005-2008-performance-counter-collection-components.aspx

Comments

  • Anonymous
    September 30, 2010
    This doesn't apply to WIndows 2008 R2. Just ensure the Performance Counter DLL Host service is started.