Configuration: Systems Under Test: PerfCounter Settings
Overview
Use this page to create, edit, and manage per-machine performance counter collection settings. A performance counter settings entry tells LoadGen which machine to collect operating-system and application performance counters from, which credential profile to use when connecting, and whether collection is currently active. Without an entry, a machine's counters are never gathered.
Before you add an entry, the machine must already exist as a system under test, and if it needs authenticated access, a credential profile for it must exist in Configuration: Credential Profiles. Once active, LoadGen uses that credential profile to pull counters from the machine on an ongoing basis, feeding the performance history available elsewhere for systems under test.
This page lists every machine with performance counter settings, showing its operating system, credential profile, and active status. From here you register a new machine, edit an entry's operating system, credential profile, or active status, or delete an entry you no longer need.
Key concepts
- Credential Profile - A named, stored set of sign-in credentials that LoadGen uses to authenticate against a machine instead of entering a user name and password on every configuration page. (related: Configuration: Credential Profiles)
- Machine Name - The host name or fully qualified domain name that uniquely identifies the machine a performance counter settings entry applies to. (related: Configuration: Systems Under Test: Machines)
- Collection active - A per-entry setting that determines whether LoadGen is currently gathering performance counters from that machine; clearing it pauses collection without deleting the entry's configuration.
- Performance counter - A measurable operating-system or application metric, such as CPU or memory usage, sampled from a machine over time for monitoring. (related: Configuration: Systems Under Test: Counter Units)
When to use it
- You're onboarding a new machine and need to start collecting its performance counters.
- You need to pause counter collection for a machine temporarily, for maintenance or decommissioning, without losing its configuration.
- A service account credential has changed and you need to update the Credential Profile used to authenticate collection.
- You're troubleshooting missing performance data and need to confirm a machine's entry is Active and has a valid credential profile.
- You're removing a decommissioned machine and need to delete its performance counter settings entry.
Before you begin
- The machine you want to add is already configured as a system under test in Configuration: Systems Under Test: Machines, and you know its exact host name or FQDN.
- If the machine requires authenticated access, a credential profile for it already exists in Configuration: Credential Profiles.
- Your account has a role with write access to configuration pages; without it, New Entry, Edit, and Delete are hidden.
Common workflows
Register a new machine for performance counter collection
Persona: Load-test operator or admin
- Select New Entry in the page header.
- Expect: An editor modal opens with empty Machine Name, Operating System, and Credential Profile fields, plus a Collection active checkbox.
- Enter the machine's host name in Machine Name, and optionally set Operating System and Credential Profile.
- Expect: The fields hold the values you typed.
- Select Save.
- Expect: The modal closes and the new machine appears as a row in the table.
Verify: The machine you registered appears in the table with the operating system and credential profile you entered, and shows the Active badge if Collection active was checked.
Pause performance counter collection for a machine without deleting it
Persona: Admin
- Select the Edit (pencil) icon on the row for the machine you want to pause.
- Expect: The editor modal opens pre-filled with that machine's current Machine Name, Operating System, and Credential Profile.
- Clear the Collection active checkbox.
- Expect: The checkbox becomes unchecked, marking the entry for suspended collection once saved.
- Select Save.
- Expect: The modal closes and the row's status badge updates to reflect the new, non-active state.
Verify: The row no longer shows the Active badge, confirming no new performance counter data is collected for that machine until you re-enable it.
Remove a decommissioned machine's performance counter settings
Persona: Admin
- Select the Delete (trash) icon on the row for the machine you're removing.
- Expect: A delete confirmation modal opens, asking you to confirm removal of that entry.
- Select Delete in the confirmation modal.
- Expect: The modal closes and the row disappears from the table.
Verify: The machine no longer appears in the Performance Counter Settings table.
Steps
Step 1
Open Performance Counter Settings under Settings.
Expected result: The page loads showing a table of existing machine entries: in this capture, a Citrix delivery controller, a Citrix virtual desktop host, and a database server already have settings configured, each with Operating System set to Windows, a shared Credential Profile, and an Active status badge.
Reviewing the existing entries shows you which machines already have performance counter collection configured before you add or change one.
- The header shows Refresh and New Entry controls for managing entries.
- Each row's Actions column holds Edit and Delete icon buttons.
Field reference
| Field | Purpose | Format / Validation | Required | Default |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Machine Name | Identifies which monitored machine this entry's settings apply to. It must match the machine's actual network host name so the collector can resolve and connect to it; this value is also how the entry is looked up when you save an edit. | Host name or fully qualified domain name, free text | Yes | - |
| Operating System | Records the OS family running on the machine for display in the table. It is free text and does not change which counters are collected, so keeping it consistent (for example, always Windows or Linux) makes the list easier to scan. | Free text; placeholder suggests values such as Windows or Linux | No | - |
| Credential Profile | Specifies which stored credential LoadGen uses to authenticate when connecting to the machine to read performance counters. Leaving it blank means the entry has no credential assigned, which can cause remote collection to fail if the machine requires authentication. | Free text matching the name of a profile configured in Configuration: Credential Profiles | No | - |
| Collection active | Turns performance counter collection for this machine on or off. Leave it checked so LoadGen actively collects counters from the machine; clear it to pause collection without deleting the entry's configuration, so you can resume later without re-entering the machine's details. | Checkbox | No | - |
Column reference
| Column | What it shows | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Machine Name | Shows the machine this row's settings apply to, matching the host name entered when the entry was created. | A link-styled machine name identifies which configured system the row's operating system, credential profile, and active status belong to. |
| Operating System | Shows the operating system family recorded for the machine. | Use this to quickly tell which entries apply to Windows versus other operating systems without opening each one. |
| Credential Profile | Shows which credential profile is assigned to authenticate counter collection for that machine. | A blank value means no credential profile is assigned, which can prevent collection from machines that require authentication. |
| Active | Shows whether performance counter collection is currently enabled for the machine. | A green Active badge means the Collection active checkbox is checked for that entry and counters are being gathered; if it does not read Active, collection is paused. |
| Actions | Holds the per-row Edit and Delete controls. | Select the pencil icon to edit the entry or the trash icon to delete it. |
Controls reference
Refresh
Reloads the table of machine entries from the server.
When to use: Use after another admin adds, edits, or deletes an entry elsewhere, or if the list looks out of date.
Side effects: Read-only; re-fetches data and makes no changes.
New Entry
Opens the editor modal in create mode, with empty Machine Name, Operating System, and Credential Profile fields and the Collection active checkbox.
When to use: Use when you need to register a machine that does not yet have performance counter collection settings.
Side effects: Opens a modal only; no data changes until you save.
Create First Entry
Opens the same editor modal as New Entry; shown only while the table has no entries.
When to use: Use when no machine entries exist yet, this is the only create control visible on an empty table.
Side effects: Opens a modal only; no data changes until you save.
Edit (pencil icon)
Opens the editor modal pre-filled with that row's current Machine Name, Operating System, Credential Profile, and Collection active value.
When to use: Use to correct a machine's operating system label, change its assigned credential profile, or toggle collection on or off.
Side effects: Opens a modal only; changes are written only after you save.
Delete (trash icon)
Opens a confirmation modal asking you to confirm removal of that machine's entry.
When to use: Use when a machine is decommissioned or should no longer have performance counter settings tracked.
Side effects: Opens a confirmation modal only; the entry is not removed until you confirm.
Save
Writes the Machine Name, Operating System, Credential Profile, and Collection active values to the entry, creating it from New Entry or updating it from Edit.
When to use: Use after filling in or changing the fields in the editor modal.
Side effects: Mutating: creates or updates the row in the table and closes the modal.
Cancel (editor modal)
Closes the editor modal without saving any changes.
When to use: Use if you opened the modal by mistake or decide not to proceed.
Side effects: Read-only; discards any typed values.
Delete (confirm)
Permanently removes the machine's performance counter settings entry.
When to use: Use only after verifying you selected the correct machine to remove.
Side effects: Mutating and irreversible: the row disappears from the table.
Cancel (delete confirmation)
Closes the delete confirmation without removing the entry.
When to use: Use if you opened the delete confirmation by mistake.
Side effects: Read-only; the entry remains unchanged.
Verify the result
After you save a new or edited entry, it appears as a row in the Performance Counter Settings table with the Machine Name, Operating System, and Credential Profile you set, and an Active badge if Collection active is checked. Selecting Refresh reloads the table and should show the same values if the save succeeded. If you deleted an entry, the row is gone from the table entirely. If a newly created or edited entry does not appear or its Active badge doesn't match what you set, select Refresh once; if it still doesn't match, reopen the entry with Edit to confirm what was actually saved.
Troubleshooting
- Symptom: A newly added machine entry does not appear in the table after saving. Fix: Select Refresh to reload the list; if it's still missing, reopen New Entry and confirm the Machine Name was entered correctly before saving.
- Symptom: The New Entry, Edit, or Delete controls aren't visible on the page. Fix: Your account role doesn't have write access to this configuration page; ask an administrator to grant a role with configuration write permissions in Operations: Permissions.
- Symptom: Performance counters aren't being collected for a machine even though its row shows Active. Fix: Select Edit on the entry and confirm the Credential Profile is set and matches an existing profile in Configuration: Credential Profiles; a missing or incorrect credential profile can prevent the collector from authenticating.
- Symptom: You can't tell which row belongs to which machine because the Operating System and Credential Profile values look identical across entries. Fix: Rely on the Machine Name column, it's unique per entry, and select Edit on the row to confirm the exact host name before making changes.
- Symptom: You deleted an entry by mistake. Fix: There is no undo; select New Entry and re-create it using the same Machine Name, Operating System, and Credential Profile values as before.
Related articles
- Prerequisite: Configuration: Systems Under Test: Machines - the machine must be configured as a system under test before you add its performance counter settings
- Prerequisite: Configuration: Credential Profiles - the credential profile referenced here must be created beforehand to authenticate counter collection
- See also: Configuration: Systems Under Test: Counter Units - defines the units for the performance counters collected from these machines
- See also: Configuration: Systems Under Test: Templates - templates can define shared configuration patterns for systems under test
- See also: Operations: Permissions - controls which roles can see and use the New Entry, Edit, and Delete controls on this page