Maintaining Performance

Perform regular maintenance tasks to ensure that Performance successfully performs scheduled activities on all the targeted endpoints and does not overuse endpoint or network resources. If Performance is not performing as expected, you might need to troubleshoot issues or change settings. See Troubleshooting Performance for related procedures.

Perform monthly maintenance

  1. From the Main menu, go to Modules > Performance > Overview.

  2. Scroll to the Health dashboard to verify that Performance tools are installed on all endpoints and to review which profiles are applied to endpoints.
  3. To investigate endpoints that do not have Performance tools installed, click the number above Needs Attention or Unsupported in the Performance Coverage panel. Tanium CloudThe Tanium Server issues a question that returns the computer name, operating system, IP address, and Performance coverage status for the affected endpoints.

    You can also issue the question Get Performance - Configured from all machines through the Ask a Question field in Interact and then drill down on results to investigate endpoints that have issues with Performance tools or configuration. See Managing question results.

  4. To review the status, priority, and endpoint targeting of all profiles, click Active Profiles: see Managing profiles.
  5. To review the entire configuration of a specific profile, click its name in the Active Profiles panel.
  6. To troubleshoot installation issues related to Performance tools or profiles, see Monitor and troubleshoot Performance Coverage.

Monitor and troubleshoot Performance Coverage

The following table lists contributing factors into why the Performance coverage metric might report endpoints as Needs Attention or Unsupported, and corrective actions you can make.

Contributing factor Corrective action
Endpoints do not have a Performance profile installed

In Interact, ask the Get Performance - Configured from all machines question. The results from this question will tell you why an endpoint was classified as Needs Attention.

If the status for the endpoint is Needs Profile, check that the computer groups in your profiles cover all of the endpoints that you want to monitor.

Endpoints do not have the Performance tools installed

In Interact, ask the Get Performance - Configured from all machines question. The results from this question will tell you why an endpoint was classified as Needs Attention.

If the status for the endpoint is Needs Tools, ensure that all operating systems supported by Performance are included in the Performance and Direct Connect action groups. Membership in these action groups determines which endpoints receive the Performance and Direct Connect tools, which are required for Performance operations.

Endpoints do not have a supported version of the Tanium Client installed

In Interact, ask the Get Performance - Configured from all machines question. The results from this question will tell you why an endpoint was classified as Needs Attention.

If the status for the endpoint is Not Configured with details that state Needs Tanium Client Upgraded, upgrade the Tanium Client on the endpoint to a version that is supported by Performance. For a list of supported versions, see Requirements.

Endpoints do not have enough free disk space

In Interact, ask the Get Performance - Configured from all machines question. The results from this question will tell you why an endpoint was classified as Needs Attention.

If the status for the endpoint is Not Configured with details that state Needs More Disk Space, free up disk space on the endpoint. For more information on disk space requirements, see Disk space requirements.

The Tanium TSDB is disabled on the endpoint

In Interact, ask the Get Performance - Configured from all machines question. The results from this question will tell you why an endpoint was classified as Needs Attention.

If the status for the endpoint is Not Configured with details that state that Tanium TSDB is disabled, check to confirm that the endpoint is currently targeted by a profile. If the endpoint is currently targeted by a profile, but the Performance - Configured sensor still reports that Tanium TSDB is disabled on the endpoint, contact Tanium Support for assistance. For more information, see Maintaining Performance.

Endpoints are not running a supported operating system

In Interact, ask the Get Performance - Configured from all machines question. If the result of this question is Unsupported, the endpoint operating system is not supported by Performance.

For a list of supported operating system versions, see Supported Operating Systems.

Monitor and troubleshoot Endpoints with Critical Performance Events

The following table lists contributing factors into why the endpoints with critical performance events metric might be higher than expected, and corrective actions you can make.

Contributing factor Corrective action
Resource intensive software
  • Consult the vendor.
  • Investigate other software interference (security software exclusions).
  • Investigate commonalities in software versions on affected machines.
Poorly performing hardware Consider replacing the models or upgrading their hardware.
Event thresholds poorly defined Consider raising thresholds and durations in one or more profiles.
System Crashes
  • Check for out-of-date driver versions.
  • Research causes of numerous bugcheck IDs.
  • Out of date BIOS or Firmware versions.
  • Out of date or known bad kernel-mode drivers.
  • Faulty hardware.
Low Disk Capacity
  • Investigate what is using disk space.
  • Free up disk space.
  • Increase disk space available to users.
    • Expand virtual volumes.
    • Upgrade disks in physical machines.
Application Crashes
  • Consult the software vendor
  • Use the file browser in Direct Connect sessions to retrieve log or dump files and investigate them.