I've heard and read that you can use Extensible Storage Engine (ESE) counters in the Windows 2000 Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Performance console to track various Active Directory (AD)—related metrics. However, I can't find the ESE object or any of its counters in the Performance console when I run the console on my domain controllers (DCs). Does this object exist, and if so, how can I enable it on my DCs?
You can indeed use ESE performance counters to monitor the ESE database on a DC. By default, however, Win2K doesn't install these counters on DCs. To install the counters manually, you need to use a special DLL file, named esentprf.dll. After you complete the following procedures, you can view and access the counters through the Performance console's System Monitor snap-in.
First, copy \%systemroot%\system32\esentprf.dll to a different directory on your DC. (For example, you might create the directory C:\perfcons, then copy esentprf.dll into that directory.)
Next, use regedit or regedt32 to create the following registry subkeys (assuming that they don't already exist): HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControl-Set\Services\ESENT and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ESENT\Performance. Under the Performance subkey, you need to add four registry values and initialize with data those values. Table 1 lists the values, their types, and the appropriate data for each.
Change the directory to the \%systemroot%\system32 folder (e.g., C:\winnt\system32). Then execute the following statement: