In addition to the performance enhancements built into its latest iteration of the Windows client, Microsoft is offering additional tools for download for customers and partners that want to squeeze all the extra juice from the OS. Case in point, the Windows Performance Analysis Tools, also referred to as the Windows Performance Toolkit, was released ahead of Windows 7, and included as an integral part of the operating system’s software development kit. Microsoft underlines that while “the WPT Kit is useful to a broad audience,” the tools will serve better specific audiences including “system builders, hardware manufacturers, driver developers, and general application developers.”

End users are missing from the enumeration above, and for good reason. The Windows 7 RTM Performance Analysis Tools are, in fact, designed to ensure a high level of hardware and software performance before the finalized products and solutions make it into the hands of home users. In this sense, the Windows Performance Toolkit is set up to permit the analysis and measuring of both system and application performance not just on Windows 7, but also Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008.

“Windows Performance Tools are designed for analysis of a wide range of performance problems including application start times, boot issues, deferred procedure calls and interrupt activity (DPCs and ISRs), system responsiveness issues, application resource usage, and interrupt storms,” Microsoft explained. “These tools ship with the Windows SDK (starting with Feb'08 Windows Server 2008 SDK). Latest QFEs of these tools are also available for download on this developer center. The MSIs containing these tools are available in the SDK bin directory (one per architecture).”

Microsoft’s Rick Rainey revealed that the Windows Performance Toolkit (WPT) could be installed via the SDK for the platform, without actually deploying the entire SDK. “The installer options that provide the WPT installers are the ‘Win32 Development Tools’ and/or ‘.NET Development Tools’ option under ‘Developer Tools’,” Rainey added. “After you have completed the installation of the SDK, then you should find your WPT installers in <WindowsSdkDir>\Bin. Simply install the one that matches your platform.”

Of course, there are additional ways of grabbing Xperf.exe (Trace Capture, Processing, and Command-Line Analysis tool), Xperfview.exe (Analysis tool - Visual Trace Analysis tool), and Xbootmgr.exe (Trace Capture tool) through the Performance Tools Kit. Alternatively, the Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 will also get the job done, so to speak.

The Widnows Performance Toolkit is available for download here.
The RTM version of Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 can be downloaded from Softpedia via this link.
The Windows 7 Training Kit for Developers is also available for download on our site, via this link.