Dell Precision Performance Optimizer Quick Start Manual

Dell Precision Optimizer Owner's Manual

Notes

NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer.

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2014 - 09

Rev. A01

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and the Dell logo are trademarks of Dell Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names

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Contents

Dell Precision Optimizer (DPO).................................................................................................... 4

Profiles......................................................................................................................................................................5

Active Profiles.................................................................................................................................................... 6

Inactive Profiles................................................................................................................................................. 6

System Updates........................................................................................................................................................6

Resource Utilization..................................................................................................................................................7

Profiles and Policies...................................................................................................................... 9

System Maintenance...................................................................................................................10

System Information.................................................................................................................................................10

Update Filters..........................................................................................................................................................10

Notifications............................................................................................................................................................14

System Maintenance Settings................................................................................................................................15

Scheduled Updates..........................................................................................................................................15

Notification.......................................................................................................................................................15

Update Filters................................................................................................................................................... 16

Update History........................................................................................................................................................ 17

Track and Analyze........................................................................................................................19

Enable/Disable Smart Tracking.............................................................................................................................. 19

View Smart Tracking Reports.................................................................................................................................20

Analyze Workload...................................................................................................................................................20

Smart Tracking....................................................................................................................................................... 21

Enable Smart Tracking..................................................................................................................................... 21

Report Frequency ......................................................................................................................................... 21

Stop Tracking After ......................................................................................................................................... 21

Select System Data To Track ......................................................................................................................... 22

View Reports.................................................................................................................................................... 22

Smart Tracking Reports..........................................................................................................................................24

Select/View a Report........................................................................................................................................24

Reading a Graph...............................................................................................................................................24

Export/Print a Report........................................................................................................................................24

Delete a Report.................................................................................................................................................25

Troubleshooting............................................................................................................................26

2 Contacting Dell.......................................................................................................................... 28

Dell Precision Optimizer (DPO)

Dell Precision Optimizer contains a powerful engine that allows you to dynamically configure your system settings to optimize the performance of your system. It also keeps you informed of any available software updates and applies them when configured to do so. It contains a tracking subsystem that can gather extensive data about your system and help identify potential problems.

DPPO consists of the following components:

• Profiles & Policies

• System Maintenance

• Track and Analyze

Each of the components is available as a separate tab on the application’s home page. This page is displayed when you launch the application by double-clicking the following icon on the desktop.

On Windows 7, the application may also be launched from Start > Program Files > Dell Inc > Dell Precision Optimizer. This window depicts the current and past recorded resource utilization values of your system. This window displays the active and inactive profiles and the available system updates.

Table 1. Icons on the upper right corner of all windows

Option Function

Minimizes the application.

Closes the application.

Table 2. Icons on the menu bar

Option Function

Brings up this help document.

Brings up a drop down menu with two options: About and a Feedback Form.

Profiles

The left side of the home page displays the currently active and inactive profiles for select applications. A profile is a collection of system settings that are grouped together to optimize the Dell Precision workstation’s performance for your application. You can activate or de-activate a profile (see below). Multiple profiles may be active at the same time. Even after you exit the Dell Precision Optimizer UI the selected profile(s) remain active.

Dell Precision Optimizer has several application specific profiles to help improve the user experience. These profiles are disabled by default. You may have to enable the profile for your given application (if available in Dell Precision Optimizer) to see its benefits.

New application profiles will be made available via Optimizer system updates available in the System Maintenance module or “Check For Profiles”.

Active Profiles

This section lists the profiles that are currently active on your system. A profile is considered active if it is enabled and its policies are started every time the system starts. The user can click on any of these profiles to navigate to the Profiles

and Policies page and see the details of the selected profile. Users with Local Administrator rights will also be able to

disable an active profile or enable in inactive profile.

Inactive Profiles

A profile that is not active is called an inactive profile. These profiles are disabled by the Local Administrator.

NOTE: The software may come with special profiles that can be activated when no other profile is active.Once activated, such profiles will automatically be deactivated by the software once they have executed. “

Settings

” profile is such a profile that can be used to restore certain system parameters (that may be changed by

Dell Precision Optimizer) back to their factory defaults.

Dell Factory

System Updates

The bottom left side of the home page displays the number of software updates available. Dell System Updates are specific to Dell Precision Optimizer and your system's hardware and software configuration. Windows Updates are available within your operating system. The updates are grouped into three categories:

• Critical

• Recommended

• Optional

The following option is displayed:

Option Function

Takes you to the System Maintenance page.

Resource Utilization

The home page shown above displays the utilizations of the following resources:

• Memory

• CPU

• Storage

• Graphics

The needle

of the speedometers shows the current utilization of Memory, CPU and Storage. This data is refreshed every 2 seconds. If System Tracking is enabled on the system, you may also see a green portion in the speedometer arc. The green portion (if present) represents the previous utilization average read from the last Dell Smart Tracking report. E.g. if the Average Memory Utilization (previously recorded) was 38%, then the green bar will go from 0-38% in the first speedometer dial.

Current Graphics utilization is displayed by the needle

on the horizontal bar.

Profiles and Policies

This lists all the policies in a selected profile. The name of the selected profile appears in the blue bar on the screen. The names and descriptions of policies appear below the blue bar.

Further, the left side of this page also contains the list of Active and Inactive Profiles and number of System Updates.

Check New Profiles : When this button is clicked, the application checks if there are any new profiles that are available on the server. New profiles are downloaded, obsolete profiles may be deleted and some profiles may get updated from the server. This feature functions when the machine is connected to the internet.

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