WMI Performance Adapter这个服务是否可以禁用

Question

WMI Performance Adapter这个服务的作用是什么？是否可以禁用，禁用有什么影响？我们有一套SQL SERVER前几天这个服务CPU使用飙升，重启后恢复了，但是担心下次又出现，想禁用这个服务，需要确认禁用的影响。

Answer 1

Hello,

First, to answer your first question, the role of the WMI Performance Adapter (WmiApSrv) service.

Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Performance Adapter is a system service, whose main functions are:

1. Provide performance counter data

-Allow WMI clients (such as PerfMon, SQL Server, SCOM, and other monitoring tools) to access performance counter data (CPU, memory, disk, network, etc.) through Win32_Perf* WMI classes.

-For example, SQL Server might rely on it to collect performance metrics (such as Win32_PerfFormattedData_SQLServer*).

2. Compatibility with old-version applications

-Some older applications (such as .NET 1.1 or earlier performance monitoring tools) may rely on this service to read performance data (rather than directly using the Performance Counters API).

###Can it be disabled?

✅ Can be disabled, but the impact needs to be evaluated:

-Modern systems typically do not rely on this service because most applications (including SQL Server 2016+) default to using the Performance Counters API rather than WMI.

-After being disabled, the following scenarios may be affected:

-Old monitoring tools that use WMI to query performance data (such as some third-party operation and maintenance software).

-Specific SQL Server performance counters (if configured to be collected via WMI).

###Potential Impacts After Being Disabled

Tools that rely on the Win32_Perf* WMI classes may fail (such as older versions of SCOM, custom scripts)

###How to Disable Safely

1. Temporary test (to observe whether SQL Server and monitoring tools are functioning properly):

Stop-Service -Name "WmiApSrv" -Force

Set-Service -Name "WmiApSrv" -StartupType Manual  # Disable automatic startup 

2. Permanently disable (after confirming no impact):

Set-Service -Name "WmiApSrv" -StartupType Disabled

###Special Recommendations for SQL Server

1. Check whether SQL Server depends on WMI.

-Run the following query to confirm whether there are any WMI-related counters:

SELECT * FROM sys.dm_os_performance_counters

WHERE counter_name LIKE '%WMI%' OR instance_name LIKE '%WMI%';

-If there is no result, it indicates that SQL Server is not actively using the WMI performance adapter.

2. Alternative Monitoring Scheme

-Use SQL Server's built-in DMVs or Extended Events instead of WMI performance queries.

-Make sure that monitoring tools (such as Zabbix, Prometheus) use the Performance Counters API instead of WMI.