Useful links to monitoring and troubleshooting SharePoint Server 2013

Understanding the Logging Database
How to Query the WSS_Logging Database
How to Reduce the Size of the Logging Database
SEO in SharePoint Server 2013
SharePoint 2013 Analytics a Big Step Backward
How to Query the WSS_Logging Database
Install SSRS in SharePoint Mode
New-SPUsageApplication
Demystifying SharePoint Performance Management
Capturing Performance Counters for SharePoint
Enabling Usage Reports
SharePoint Usage Reports are Empty
Empty Usage Reports
View Popularity Trends and Most Popular Items
Planning for monitoring in SharePoint 2013
Microsoft Troubleshooting Methodology
Split-Half  Troubleshooting
Deductive Reasoning vs. Inductive Reasoning
SharePoint Farm Documentation Scripts at Codeplex.com
Acceleratio Documentation Toolkit for SharePoint
TechNet SharePoint Updates Center
Stefan Goßner's Blog
Difference between CU, PU, and service packs
How to find your SharePoint version with PowerShell
Software Updates Overview for SharePoint 2013
Farm Patching Explained
Be careful-some patches are on Windows Update
Communications Protocol (Wikipedia)
SharePoint Ports and Protocols
Using IIS Request Tracing
Enable the Developer Dashboard
SharePoint 2013 Troubleshooting Guide
SharePoint 2013 Administration Inside Out
Microsoft Message Analyzer
Microsoft Message Analyzer Operating Guide
Wireshark
Fiddler
Decrypting SSL Traffic with Wireshark
Webalizer
SharePoint Manager 2013
FeatureAdmin for SharePoint 2013
How to Use Kerbtray

SharePoint 2013 Distributed Cache service update!

Introduction
Maybe most of you want to update / updated or don't know that you could update SharePoint 2013 Distributed Cache Service.
First of all I need to say that you have to be very careful with Distributed Cache Service in SharePoint 2013!!!

I strongly recommend to read the Wictor Wilen SharePoint Blog carefully!!

I used the aforementioned procedure for several production environments and I could say it is working.

BUT there is only one exception when you are trying to update Distributed Cache in Cache cluster scenario!

Exception

There is a little exception I would like to share with you. When you gracefully stop Distributed cache.

Stop-SPDistributedCacheServiceInstance -Graceful

You will need to wait some time, so cached items are transferred to the another active node in Distributed cache cluster.

For example we have 2 servers in our Cache cluster: server1 and server2. Before we stop distributed cache service on server1 we could check the health of the cluster. Normally it should look like this:

1. use-cachecluster
2. get-cacheclusterhealth

Afeter Stop-SPDistributedCacheServiceInstance -Graceful you need to wait until "Unallocated named cache fractions" are transferred to server2, in our case.


You have to execute several time Get-CacheClusterHealth until Unallocated named cache fractions "disappear"

When you get the following:


You are ready to patch/update you distributed cache service.

In case you follow these additional steps you would be able to update your Distributed Cache Service without any issues/problems.

Feel free to contact me in case you need more help / information.

Enjoy!