# Computer Event Status Widget
> Monitor the status of business-critical computers such as Exchange servers, DNS, domain controllers, and file servers.
Source: https://docs.capaone.com/performanceguard/dashboards-and-widgets/widgets/computer-event-status-widget/
Product: PerformanceGuard — a separate CapaSystems product; do not apply this page to any other.
*Formerly Known as **Performance Status***
The **Computer Event Status** widget is useful when you want to monitor the status of Exchange servers, DNS, domain controllers, file servers or other business-critical applications.
However, you can use the widget to monitor the status of virtually anything, from IT-related work processes to CPU utilization on individual computers.
You use one widget per item that you want to monitor. Simply use multiple widgets to get a dashboard that lets you monitor the status of all the servers, applications, computers or work processes that are important to you.
If something performs well, the widget will be green . If something is wrong, the widget changes color to either yellow , orange  or red  depending on how many computers are affected by the problem. If there's a problem, the widget will also tell you exactly how many computers and locations are affected.
:::tip
If you want status to refresh automatically, enable dashboard auto-update
in the top right corner of the dashboard.
:::
:::note[Important]
Why is it possible to see a green status, even though it says that some computers are affected?
This may happen if, for example, your administrator has decided that 3 users must be affected before the status should change.
:::
# Set Up the Widget
It's your PerformanceGuard administrator who sets up the thresholds that define how many affected computers it takes before the widget changes color.
It's also your administrator who defines what you are able to monitor with the widget. Technically, your administrator sets up PerformanceGuard [Manage Thresholds and Events](/performanceguard/administration/manage-thresholds-and-events/) to define this. Remember what an event is? It's a threshold violation, for example a response time that isn't acceptable. When an event happens, the widget looks at how many computers are affected by the event, and the widget then adjusts its color accordingly.
:::note[Important]
How does PerformanceGuard determine if a computer is affected or not?
PerformanceGuard looks at the performance data it receives from agents installed on your organization's computers. It continuously evaluates the number of computers affected by events over a period equal to two agent delivery intervals (with the default settings that corresponds to a period of six minutes).
:::
PerformanceGuard comes with a number of built-in event rules, so your administrator doesn't necessarily have to set up event rules of his own.
# Set Up New Event Rules that You Can Use in the Widget
:::caution
You can only do this if you're a PerformanceGuard administrator.
:::
If the built-in event rules in PerformanceGuard don't cover your needs, you can set up your own event rules. See [Manage Thresholds and Events](/performanceguard/administration/manage-thresholds-and-events/).