While Linux administrators can simply use netstat -tulnp to view TCP queue sizes, Windows Server 2003 requires more specialized tools to access this low-level networking information. The queue sizes are particularly important for:

• Diagnosing network bottlenecks
• Tuning TCP window sizes
• Identifying application-level blocking

The built-in Performance Monitor provides the most reliable way to access TCP queue metrics:

1. Open perfmon.msc
2. Add counters → TCPv4 object
3. Select "Segments Received/sec" and "Segments Sent/sec"
4. For queue depth, use "Connection Failures" and "Connections Established"

For scriptable solutions, try this PowerShell approach using WMI:

Get-WmiObject -Namespace root\WMI -Class MSNdis_CoStatus |
Select-Object -Property InstanceName, NdisCoStatusMediaConnectStatus,
NdisCoStatusLinkSpeed, NdisCoStatusReceiveQueueSize,
NdisCoStatusTransmitQueueSize

For developers needing programmatic access, here's a C++ snippet using Winsock:

#include <winsock2.h>
#include <ws2tcpip.h>
#include <stdio.h>

SOCKET sock = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM, IPPROTO_TCP);
int sndbuf, rcvbuf, sndlen = sizeof(sndbuf), rcvlens = sizeof(rcvbuf);

getsockopt(sock, SOL_SOCKET, SO_SNDBUF, (char*)&sndbuf, &sndlen);
getsockopt(sock, SOL_SOCKET, SO_RCVBUF, (char*)&rcvbuf, &rcvlen);

printf("Send Buffer: %d\nReceive Buffer: %d\n", sndbuf, rcvbuf);

For comprehensive monitoring, consider these specialized utilities:

• Microsoft Network Monitor 3.4 (legacy but works on Server 2003)
• Wireshark with custom filters for TCP analysis
• SolarWinds TCP/IP Analyzer

When analyzing queue sizes, watch for these patterns:

Unlike Linux's netstat which displays send-Q and receive-Q values directly, Windows Server 2003 requires alternative approaches to monitor TCP queue sizes. These metrics are crucial for diagnosing network bottlenecks and connection issues.

netstat -ano | find "ESTABLISHED"

While this shows active connections, it doesn't display queue sizes. For deeper inspection:

Add these performance counters:

• TCPv4: Connections Established
• TCPv4: Segments Received/sec
• TCPv4: Segments Retransmitted/sec

netsh interface tcp show global

For queue-specific details, consider these approaches:

wmic path Win32_PerfRawData_Tcpip_TCPv4 get *

For comprehensive queue monitoring:

• Microsoft Network Monitor 3.4
• Wireshark with Windows port
• TCPView from Sysinternals

Get-Counter '\TCPv4\Segments Received/sec' -Continuous | 
ForEach-Object {
    $_.CounterSamples | 
    Where-Object {$_.InstanceName -eq "_Total"} |
    Select-Object -Property *
}

Key TCP queue settings in registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters

Values like TcpWindowSize and GlobalMaxTcpWindowSize affect queue behavior.