Monitoring, in the context of InterBase Performance Monitor, means getting information about the state of a database, the InterBase server, and the users connected to it, and refreshing this information regularly so that it is always up to date. The information is displayed on the seven tabs in the main window.
InterBase Performance monitor is designed to use as little server resources as possible while the monitor is running. (Logging, on the other hand, places a small load on the server.) New features added to InterBase 7 allow InterBase Performance Monitor to display up-to-date information without increasing the Next Transaction value or sticking the OAT! (If you don't understand the terms in the previous sentence, it's just another way of saying that monitoring has very little impact on the InterBase server.)
You can select how often the information on the screen is refreshed, pause the monitor, or refresh right away by choosing the appropriate items from the Monitor menu.