Milena Petrovic

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Milena is a SQL Server professional with more than 20 years of experience in IT. She has started with computer programming in high school and continued at University.

She has been working with SQL Server since 2005 and has experience with SQL 2000 through SQL 2014.

Her favorite SQL Server topics are SQL Server disaster recovery, auditing, and performance monitoring.

View all posts by Milena "Millie" Petrovic

Latest posts by Milena Petrovic (see all)

Using custom reports to improve performance reporting in SQL Server 2014 – running and modifying the reports - September 12, 2014
Using custom reports to improve performance reporting in SQL Server 2014 – the basics - September 8, 2014
Performance Dashboard Reports in SQL Server 2014 - July 29, 2014

Using custom reports to improve performance reporting in SQL Server 2014 – running and modifying the reports

September 12, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

In the previous part of this article, we introduced SQL Server Management Studio custom reports, showed their advantages over other native performance reporting features, and gave steps to create them. In this part, we will give some security recommendations and show how to run and modify these reports. Read more »

Using custom reports to improve performance reporting in SQL Server 2014 – the basics

September 8, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

SQL Server Management Studio provides three built-in performance monitoring features. These are Activity Monitor, Data collection sets, and standards reports. Read more »

Performance Dashboard Reports in SQL Server 2014

July 29, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

SQL Server Management Studio provides a set of standard reports that show basic performance information. These reports are available out of the box, no previous installation and configuration is needed. There are more than 20 reports that show usually required monitoring and troubleshooting information at the SQL Server instance level. Read more »

SQL Server Management Studio performance reports

July 24, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

Basic information about performance on a SQL Server instance is useful to at least scratch the surface of a performance issue. To be able to obtain this information, it’s not necessary to have a specialized monitoring tool that provides tiniest details. SQL Server Management Studio provides features that can quickly help. Read more »

Poor SQL query design – a SQL query performance killer – the basics

May 23, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

Poor query design is one of the top SQL Server performance killers. Even with good database design, no frequent recompilations, and no other SQL performance killers, poor query design can severely degrade performance.
Read more »

Inaccurate SQL Server statistics – a SQL query performance killer – updating SQL Server statistics

April 28, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

As shown in the previous part of this series, inaccurate statistics can degrade SQL Server performance. We described how to work with SQL Server statistics using SQL Server Management Studio options and T-SQL. In this article, we will show how to update SQL Server statistics, what are the updating costs, and when updating is recommended. Read more »

Inaccurate SQL Server statistics – a SQL query performance killer – the basics

April 22, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

SQL Server statistics are used for cost-based SQL query optimization. Cost-based optimizations estimate costs of various SQL query execution plans applicable to the query and select the one that uses the least hardware resources, i.e. has the smallest cost. Read more »

Poor database indexing – a SQL query performance killer – recommendations

April 14, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

In the previous article, we explained what clustered and nonclustered indexes were, and showed how to create them. In this article, we will explain what poor indexing is and give general recommendations for table indexing and selecting the right columns to create indexes on. Read more »

Frequent query recompilations – a SQL query performance killer – detection

April 11, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

In the previous part of this article, we presented query recompilation basics. We explained when a query is compiled, when recompiled, and what preferred behavior is. We also showed the how to trigger a recompilation using T-SQL and provided examples. In this part, we will focus on detecting frequent query recompilations and frequently recompiled queries. Read more »

Frequent query recompilations – a SQL query performance killer – introduction

April 9, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

When it comes to SQL Server performance tuning, there are many factors that should be checked. One of the top performance killers is a frequent query recompilation. It adds pressure to the processor and degrades performance. Read more »

Common SQL syntax errors and how to resolve them

April 2, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

In the SQL Server Management Studio, errors can be tracked down easily, using the built in Error List pane. This pane can be activated in the View menu, or by using shortcuts Ctrl+\ and Ctrl+E Read more »

SQL query performance killers – understanding poor database indexing

March 31, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

SQL Server performance is affected by many factors. The most common SQL Server performance killers are poor database design, poor indexing, poor query design, not reusable execution plans, frequent query recompilation, excessive fragmentation, and more. With these factors present on your machine, even adding additional hardware resources might not help, as these SQL Server performance killers can use all available resources. Read more »

SQL Server query execution plans – Examples with the WHERE clause

March 21, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

In the previous part of this article, we explained how indexes affect SQL Server query execution performance and plans, and provided some basic examples. In this part, we will continue with examples that show how indexes affect query execution plans and costs. Read more »

SQL Server query execution plans – Examples with the SELECT statement

March 19, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

SQL Server query execution plans are very useful in query performance analysis and troubleshooting. There are two types of query execution plans in SQL Server: actual and estimated. They show how a query was executed and how it will be executed Read more »

SQL Server query execution plans – Understanding and reading the plans

March 17, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

In the previous parts of this series, we explained what SQL Server query execution plans were, why they should be used, and presented various methods to show them. In this part, we will explain the symbols used, how to read the plans, and how to use these plans in performance analysis and troubleshooting

SQL Server query execution plans – Viewing the plans

March 15, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

In the SQL Server query execution plans – Basics, we described the query execution plans in SQL Server and why they are important for performance analysis. In this article, we will focus on the methods for opening the plans, both actual and estimated ones

SQL Server query execution plans – Basics

March 15, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

Why is query execution important for SQL Server performance?

SQL Server performance monitoring depends on the performance goals. The first step in monitoring is to determine optimal performance for your server and create performance trends based on the captured metric information. If performance is not satisfactory, it’s necessary to diagnose performance problems and find their origin. This involves testing how different queries and applications affect performance Read more »

SQL Server alerts in troubleshooting performance issues: How to create and use SQL Server alerts

March 15, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

In the first part of this series, we presented the alerting feature available via SQL Server Agent. In this sequel, we will show how to provide all prerequisites, create alerts, and adequate notifications

Before creating a SQL Server alert, make sure that Database Mail and SQL Server Agent properties are properly configured Read more »

SQL Server alerts in troubleshooting performance issues: SQL Server alerting basics

March 14, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

Why is SQL Server alerting important?

To be aware of what’s going on with your system and how SQL Server performs, monitoring is necessary. However, just monitoring might not be enough. Being notified about a performance issue whenever a specific SQL Server counter meets a threshold value, or a specific event occurs, boosts monitoring usability. These notifications enable DBAs to be aware of every important system performance change as soon as it happens, and therefore they can act immediately to fix the issue and prevent further problems Read more »

Troubleshooting SQL Server issues with sys.dm_os_performance_counters

March 13, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

sys.dm_os_performance_counters

sys.dm_os_performance_counters is a system Dynamic Management View (DMV) that returns one row for each SQL Server performance counter. It’s useful for obtaining information about current performance counter values. These counter values are also shown in Windows Performance Monitor, besides other operating system counters Read more »

A DBA guide to SQL Server performance troubleshooting – Part 2 – Monitoring utilities

March 13, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

In this article, we will present native Windows and SQL Server tools commonly used for troubleshooting SQL Server performance issues. Selecting the right performance monitoring utility depends on your monitoring goals and coding knowledge, as the tools provide different information and have different analysis capability Read more »

A DBA guide to SQL Server performance troubleshooting – Part 1 – Problems and performance metrics

March 13, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

Monitoring SQL Server performance is a complex task, as performance depends on many parameters, both hardware and software. It’s recommended to monitor these parameters proactively in order to prevent any potential performance degradation. However, this is not always the case. If the performance degradation happens, the first step towards the resolution is to determine the problem, find out the cause, and resolve the issue. Severe performance issues require quick actions and resolutions. Less severe problems can have a delayed fix. In either case, DBAs should take actions to prevent these situations in future Read more »

SQL Server network performance metrics – The most important metrics

March 13, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

Memory, processor, and disk performance parameters are most commonly monitored metrics for identifying and troubleshooting SQL Server performance issues. However, sometimes these are not enough. Even with a fast and smooth running server, a client who accesses the server over a slow or saturated network will encounter delays Read more »

SQL Server performance tuning using Windows Performance Monitor

March 12, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

In the Windows Performance Monitor basics article, we described the most important Windows Performance Monitor features, gave general recommendations on how to use it for monitoring and troubleshooting SQL Server performance issues, and showed some of the counters it can monitor Read more »

Windows Performance Monitor basics

March 12, 2014 by Milena Petrovic

Windows Performance Monitor is a tool shipped with Windows that can be used to monitor and examine how applications affect computer performance. It can measure real-time server performance and save the measured values into a log file that can be analyzed later. It enables real time system and SQL Server performance monitoring, tracking the performance impact of applications and services, setting threshold for each monitored metric, and generating an alert or performing a specific action when the defined threshold is exceeded
Read more »