Introduction Most people that work with Microsoft SQL Server will have at least heard talk of cursors and often, even if people know on a basic level what SQL Server cursors do, they are not always certain when to use them and how to write the code behind them. So this article takes a step […]
Microsoft SQL Server distinguishes between paging and pagination. Paging refers to handling of memory bottlenecks whereas pagination, the focus of this article, refers to dividing T-SQL query result set into discrete parts. The general concept of Pagination is prevalent in various professional disciplines (i.e. journalism, publishing, web development etc.). According to Wikipedia Pagination is the […]
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.
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
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
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 […]
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
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. […]
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
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
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
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
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 […]
In the previous part of the SQL Server performance metrics series, we presented the most important and useful disk performance metrics. Now, we’ll show other important disk performance measures
So far, we have presented the most important memory and processor metrics. These metrics indicate system and SQL Server performance, and are useful for troubleshooting performance issues and bottlenecks. Besides memory and processor metrics, equally important are SQL Server disk metrics. Sometimes a metric from one category can be masked by other events and be […]
In the previous part of this series, we presented the processor metrics that indicate hardware component problems that can affect SQL Server performance In this part, we will present processor metrics that are not necessary in every performance monitoring scenario, but are useful for deeper investigation and troubleshooting
In the Part 1 and Part 2 of the SQL Server processor performance metrics series, we described the most important processor performance metrics – Processor: % Processor Time, Process: % Processor Time, Processor Queue Length, Processor: % User Time, Processor: %Privilege Time, as well as various total times and thread metrics
In SQL server processor performance metrics – Part 1 – The most important cpu metrics, we described the Processor Queue Length and two most important processor time counters – Processor % Processor Time and Process % Processor time In this part, we will continue describing important time processor counters
In the previous parts of the SQL Server performance metrics series, we described and recommended various memory metrics that should be tracked when monitoring SQL Server performance. Besides the memory metrics, monitoring processor usage and disk performance is recommended
In the first part of this article, we described Data Collector, its features and pre-defined collection sets. In the second part, we showed how to set up data collecting. In this final part, we will show the reports available in Data Collector and how to use them for performance troubleshooting
In the previous part of this article, we described SQL Server Data Collector, its features, and pre-defined collection sets. We showed what data is collected and described the mechanisms used to collect, store, and purge the saved records. In this part, we will give detailed steps to provide all necessary pre-requests and set up Data […]
What is SQL Server Data Collector SQL Server Data Collector is a feature for performance monitoring and tuning available in SQL Server Management Studio. It was introduced in SQL Server 2008 and is available in the Enterprise, Standard, Business Intelligence, and Web editions
Monitoring is recommended in dynamic environments. When it comes to SQL Server – users, DBAs, and the system itself are performing events constantly – changing data and database structure, user privileges, etc. SQL Server can manage automatically all these requests, but its self-tuning doesn’t provide best results, and additional monitoring and manual tuning can provide […]
Monitoring system and SQL Server databases shows the metrics that indicate server performance. Efficient monitoring provides enough information to diagnose problems, blocks, bottlenecks, and to fix them
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