Is That Database in Use?

This article demonstrates how to use Extended Events to determine if a database is being used by someone or something.

Database File Changes

Data professionals around the globe are frequently finding themselves occupied with figuring out why and when a file (data or log) for a database has changed in size. Whether that change is a growth or shrink, or if the change was expected to happen or not.

Get the Source of PREEMPTIVE_OS_PIPEOPS Waits

Extended Events is a powerful tool with plenty of ease of use and flexibility. This flexibility allows the DBA to capably monitor the server for any issue be it small or large. This article demonstrated how to use Extended Events to monitor for a specific wait_type and the same principles can be applied to any of the waits you may need to investigate.

Easy Open Event Log Files

Extended Events is a powerful tool with plenty of ease of use and flexibility. This flexibility allows the DBA to better service the needs of the developers when the developers need access to the trace data.

Implicit Conversion Insights with XE

Seldom does a DBA have the opportunity to get out in front of infrequent or random errors such as implicit conversions. More often than not, it is the privilege of the DBA to find out about the problem after the fact from a developer or, worse yet, an end-user.

Database Recovery Monitoring with XE

Database recovery (crash recovery) is a nerve wrenching situation under the wrong conditions. It can be as bad as a root canal and just as necessary to endure that pain at times. When the business is waiting on you waiting on the server to finish crash recovery, you feel nervous at best. If you can be of some use and provide some information back to the business, that anxiety dissipates and the business becomes more calm as well. While the previous script can help you get that information easily enough, I want to introduce the easiest method to capture that information currently available.

An Experiment with Deadlocks

There seems to be a myth out there that when deadlocks come a-knocking, then just throw this little directive (ROWLOCK) at it and all will be well. This is total fiction and we will explore that in this article.

Checking the Health of your CLR

Having a tool to be able to monitor CLR health will be essential as you deploy more and more managed code within SQL Server. Extended Events offers a great lightweight means to do just that. This article shows how to deploy a session that will capture the various changes with CLR objects within our database environment. In addition, you will be able to capture various conditions related to performance or problems with the managed code. You may even recognize some of the CLR events from the system_health session.

Sharepoint Diagnostics and XE

In this article I have introduced you to a quick session setup that comes from using the SPDiag tool that could plausibly be useful in the troubleshooting of various different problems (most probably performance related) with Sharepoint.

Dynamics AX Event Session

There are many many uses for Extended Events. In this article I show a quick session setup that can be useful in the troubleshooting of various different problems (most probably performance related) with Dynamics AX.