SQLServerCentral.com Content tagged Monitoring

The Ten Commandments of SQL Server Monitoring

Mon, 13 May 2013 06:00:00 UT

It is easy to get database monitoring wrong. There are several common-sense rules that can make all the difference between a monitoring system that works for you and helps to avoid database problems, and one that just creates a distraction. Adam Machanic spells out the rules, based on his considerable experience with database monitoring.

Another way to track the database data growth

Fri, 10 May 2013 06:00:00 UT

Scripts will display size of the data in the database/data files and remaining allocated space.

Job overran Custom Metric

Fri, 10 May 2013 06:00:00 UT

This SQL Monitor custom metric tells you if a specific SQL Server Agent job that runs at the same time every day has overrun. The metric is useful when a job can have negative effects on other processes if it overruns.

Monitoring SQL Server Agent job run times

Wed, 01 May 2013 06:00:00 UT

Introduction A few months back, I was asked how long a particular nightly process took to run. It was a super...

Stairway to Transaction Log Management in SQL Server, Level 9: Monitoring the Transaction Log

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 06:00:00 UT

Our major goal in terms of log maintenance for all databases under our care is to optimize for write performance, in order to support all activities that require SQL Server to write to the log, including data modifications, data loads, index rebuilds, and so on. However, it's also important to keep an eye on possible log fragmentation, which, as described previously, can affect the performance of processes that need to read the log, such as log backups and the crash recovery process.

Custom Metrics for Monitoring Database Mirroring

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 06:00:00 UT

SQL Monitor comes with plenty of metrics, but there are always going to be things that you want to measure that can't be done 'out of the box'. Taking database mirroring as an example, Grant shows that custom metrics can be used to monitor and alert whatever aspect of SQL Server or database that you need.

dbWarden - A Free SQL Server Monitoring Package

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 06:00:00 UT

dbWarden is a comprehensive monitoring and alerting solution for SQL Server 2005 or newer. It features an emailed Health Report and includes email and text notifications with customizable metrics for alerts such as Blocking, Long Running Queries and SQL Jobs, CPU %, Log file and TempDB growth.

Tracking Business Metrics

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 06:00:00 UT

There can be more to managing a SQL Server instance than just examining the performance metrics. There are times when understanding how your system is performing for the application is important.

New Custom Metric: Long Running Job

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 06:00:00 UT

SQL Monitor’s Job duration unusual alert is a powerful tool for keeping track of most jobs in your SQL Server environment. It works by comparing the running time of any job instance against the median for that job, and identifying when a variation in the job duration could hint at a performance problem. However, if your environment contains big jobs whose durations vary by several orders of magnitudes, it can be tricky to specify what kind of variation is expected and what would be unusual. For these cases, it is possible to go beyond the functionality of the built-in alert with a custom metric.

Find failed SQL Jobs

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 07:00:00 UT

Simple T-SQL to find failed SQL Agent jobs

Webinar: Forgotten Rings and Other Monitoring Stories

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 15:22:28 UT

In this session, Grant Fritchey, Microsoft MVP, drills down into a few of the more obscure monitoring metrics that can give you very precise information about exactly what's happening within your server. He'll also show you how you can use custom metrics to enable these metrics in Red Gate's SQL Monitor.

How to Monitor for High CPU utilization in SQL Server

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 06:00:00 UT

This is the method that Geoff Albin has used for years to monitor the CPU on his SQL Servers.

SQLServerCentral Webinar Series #21 - Forgotten Rings & Other Monitoring Stories

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 06:00:00 UT

Most common monitoring metrics are important and useful, especially over time, but they can fall short. How do you gather information to determine, for example, if you have buffer cache pressure? Register now for the free webinar. Wednesday, October 17 2012 4:00pm - 5:00pm BST

Job Summary

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 06:00:00 UT

This script lists the name, running and success status, last executed/currently executing step name, Average and Last duration, next run time and other related information about Jobs.

CPU and Scheduler Performance Monitoring using SQL Server and Excel

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 06:00:00 UT

This article will demonstrate a method of creating an Excel-based CPU/scheduler performance dashboard for SQL Server 2005+.

SQLServerCentral Webinar Series #21 - Forgotten Rings & Other Monitoring Stories

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 06:00:00 UT

SQLServerCentral Webinar Series #21 - Forgotten Rings & Other Monitoring Stories

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 06:00:00 UT

SQLServerCentral Webinar Series #21 - Forgotten Rings & Other Monitoring Stories

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 06:00:00 UT

Working with SQL Agent Durations

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 06:00:00 UT

SQL Agent stores duration in HHMMSS format - not always useful. Discover how to use Powershell, some basic math, and T-SQL to tame these unruly values.

The Strategic Value of Monitoring SQL Servers

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 06:00:00 UT

Why would you ever need to automatically monitor the SQL Servers in your care? What is the business value of doing so? What are the important features that a DBA should look for in a performance-monitoring tool? Rodney Landrum gives answers based on long experience.

How to receive alerts when you centralize your SQL Server Event Logs.

Thu, 24 May 2012 06:00:00 UT

Learn how you can get alerts when you centralize the Event log. This is part 2 of the previous article "How to centralize your SQL Server Event Logs."

Perform Routine Server Checks Using PowerShell

Mon, 21 May 2012 06:00:00 UT

Database administrators tend to perform a lot of routine checks, referred to as sanity checks, on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Rob Gravelle shows you how to write some PowerShell scripts to automate a couple of fairly common sanity checks.

sp_spaceused2

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 06:00:00 UT

The sp_spaceused procedure does not provide schema name in return. Here is sp_spaceused2 that does.

Top 5 hard-earned Lessons of a DBA
New! Part 4, ‘Disturbing Development’ by Grant Fritchey, features the return of Joe Deebeeay and a server-threatening encounter with ORMs - read it here

Server-Side Trace Pack

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 07:00:00 UT

Loads temporary stored procs that assist in running and monitoring server-side tracing.

Who did what?

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 07:00:00 UT

This select will show the last sql statement for every open session plus many helpfull information.

Monitor Any Linked Server From SQL 2005

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 07:00:00 UT

Best way to monitor Excel, Access, SQL Linked Servers from SQL 2005

Automating Daily Checks with Powershell

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 07:00:00 UT

Using Powershell to create color coded backup reports for all servers in your environment.

Job Summary

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 06:00:00 UT

This script lists the name, running and success status, last executed/currently executing step name, Average and Last duration, next run time and other related information about Jobs.

Create a Monitoring Server for SQL Server with PowerShell

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 07:00:00 UT

At some point you are going to need a notification system for a range of events that occur in your servers. Laerte Junior shows how you can even set up temporary or permanent alerts for any WMI events to give you a system that fits your server environment perfectly.

An Easy Way to Monitor SQL Server Replication

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 06:00:00 UT

In SQL Server, replication is a widely adopted technology for the purpose of real-time data replication between SQL servers. It serves the purpose of keeping data consistent between multiple end points. So the last thing we want to hear from clients is that data is no longer in synch, and as DBA, we don't want to be the last person to realize replication is out of order or broken. Here are some steps you can take to monitor SQL Server replication.