Capturing SQL Server Deadlocks using Extended Events
In this tip we look at how to capture deadlocks that occur in SQL Server and the associated information to help troubleshoot. We look at how to do this using the GUI and T-SQL code.
2022-08-24
Monitoring
Monitoring Azure Blob Storage
Learn about how you can monitor your Azure Storage account and set alerts to let you know when to take action.
2022-07-08
2,853 reads
Monitoring Azure SQL Databases
There are many reasons you should monitor your databases, including avoiding performance problems or running out of disk space. Ideally, you want a scalable monitoring solution where you can monitor all your SQL databases in one single place. This article will describe two options that are available: Azure SQL Analytics and Azure SQL Insights. Both […]
2022-03-18
10,474 reads
Enterprise SQL Server Performance Tuning and Management with dbWatch
We need to transition our team from single instance management and monitoring to managing the overall environment and addressing our most pressing needs to support the organization. How can we move from managing the trees to managing the forest in an efficient and automated manner with a small team?
2022-02-07
Knowing When to Respond
I ran into this quote on the Microsoft Learn site, which I thought was a great way to think about how to administer a system: "Without a baseline, every issue encountered could be considered normal and therefore not require any additional intervention." When I've had users file tickets or complain about things not working well, […]
2022-01-24
144 reads
SQL Server Network Related Performance Monitor Counters
In this article we cover which performance monitor counters to use to baseline and troubleshoot SQL Server network issues that may be causing performance issues.
2021-11-01
SQL Server Memory Usage Query
Check out this SQL Server function that can return memory usage information for a SQL Server instance such as the amount of memory SQL Server is using and available memory on the machine.
2021-05-03
A Need for Monitoring without Administration
A recent hack through a network monitoring system is scary, but Steve thinks that we ought to not require these systems to have privileged access.
2021-01-06
182 reads
Monitoring SQL Server Instance Version and Builds with PowerShell
In this article we continue our PowerShell monitoring series with scripts that check the current version and build for all SQL Server instances in your environment.
2020-11-26
Detecting Logins
A recent issue with malware and SQL Servers has Steve wondering if you would detect a new, and unapproved, login added to an instance.
2020-10-05
223 reads
Blogs
A Last Minute Trip to the EU
By Steve Jones
My life has some crazy travel stretches for sure. Between speaking, office visits, customer...
Part 3 of 3: Tuning DiskANN — R, Alpha, L, Beam Width, Recall and Latency
In Part 1, we saw how ‘Vamana’ represents vectors as nodes, connects them with...
Automated SQL Server Benchmarking with HammerDB and Docker: A Complete Testing Framework
I’m excited to announce the release of a new open-source project that fully automates...
Forums
Optional Parameter Plan Optimization in SQL Server 2025: Fixing the Kitchen-Sink Search Procedure
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Optional Parameter Plan Optimization in...
AI Experience Gap that we keep talking about
Comments posted to this topic are about the item AI Experience Gap that we...
Question of the Day
ORDER BY alias
There is a table tmp_tab:
CREATE TABLE tmp_tab ( id int, val int );
INSERT INTO tmp_tab VALUES (1, 1), (2, NULL), (3, 3), (4, 4), (5, 5);You want to order the rows ids by the following expression:
ISNULL(val, id) + 1Which of the following queries produces the expected ordering and why? (Select all correct) See possible answers