SQL Server Reference Guide

Mar 28, 2003

␡

⎙ Print

< Back Page 193 of 365 Next >

During the second phase of the performance tuning process, you need to be able to evaluate a system's components for baselines and performance tuning bottleneck evaluation. I've explained some of the tools you can use to watch the effects of an application. They show you what is happening on the various parts of a system, such as the CPU, Memory, I/O and NIC as an application runs.

To take this evaluation to the next level, you need to coordinate the code within the application to the metrics you're collecting. While that sounds pretty simple to do, sometimes applications are "black boxes" that don’t expose what they are doing. Microsoft provides a tool to show you the activity that is occurring on your system.

Once you learn how this tool works, you might be tempted to "reverse engineer" a commercial application without checking your license first. Your software license might actually prohibit this type of activity, so make sure you pull out that paperwork and take a look.

If you’re a developer, you need to know how what your application is doing in every situation. Often you'll find business logic five or six "if-then-else" layers deep, and you need to be sure what the application is asking SQL Server to do. The following process will also help you discover that information.

In this introduction, I'll use components that come with a native installation of SQL Server 2000. If you're using SQL Server 2005, you can substitute a simple query from the AdventureWorks database to trace its work.

To begin, I open the tool. To do that, I open the SQL Server item from the Start menu, and then select Profiler. It's under the SQL Server 2005 menu on that version.

That brings up the screen shown below:

Figure 45

As you can see, there’s nothing really going on here. The tool is waiting on you to start the process, and at a high level, that process has this general outline:

Connect to the server
Select the trace output
Select the events to monitor
Set the columns of data to capture
Set the filters
Start the trace
Stop the trace
Interpret the output

Let’s take a detailed look at each of these steps. For this article, I’ve written a very simple application in C# that hits one of the standard insert stored procedures in the Northwind sample database. What I’ll show you here is the stored procedure that runs and the parameters that are passed.

When you run the Profiler, you create a trace. A trace contains events, which are categories of things that can happen on a SQL Server. You can limit the data you look at by setting columns and filters. I’ll show you all of these constructs in this introduction. The example you’ll see is quite simplistic, but the process holds true for the most complex application.

Connect to the server

First I’ll need to start the trace definition by selecting the trace output. Notice in the screen below that I’ve selected New... and then Trace from the main menu:

Figure 46

Once I choose that option, I’m shown this panel:

Figure 47

In this section I provide the same credentials that I use with Query analyzer or any other SQL tool. You can see that I’m running this query against my own system. I then select OK to continue.

Select the trace output

Now that I’ve connected to the server, I need to set the location for the output. The choices I have available are shown below:

Figure 48

I’m just using this tool to find a simple issue, so I don’t need the output anywhere except the screen. If I were troubleshooting a more complex problem, I’d consider sending the output to a file. If I were monitoring for performance, I would send the output to a SQL table, so that I could slice and dice the data more efficiently later. Of course, I’d have to take into account the effect of those inserts on the performance to accurately form a baseline.

Notice that you can also set the trace to end after a certain period of time. But if you’re going to do that, I recommend you search the links section on the SQL InformIT site on using command tools to run a trace.

After I’ve made my choices here, I select the Events tab.

Select the events to monitor

In this part of the process I select the events to monitor. Now you might think that I should select a database first, but in fact I’m monitoring the server, not a database. The events that I choose from (which you can see here) may have nothing to do with a specific database. There are events that are server specific, and others that have to do with the server’s environment. In fact, there are so many events that finding the things to monitor represents the single largest challenge to using this tool. Take a look at this screen:

Figure 49

I’ve removed everything other than the events you see here. These are all I need of the application. You may need to add more if you’re not seeing the results you expect. If you’re not seeing the output from your application then re-run the trace and add more TSQL events, then Transactions, then Stored Procedures items. I always start with the minimum so that I don’t have to wade through a lot of data.

Set the columns of data to capture

Next I select the Data Columns tab, as shown below:

Figure 50

The events are similar to objects in the Windows Performance Monitor. They are containers for the actual counters the event measures. You can limit the data you see by collecting the columns you care about. I take the same route with the columns that I did with the events — less is more. The important bit for me here is the Text item — it contains most of what I’m looking for. It tells you what statements SQL is hearing.

Set the filters

Finally I click the Filters tab, as shown here:

Figure 51

I’ve filtered the Profiler that I’m running to just a few items; otherwise, I receive a glut of information I don’t need. I'll cover these items further in other tutorials.

This tab also lets you choose an application name to monitor – but be warned that what Windows reports as a running application isn’t necessarily what SQL reports as the name. I’ve found it safer to filter the database name, and then limit who’s doing what on that server. You can see that below:

Figure 52

Start the trace

I’m all done with what I want to see; now it’s time to start the trace. I click Run, then I go over to the workstation to start the application.

Figure 53

It’s important to keep this sequence, because applications normally run really fast, so if you start the application first, then you might miss the problem.

Stop the trace

Once the application generates the error, I wait a moment and then stop the trace using the red box icon in the tool bar.

Interpret the output

Finally the payoff — after I stop the trace, I arrow through the lines of data until I find the text output of the application. We'll follow this process in greater depth in the next steps on evaluation.

Figure 54

In this case, I see the application error. My application isn’t sending the second parameter to SQL Server, and so I try to insert @P1 into an integer field in the database. That’s not going to work very well, so I make the change in my code and everything works.

This example is a bit simplistic, but it illustrates the process to follow to debug an application, or just to monitor what it’s sending to the database. The key is to limit the data to just what you need, while making sure you get everything that is pertinent.

To take your Profiler skills to the next level, make sure you visit the links in the resources section on this site. There are quite a few articles out there on Profiler, and many of the books on Safari also talk about the tool.

Informit Articles and Sample Chapters

SQL Profiler is a sample chapter from Essential SQL Server 2000: An Administration Handbook (Addison Wesley, 2001, ISBN 0201742039), by Buck Woody. You can use Profiler to track SQL statements for troubleshooting, or even monitor the behavior of the server engine that you normally can’t see. In this excerpt from his book, Buck Woody provides an overview.

Using SQL Profiler to Find Errors - Sample Chapter By Rob Hawthorne. In this excerpt from SQL Server 2000 Database Development From Scratch, author Rob Hawthorne tells you how SQL Profiler, as a problem-solving tool, can show you exactly what has been sent to the SQL Server by a client application.

SQL Server: Blocking Problems - Article By Kevin Kline, Baya Pavliashvili. If your users complain about applications being slow, you may have blocking problems. This article shows you how to determine the causes of the blocking and how to resolve them.

Books and e-Books

Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Optimization Guide by Jenney Fields.

Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Unleashed, By Ray Rankins, Paul Jensen and Paul Bertucci has more information on SQL Server Profiler.

Online Resources

There's a great resource that shows another look at SQL Server Profiler here.

< Back Page 193 of 365 Next >

🔖 Save To Your Account

InformIT Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from InformIT and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Privacy Notice

Overview

Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information

To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites, develop new products and services, conduct educational research and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email information@informit.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information

Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security

Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children

This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing

Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information

If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out

Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by InformIT. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.informit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information

Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents

California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure

Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

As required by law.
With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links

This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact

Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice

We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020

Email Address