Top 10 FREE performance

troubleshooting tools for SQL Server

Michelle Gutzait
Principal Consultant at www.Pythian.com
[email protected]
Common “DBA” tasks

➢ SQL Server Instance inventory list

➢ Best Practice analysis
➢ Server Performance and capacity planning
➢ Check disk IO performance
➢ Troubleshooting database and database code
➢ Compare data between two databases
➢ Common maintenance procedures
➢ Security Best Practice Analysis
➢ Upgrades and migrations

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SQL Server Instance inventory list
➢ Instance discovery (server and instance)
➢ Versions and Editions
➢ Clustered? Which nodes?
➢ Physical/Virtual
➢ Prod/Dev/Test/…
➢ How much memory on server and allocated to instance
➢ How many cores
➢ How many databases
➢ Database sizes and additional info
➢ Backups
➢ …

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SQL Server Instance inventory list – Tool #1

➢ Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP)

Toolkit

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MAP TOOL - Reports

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MAP TOOL – example – SQL Server
Summary

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MAP toolkit – additional info

Manual:
▪ https://www.interconnect.nl/wp-
content/uploads/2016/08/User-Manual-MAP-Toolkit.pdf
How to use the MAP tool:
▪ https://www.sqlshack.com/how-to-use-microsoft-assessment-
and-planning-map-toolkit-for-sql-server/
Use queries to generate the MAP reports:
▪ https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/mapblog/2012/02/01/
using-the-map-toolkit-to-obtain-list-of-products-installed-
across-your-environment/

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INVENTORY LIST – alternatives

Using PowerShell:
▪ https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcen
ter/powershell-for-sql-server-a9af7b91
▪ https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcen
ter/PowerShell-SQL-Inventory-e9b92dac

Using T-SQL

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Best Practices
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831400(v=ws.11).aspx

“Although best practice violations, even crucial

ones, are not necessarily problematic, they
indicate server configurations that can result in
poor performance, poor reliability, unexpected
conflicts, increased security risks, or other
potential problems.”

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Microsoft Best Practice Analyzer – Tool #2

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Microsoft Best Practice Analyzer

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Microsoft Best Practice Analyzer

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Microsoft Best Practice Analyzer

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Microsoft Best Practice Analyzer

You can specify any of the following

formats:
•XML
•HTML
•CSV

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Sql server Best Practices - Alternatives
PowerShell
▪ https://www.simple-talk.com/sql/database-
administration/automating-your-sql-server-best-practice-reports-the-
document/
▪ https://mcpmag.com/articles/2016/12/08/checking-sql-best-
practices.aspx

T-SQL

Policy-Based Management to monitor and enforce Best

Practices
▪ https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/relational-databases/policy-
based-management/monitor-and-enforce-best-practices-by-using-
policy-based-management

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Server Performance and capacity planning

➢ CPU levels
➢ Memory
➢ I/O
➢ Network
➢ SQL Server
✓Lock/Block/Deadlock
✓T-SQL performance

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Idera SQL Check - Tool #3

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Idera SQL Check

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DBAREPORTS - Tool #4

▪ https://github.com/sqlcollaborative/dbareports

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DBAReports - Links

How to install:
▪ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0RvKPFbm68

Install and run PowerBi reports plus Cortana:

▪ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da6S1j32_Ok

SSRS reports for DBAreports:

▪ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdDSPbkneHg
Test disk IO Performance

➢ Compared to what?
✓Current market Average
➢ Proper for expected load
➢ Proper for expected growth
➢ Scalability

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Microsoft Diskspd - Tool #5

▪ Replacing SQLIO tool

“ Vision for the DiskSpd tool

The DiskSpd tool provides the functionality needed to generate a wide

variety of disk request patterns, helpful in diagnosis and analysis of
storage-based performance issues. For example, it can be used to
simulate SQL Server I/O activity and more complex patterns of access
which change over time. It enables the user to analyze storage
performance without running a full end-to-end workload.
DiskSpd presents results in both a text summary and also a detailed XML
form suitable for automated result analysis. ”

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DISKSPD

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diskspd

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DISKSPD - Resources

▪ https://sqlperformance.com/2015/08/io-
subsystem/diskspd-test-storage
▪ https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/DiskSpd
-A-Robust-Storage-6ef84e62

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SentryOne Plan Explorer – Tool #6
Key Features
Standalone Windows application, contains many of the plan
analysis features included in the full SentryOne Platform
software but does not require a collector service or database.
▪ Index Analysis -- Determine the best index to support a given
query.
▪ Statistics Analysis -- Visualize query parameters and statistics.
▪ Plan Diagram -- See your query plan on your desktop or laptop
screen with full layout control.
▪ Query Performance Profiling and Playback -- Replay your
SQL Server queries with access to their live performance
statistics.
▪ And much more -- In the user guide.
SentryOne Plan Explorer - example

Explanation:
https://www.sentryone.com/blog/aaronbertrand/sql-sentry-
v10-index-analysis
Troubleshooting database and database
code

➢ What did I find before?

➢ Where to start?
➢ General vs specific
➢ Scripts, script, scripts….

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Sp_Whoisactive - Tool #7

▪ https://www.brentozar.com/responder/log-
sp_whoisactive-to-a-table/

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Sp_whoisactive - DEMO

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Sp_Blitz - Tool #8

▪ https://www.brentozar.com/blitz/

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Sp_blitz

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Sp_blitz

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Sp_blitz - DEMO
Troubleshooting DB Code – QUERY STORE

▪ Built-in - SQL 2016+ and Azure

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QUERY STORE - Tool #9

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QUERY STORE

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Common maintenance procedures

➢ Index maintenance
➢ Update statistics
➢ Integrity Checks
➢ Purge backup and job history
➢ Recycle Errorlog

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Ola Hallengren SPs - Tool #10
https://ola.hallengren.com/sql-server-index-and-statistics-maintenance.html

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Maintenace procedures - challenges

➢ Different workloads
➢ Versions and editions of SQL Server
➢ Locks/blocks/deadlocks
➢ Partitions
➢…

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Surprise – much more!

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Xsqlserver and script gallery

Script repository
▪ https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter
▪ https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/site/sea
rch?f%5B0%5D.Type=RootCategory&f%5B0%5D.Value
=databases

xSQLServer and Desired State

Configuration(DSC) for SQL Server
▪ https://github.com/PowerShell/xSQLServer
▪ https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/troy_aults_blog/2015/08/31/
desired-state-configurationdsc-for-sql-server/

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XSQLSERVER

▪ Things which every DBA should be interested

in automating:
➢ Installation of SQL Server
➢ Configuration of SQL Server. (MaxMemory,
MaxDop, ect)
You can contribute and
➢ Security Compliance add more!

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 https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/xSQLServer-

Xsqlserver PowerShell-12d76584/view/Discussions

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SET STATISTICS IO, TIME ON https://statisticsparser.com/
Thank you!
[email protected]
▪ http://www.qdpma.co ▪ MDW Management
m/ Datawarehouse