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Sos Work Dispatcher Wait Type

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548 views3 pages

Sos Work Dispatcher Wait Type

Uploaded by

Bhakti Bhusan Bhoi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SOS_WORK_DISPATCHER Wait Type

The SOS_WORK_DISPATCHER wait type in SQL Server is an internal wait type that indicates a thread
is waiting for work to be assigned by the SQL Server scheduler. This is part of SQL Server's internal
task scheduling mechanism and is generally related to background system processes or tasks
executed by the SQL Server engine itself.

Characteristics of SOS_WORK_DISPATCHER

1. When It Happens:

o It occurs when a worker thread in the SQL Server scheduler is idle and waiting for
new work or a task to be assigned.

o Common in scenarios where SQL Server spawns system background tasks, like the
Service Broker, SQL Agent jobs, memory management tasks, or checkpoint
processes.

2. Normal or Abnormal?

o Normal: This wait type is often seen in systems with low activity or during times
when background tasks (like Service Broker or background IO tasks) are idling.

o Abnormal: If it appears excessively, it may indicate that SQL Server is overburdened


with too many tasks to dispatch, or there are long-running or stuck system
processes.

3. Impact on Performance:

o This wait type is usually low-impact and does not significantly affect performance
unless it appears alongside other problematic waits like SOS_SCHEDULER_YIELD or
high CPU pressure.

Troubleshooting SOS_WORK_DISPATCHER

1. Identify the Root Cause:

o Use the following query to identify active requests and associated wait types:

sql

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SELECT

r.session_id,

r.wait_type,

r.wait_time,
r.wait_resource,

r.status,

r.command,

t.text AS query_text

FROM sys.dm_exec_requests r

CROSS APPLY sys.dm_exec_sql_text(r.sql_handle) t

WHERE r.wait_type = 'SOS_WORK_DISPATCHER';

2. Look for Background Tasks:

o Check for tasks like SQL Agent jobs, Service Broker queues, or replication that might
be contributing to this wait type. You can query system tasks using:

sql

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SELECT *

FROM sys.dm_os_workers

WHERE task_address IN (

SELECT task_address FROM sys.dm_os_tasks WHERE session_id IS NULL

);

3. Monitor System Health:

o Use DMVs to analyze overall system health and CPU/memory utilization:

sql

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SELECT

scheduler_id,

cpu_id,

is_idle,

current_tasks_count,

runnable_tasks_count

FROM sys.dm_os_schedulers

WHERE scheduler_id < 255;

 High runnable_tasks_count indicates CPU pressure or thread contention.

4. Investigate Parallelism:
o Excessive SOS_WORK_DISPATCHER waits can sometimes be related to misconfigured
parallelism settings. Ensure cost threshold for parallelism and MAXDOP are
configured appropriately.

Common Scenarios and Solutions

Scenario Solution

No action required. This is expected when SQL Server is idle or lightly


Low server activity
loaded.

Background task Investigate the background tasks (e.g., SQL Agent jobs, Service Broker
bottlenecks queues) causing waits.

Optimize queries, reduce contention, and adjust parallelism settings (e.g.,


High CPU pressure
MAXDOP).

Long-running or stuck Identify and resolve blocked or inefficient tasks. Use DMVs like
tasks sys.dm_exec_requests.

Additional Considerations

 If this wait type consistently appears with other high-impact waits like
SOS_SCHEDULER_YIELD, it could indicate CPU saturation or scheduling delays.

 Monitor using Query Store, Activity Monitor, or tools like sp_WhoIsActive to correlate this
wait type with specific workloads.

If you're seeing excessive SOS_WORK_DISPATCHER waits, providing more details about the workload
and server configuration would allow for more tailored advice!

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