Where Do I Want To Go Today? - Lossless Performance
Taking a note from Microsoft's own page, I've decided to share some of my wishes for where I want SQL Server to go. Today.
Meaning this is what I'm looking for now, the things that I'd like to see implemented in future releases. Now I missed the Yukon preview and haven't read too terribly much on it, so I may be asking for something that's coming. If it's not under NDA, let me know.
Otherwise I hope to get some feedback about whether you'd like to see this feature or not. Or maybe you've got something I've forgotten on this feature. Either way let me know. I've got a few and I'm splitting them up to keep comments focused on this one feature. If you've got a wish, send it to me with a description. I'll credit you (if you want) and add my comments before dropping it out there in front of everyone.
Make It Lossless
Who's run performance monitor and missed some data? I know I have, especially when a system is truly stressed.
But that's when I really need the data. That's when I need to know theupper limit so I can plan the next machine. If I'm truly that stressed over time, I've got other issues. The small hit to get the data is worth getting the data. The data is often the critical data that is needed to solve some problem or make a decision.
Now I know that if you run the Profiler from the stored procedures that it is lossless. But make that available from the GUI. Or make the GUI setup the procedures and execute them and read back from the logs. The current method of setting up profiler looks like something from Oracle, some cumbersome, archaic, gnome-like method for building a set of options for a trace.
When I'm in a hurry, when I'm getting paged about performance, I need the metrics, need the numbers quickly and easily that will allow me to pinpoint the problem. Let me find the bottleneck.
So please, please, please, make performance monitor and profiler lossless. You can default them the way they are, but give me some switch, option, something in the GUI that will ensure I can get the data.
Other items in this series:
Steve Jones
©dkRanch.net June 2003