Stairway to Server-side Tracing

Learn how to use the SQL Trace subsystem in SQL Server to audit your instances. This series will examine the basics of SQL Trace and teach you how to set up, schedule, and manage traces and the data generated.

• Stairway to Server-side Tracing - Level 1 - Overview of Tracing

  The first part of our stairway series on SQL Trace examines the overview of this subsystem in SQL Server, it's architecture and the kind of information it returns.

• Stairway to Server-side Tracing - Level 2: Creating a SQL Trace Using T-SQL (Stairway Series)

  This is the second article in our Stairway Series on SQL Tracing. Learn how to build traces in code with T-SQL.

• Stairway to Server-side Tracing - Level 3: Creating a SQL Trace Using SQL Server Profiler

  In this third article of our Stairway Series on tracing, Dan Guzman goes into the method of using Profiler to help you create a custom trace of the events that you need to monitor.

• Stairway to Server-side Tracing - Level 4: How to Create and View Default and black box Trace Data

  An introduction to the SQL Server default and black box traces targeted at DBAs who are new to these specialized traces. The article shows how to enable and disable the default trace feature and create a black box trace. The captured events are discussed along with how to view current and historical trace data of these traces.

• Stairway to Server-side Tracing - Level 5: How to View and Manage Running Traces

  An introduction to the SQL Trace catalog views and functions used to view existing trace definitions targeted at DBAs and Developers. The article discusses T-SQL queries to view defined traces, query trace status and start/stop/delete traces.

• Stairway to Server-side Tracing - Level 6: How to Import Trace Data

  How to import a trace file into a table using T-SQL and the Profiler tool, for subsequent ad-hoc analysis.

• Stairway to Server-side Tracing - Level 7: How to Automate SQL Traces using SQL Jobs

  How to use SQL Jobs, scripts and SSIS to manage traces and trace data collection.

• Stairway to Server-side Tracing - Level 8: How to Automate Traces with SSIS

  Level 8 of this stairway series looks at the automation of your tracing using Integration Services.

• Stairway to Server-side Tracing - Level 9: How to Automate SQL Traces using the Data Collector

  In this level you will see how to employ the Data Collector feature of SQL Server to automate management of SQL Traces among multiple servers.

• Stairway to Server-side Tracing - Level 10: Profiler versus Server-Side tracing

  Compares and contrasts tracing using Profiler with server-side tracing, illustrating important performance differences so that one can choose the right tool for the task at hand.