07Nov 2011 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

Book Review: Guerilla Leader, T.E. Lawrence and the Arab Revolt

Professional Development
As part of my commitment to read and review 12 books in an effort to be active in my own personal development, a commitment made on the SQL Cruise back in June, I’ve completed another book, Guerrilla Leader: T. E. Lawrence and the Arab Revolt by James J. Schneider. This was not the book I was scheduled to read. I’m still reading it, but, frankly, it’s boring. This book came to my attention, a history book that is also an exploration of leadership, and I got excited. I’ve long been a student of history and I’ve had a fascination for World War I for a long time. I have over twenty books on the subject that I’ve read. So the chance to combine reading about a subject that I already…
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25Oct 2011 by Grant Fritchey 6 Comments

SQL Server XQuery Against Execution Plans

SQL Server, T-SQL
One of the greatest things about all the DMOs is how you can combine the information they present to you with execution plans. It allows you to see what a query is doing, even as it’s executing, because the plan is created first. I couldn’t possibly emphasize enough how important that’s going to be in your day-to-day troubleshooting. Even better is the fact that you’re going to be able to make use of XQuery to pull useful information out of the execution plans that are in cache. Or are you? Here’s a query to pull some information out of the procedure cache: SELECT  deps.type_desc, deps.last_execution_time, deps.execution_count, deps.total_logical_reads, dest.encrypted AS EncryptedText, dest.text, deqp.query_plan, deqp.encrypted AS EncryptedPlan FROM    sys.dm_exec_procedure_stats AS deps CROSS APPLY sys.dm_exec_sql_text(deps.sql_handle) AS dest CROSS APPLY sys.dm_exec_query_plan(deps.plan_handle) AS deqp WHERE  …
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24Oct 2011 by Grant Fritchey 5 Comments

I Can’t Go To Space

Redgate Software
If I could win the DBA In Space contest, I’d be all over it like white on rice. But I can’t win (and yes, that grinding sound you hear is my teeth, not tectonic plates). But, one of my friends might. I already know several of them that have entered. Maybe you can’t win either (what’s up with Tennessee anyway), or maybe you don’t want to win (I don’t understand this stance, but I know it’s out there). But you know what? Your friends probably do want a chance to slip the surly bonds of earth. Give it to them. It’s easy. Step 1: Get five (5) friends to register for the contest. Step 2: After they register, send their names & email addresses to dbainspace@red-gate.com. Done. Send in five…
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17Oct 2011 by Grant Fritchey 4 Comments

PASS Summit 2011: Wrap-Up

PASS
Another Summit done gone by and I’m exhausted. You know you did the Summit correctly if you’re crawling onto the plane to leave because you can no longer stand. That’s where I was on Saturday. I’m going to go ahead and write down a few thoughts about the Summit, but I want to point you over to Andy Leonard’s (blog|twitter) blog for what is a truly great summary. I won’t blame you if you read that & skip this. Still here? This year the Summit was amazing. I think it’s probably the best run Summit I’ve attended. From registration on Sunday night, to the final sessions on Friday, everything was dealt with in a timely and professional fashion that made the place a joy to attend. Huge kudos to the…
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17Oct 2011 by Grant Fritchey 1 Comment

Extended Events Data

Uncategorized
I’ve been working quite a bit over the last week or so with extended events in Denali. The sheer magnitude of what you can do with extended events is just becoming clear to me. The interesting thing though is how much the basics are similar to trace. Similar mind you, not the same. For example, the best way to gather trace data is to output it to a file and then read the file into a table for later querying. It’s the same with extended events. There’s even a function that acts as a table: SELECT * FROM sys.fn_xe_file_target_read_file ('C:\APath\Query Performance Tuning*.xel', NULL, NULL, NULL); This can take advantage of roll-over files just like the old function used for traces. You can also provide offsets to read a sub-set of…
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14Oct 2011 by Grant Fritchey 4 Comments

PASS Keynote Day #3: Dr. Dewitt

PASS
And we’re off. We opened with a video of people saying “Connect, Share, Learn” and “This, is Community” Rob Farley & Buck Woody came out with a song about long running queries. [8:20]Wayne Snyder has been working with the PASS organization since 1999. He spoke at the first PASS Summit and he’s been on the board forever. He has finally hit the point as immediate-past president where he has to leave the board. We’ve got a great little thank you for him from all sorts of people. Wayne is a magnificent guy, seriously. If you see him, thank him for his service. [8:28]We have a new executive committee, Bill Graziano as President, WHOOP, Douglas McDowell is Executive Vice-President and Thomas LaRock is VP of Marketing and finally, Rushabh Mehta is…
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13Oct 2011 by Grant Fritchey 3 Comments

PASS Summit Day 2–Key Notes

PASS
Bill Graziano has come out on stage, looking marvelous, in a traditional kilt and stockings. Thanks Bill. For those who don’t know, Day 2 at the Summit every year is Kilt Day. [8:19]Outstanding volunteers being recognized are Tim Radney and Jack Corbett. These are some outstanding people who work their bottoms off for the PASS Community. If you meet them, thank them. The 2011 PASSion Award goes to Lori Edwards. She’s simply amazing. Congratulations Lori and thank you for all the work you’ve done! [8:23]Time to eat our vegetables. We’re looking at the financials. It’s a slightly painful process, but important to understand where the money goes since this is a non-profit organization managed by volunteers. You should understand where the money comes from and where it goes. [8:25]Quentin Clark…
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13Oct 2011 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

PASS Summit So Far

PASS
This is Day 2 of the Summit proper. But for me, this is the fifth day of the Summit and my sixth in Seattle. Sunday was the opening of registration and it was like a high school reunion with people that you really love. Registration itself only takes about three minutes, but I was there for almost two hours talking to people, friends from previous PASS Summits, SQL Saturday’s, SQL Cruise, and SQL In The City. Monday I put on a pre-conference seminar with Gail Shaw. We had 120 attendees. Despite our worries and multiple contingency plans, we had more than enough material for the time (you try coordinating 7 hours of material with someone from South Africa who has less band width than my phone). It went off wonderfully.…
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12Oct 2011 by Grant Fritchey 3 Comments

PASS Summit 2011 Day #1 Post #1

PASS
Hello again. The PASS Organization has once more allowed me to sit at the bloggers table for the key note. I’ll be posting updates as the information unfolds. [8:06] The crowd is filling in. this looks like one of the biggest crowds I’ve ever seen at the summit. The organizers have done a great job so far. Thanks for all the hard work guys. [8:10] SQUEEEEE! I just met Dr. David Dewitt and got a picture with him. I’ll post it after I get home and find the cable. [8:22] Watching the videos of different people on the big screen talking about what they like about the PASS Summit is really cool. [8:26] Rushahb Mehta is introducing the board and the Partners of the PASS board. We now have a…
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05Oct 2011 by Grant Fritchey 1 Comment

Extended Events and Performance Tuning Knowledge

Uncategorized
I’m working on updating my book, Query Performance Tuning Distilled, so that it reflects the new things available in SQL Server vNext:Denali. I’m going through the first chapters that are all about gathering information about your systems. Performance tuning is all about building up knowledge of how the system is working in order to understand what you need to change in order to improve it. I’m surprised by how much hasn’t changed. But some of the changes are fundamental and huge. Let’s talk huge. Extended Events is huge. Extended Events came out in SQL Server 2008, but very few people, myself included, paid much attention. Those who did found the implementation awkward and confusing. Only a few people persevered enough to discover just how powerful and amazing these things are.…
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