Troubleshooting Performance Problems in SQL Server 2008
It’s not uncommon to experience the occasional slowdown of a database running the Microsoft SQL Server database software. The reasons can range from a poorly designed database to a system that is improperly configured for the workload. As an administrator, you want to proactively prevent or minimize problems; if they occur, you want to diagnose the cause and take corrective actions to fix the problem whenever possible. This white paper provides step-by-step guidelines for diagnosing and troubleshooting common performance problems by using publicly available tools such as:
- SQL Server Profiler
- System Monitor (in the Windows Server 2003 operating system) or Performance Monitor (in the Windows Vista operating system and Windows Server 2008), also known as Perfmon
- Dynamic management views (sometimes referred to as DMVs)
- SQL Server Extended Events (Extended Events) and the data collector, which are new in SQL Server 2008.
We have limited the scope of this white paper to the problems commonly seen by Microsoft Customer Service and Support (CSS), because an exhaustive analysis of all possible problems is not feasible.
Because this paper is very long (102 pages), reading it in an online format such as the Library becomes impractical, so we offer it as a downloadable Microsoft Word document.
- Download “Troubleshooting Performance Problems in SQL Server 2008” from the Microsoft Download Center
- Ask a question in the SQL Server Forums