CSS SQL Server Engineers

I posted some updates to my blog entry about the RDTSC and drift warnings in May. See the following link http://blogs.msdn.com/psssql/archive/2006/11/27/sql-server-2005-sp2-will-introduce-new-messages-to-the-error-log-related-to-timing-activities.aspx...

The SQL Books Online states that using NUMA port affinity helps co-locate the resources used by the query (CPU, Memory, ….). This is true for serial plan execution but not completely the case for parallel query execution. You might assume that you can...

If you have an ODBC application that is connecting to a mirrored database and if The application uses a connection string without a database name ( for e.g: dsn=ssistest;uid=ssistest;pwd=*********) The DSN is configured to use SQL authentication...

Work continues around the working set issues. You can find the latest and greatest Information: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918483 =========================================================== I spent several days last week investigating reported...

I have encountered some questions pertaining to the SQLIOSim outstanding IO warnings and I am posting some details.   The Display monitor thread is responsible for updating the display (progress outputs) and checking for long IOs   (CheckForLongIO...

The dust has now settled after the release of SP2 for SQL Server 2005 so I thought I would take some time to explain a few details about the re-release of Service Pack 2 and the fixes that have been posted by Microsoft since this re-release. There is...

The SQL Server 2005 Performance Dashboard reports were recently released as a free download for customers. The performance dashboard was developed as a joint effort between the support and development teams with a goal of reducing the amount of time spent...

Starting with SQL Server 2005 SP2 the connection based events are also produced for sp_reset_connection activities, indicating the connection was reset. The pattern will look like the following. RPC:Starting sp_reset_connection Disconnect Subclass...

Many folks asked us at PASS last year for these labs. A little late coming but we have these available if you want to download these. I've got these posted on Ken Henderson's website at http://sqlnexus.net/download/pass_2006_Web.zip . There is no official...

Many of you have used the SQL Server 2000 blocker script (see KB 271509 ) to help troubleshoot performance issues in SQL 2000. If you haven't used it, you probably use a script of your own that takes a similar approach, polling sysprocesses and virtual...

SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 (SP2) released on Monday to the web. If you want to start downloading it while reading the rest of the post, go right to http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sql/2005/downloads/servicepacks/sp2.mspx . Over the...

As many of you know, Daylight Savings Time (DST) in the United States is changing this year to start on March 11th, 2007 (3 weeks earlier than normal) and end on November 4th, 2007 (1 week later than normal). I thought I would write a quick post on the...

I have been answering questions on two of the most misunderstood ‘SQL Server Urban Legends’ frequently again so I decided to make a post about them. ·          SQL Server Uses One Thread Per Data...

Many of us are used to looking at a SQL Trace and making the assumption that the order of display is what occurred during the capture. SQL Server 2005 introduced a new column named ‘Event Sequence’ that you should capture for any trace events. The...

This week I was reviewing Watson setup failure rates and comparing them to cases opened in the same areas with SQL Server support. Dec 2006 was the highest volume level for SQL Server 2005 RTM and SP1 cases to date. The values were not out of line...

I want the community to get to know more some of the people that work in Microsoft PSS with SQL Server (one of the reasons to start this blog). Hopefully you have had a chance to meet some of us at PASS. Here is another opportunity. At the recent PASS...

Over the past several months PSS has received several reports of processing for cubes in SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services hanging or becoming unbearably slow. Most of the reports have involved high end 64-bit servers with 4 or more processors and 8GB...

If you want to get a sampling of the content in the troubleshootting book Bob mentioned, one of the book's chapters can be read here: http://www.khen.com/sspt04.pdf . Be aware that the topic discussed in this chapter isn't what the whole book is about...

You can tell I'm a novice when it comes to books when I don't provide good information on how to get it. Please check out these links on Amazon and Barnes and Nobles for purchasing the book at discounts from the retail price: http://www.amazon.com...

What is a blog without talking about your own work a bit? My last post of the year will be to tell you about a book that I contributed to that is hot off the presses called SQL Server 2005 Practical Troubleshooting: The Database Engine http://www.aw...

How does anyone keep up with blog posts<g>? I myself have actually been travelling to Redmond to our campus for different things and haven't been enough at my home base in TX to dedicate enough time to our blog. I hope you have enjoyed the posts...

I would like to make you aware of corrections you should apply to your 64 bit installations of SQL Server to avoid sluggish behavior. Microsoft has encountered reports from a few seconds up to minutes in duration where it appears SQL Server is not processing...

SQLIOStress did not go away it was replaced with SQLIOSim ( http://support.microsoft.com/kb/231619 ). I developed SQLIOStress in response to various cases encountering stale reads, checksum failures and other unwanted I/O behavior. SQLIOStress continued...

Several years ago I started a whitepaper to describe the basic I/O requirements for the SQL Server database engine. This continued to grow and has become a series of chapters. Chapter 2 is a continuation from the original whitepaper so be sure to read...

Over a year ago the SQL Server development and PSS staff joined together to create the criteria for the SQL Server Always-On Solution reviewed program (SSAOSRP). To be clear this is not a certification program but it is a very thorough review of the solution...