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Xperf: Install Windows Performance Toolkit (WPT) with 242MB Download, Not 2.5GB Windows 7 SDK: Part 2
In my first post on Xperf , I described the simple 4.4MB download necessary to install the Windows Performance Analyzer (WPA) & the other tools which comprise the Windows Performance Toolkit (WPT), including Xperf. I was surprised to learn that the Read More...
Posted 24 November 09 02:18 by Jimmy May | 3 Comments   
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Xperf: Install Windows Performance Toolkit (WPT) with 242MB Download, Not the Entire 2.5GB Windows 7 SDK: Part 1
Say It Ain’t So! In my first post on Xperf , I described the simple 4.4MB download necessary to install the Windows Performance Analyzer (WPA) & the other tools which comprise the Windows Performance Toolkit (WPT), including Xperf. I was surprised Read More...
Posted 22 November 09 06:00 by Jimmy May | 1 Comments   
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SQLIOSim Parser by Jens Suessmeyer & Yours Truly
New! Improved! v.3.3.0 Now Available on CodePlex ! Preamble SQLIOSim Parser shreds the results of SQLIOSim.log.xml in seconds, allowing easier & more accurate interpretation of the output of SQLIOSim. SQLIOSim is a tool written by CSS Engineer Bob Read More...
Posted 27 September 09 10:32 by Jimmy May | 4 Comments   
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Aspiring Geek Speaks This Week Yet Again: Perpetual Technologies (PTI) Back-to-School with Microsoft and Oracle Event
Yesterday I flew to Minneapolis to speak at PASS MN on disk partition alignment . I left for the airport immediately afterward to get home to Indianapolis in order to speak at Perpetual Technologies, Inc. ( PTI ) 2nd Annual Back to School with Microsoft Read More...
Posted 16 September 09 09:47 by Jimmy May | 0 Comments   
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Attachment(s): SQLIOParserWin_0.2.3.0.zip
sys.dm_db_index_operational_stats: Kick Your Assumptions: Part 1
A two-part tale in which your humble correspondent interrogates databases & Very Smart Persons (VSPs), & is forced to kick his ass- umptions regarding a popular DMF. Executive Summary Documentation for the DMF sys.dm_db_index_operational_stats Read More...
Posted 03 August 09 09:17 by Jimmy May | 0 Comments   
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Disk Partition Alignment (Sector Alignment): Make the Case: Save Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars
I recently collaborated with Microsoft PFE Daniel Janik to create a template to make the case for disk partition alignment. Perhaps your customers or stakeholders within your organization can benefit. This work was recently broadcast throughout PFE DLs Read More...
Posted 08 May 09 02:15 by Jimmy May | 6 Comments   
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A Language for Software Architecture by JD Meier in The Architecture Journal
J.D. Meier is a Principal Program Manager for Microsoft’s Patterns & Practices team.  He’s a great writer & a clear thinker.  J.D.’s Sources of Insight is devoted to getting results & balancing life. His latest-&-greatest publication Read More...
Posted 28 April 09 09:41 by Jimmy May | 0 Comments   
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Disk I/O Case Study: Classic Case of SAN Over-Subscription
SAN Over-Subscription There are a variety of challenges related to I/O performance. One common problem is "SAN Over-Subscription", which is characterized by the the following symptoms: High disk latency and Low IOPs & Throughput As MS PFE & fellow Read More...
Posted 15 March 09 09:21 by Jimmy May | 2 Comments   
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SSMS Query Results: “Include column headers when copying or saving the results"
In my work with external customers, I collaborate with some excellent DBAs & Architects. But I've noticed many of them are not aware that you can capture column headers from query results to grid in SSMS. When a very bright engineer I work with—not Read More...
Posted 22 February 09 10:40 by Jimmy May | 4 Comments   
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sp_reset_connection Does NOT Reset TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL: Unexpected Behavior By Design
I've long been an advocate of the best practice of explicitly setting the transaction isolation level in my scripts. At my old day job as an enterprise architect I mandated that along with SET NOCOUNT ON , the preamble for all SProcs explicitly must declare Read More...
Posted 02 February 09 12:44 by Jimmy May | 6 Comments   
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Perception, Reality, & Incrementally Tuning World-Class Applications
Performance & the 20% Rule I was reading the post from Ed Glas , Make Your Performance Work Count: The 20% Rule . He shared the words of computer science professor & billionaire entrepreneur David Cheriton: If it is fast and ugly, they will use Read More...
Posted 07 January 09 07:32 by Jimmy May | 6 Comments   
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SQL Server Schema Best Practices from the SQL Server Customer Advisory Team (SQL CAT)
An authoritative reference on schema usage in SQL Server 2005 is now available. Along with my buddy Joe Sack , it's been my privilege in the last few months to serve as Technical Reviewer on white papers for the SQL Server Customer Advisory Team (SQL Read More...
Posted 10 December 08 12:12 by Jimmy May | 1 Comments   
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Disk Partition Alignment (Sector Alignment) for SQL Server: Part 4: Essentials (Cheat Sheet)
The purpose of this post is to document Disk Partition Alignment Essentials. It is intended for engineers who are already familiar with disk partition alignment yet want a “cheat sheet”. As most of you know, partition alignment is an essential best practice. Read More...
Posted 04 December 08 10:40 by Jimmy May | 11 Comments   
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Attachment(s): Disk Partition Alignment (Sector Alignment) for SQL Server - Part 4 - Essentials (Cheat Sheet) -- Jimmy May.zip
Case Study: Part 2: CXPACKET Wait Stats & 'max degree of parallelism' Option: Suppressing Query Parallelism Eliminated CXPACKET Waits & Liberated 30% of CPU
Introduction This is the second of a four-part series: Introduction to Query Parallelism Parallelism Suppression: Analysis, Remediation, & Results (this post) Parallel Query Identification & Remediation Summary Executive Summary In my first post Read More...
Posted 02 December 08 11:49 by Jimmy May | 3 Comments   
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Case Study: Part 1: CXPACKET Wait Stats & 'max degree of parallelism' Option: Introduction to Using Wait Stats to Identify & Remediate Query Parallelism Bottlenecks
This is the first of a four-part series: Introduction to Query Parallelism (this post) Flipping the Bit Expensive Query Identification & Remediation Summary Query Parallelism The SQL Server configuration option max degree of parallelism determines Read More...
Posted 28 November 08 01:29 by Jimmy May | 3 Comments   
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