QnA: Performance Dashboard Webcast

Posted on May 4, 2011 by Amit Banerjee

I had an overflow of questions during the webcast today and wasn’t able to answer a few as we ran short of time. I shall attempt to address the most common questions asked during the webcast.

How do I configure SQL Server Performance Dashboards?
SQL Server Performance Dashboard was originally released for SQL Server 2005. Setup instructions are available with the download link. However, the same install can be tweaked to work for SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 using the blog post by Sudarshan: Configuring Performance Dashboard for SQL Server 2008
Download link: SQL Server 2005 Performance Dashboard

The SQL Server instance being monitored must be running SQL Server 2005 SP2 or later. After completing the installation, you must:
1. Run the Setup.sql file on each instance of SQL Server 200x that you wish to monitor with the SQL Server 2005 Performance Dashboard Reports.
2. Open the performance_dashboard_main.rdl file with the Custom Reports functionality new to Management Studio in SQL Sever 2005 Service Pack 2.

Does Performance Dashboard work for SQL Server 2000?
No, Performance Dashboard uses DMVs to generate the data for the reports which are available from SQL Server 2005 and higher.

Where can I get the presentation and webcast recording?
The presentation and webcast recording for the entire webcast series will be made available on the SQLServerFAQ MSDN blog. I shall post an update once both are available.

What is the performance impact of running these reports?
If your server is unresponsive or experiencing high CPU usage on all the processors, then these reports will also face issues while retrieving diagnostic data from the DMVs. However, the overall impact of running this reports on a SQL Server instance is very minimal as compared to any other performance diagnostic tool.

Can these reports be used on SQL Azure or any other RDBMS?
No, they cannot be used to monitor SQL Azure databases or any other non-SQL Server RDMBS environment.

What permissions are required for using Performance Dashboard?
You need to have VIEW SERVER STATE permission to view all the information exposed by Performance Dashboard as most of the information is collected from DMVs.

Can these reports be deployed to a local shared repository?
You can use Visual Studio and create custom reports similar to the Performance Dashboard reports or modify the existing reports as per your needs and deploy them. Be advised, that this will be a customized solution and not supported by CSS w.r.t. performance issues while running these reports or configuration issues.

Lastly, thank you for attending the session! And for your patience.

In case there are more questions, please feel free to add a comment and I shall reply back accordingly.

Cheers!

del.icio.us Tags: Webcasts,SQL Server,Performance,Tools,Twost

Webcast: Understanding Performance Bottlenecks using Performance Dashboard

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Amit Banerjee

I will be delivering a webcast on “Understanding Performance Bottlenecks using Performance Dashboard”. The idea of this is webcast is demonstrate the use of tools offered by Microsoft to analyze performance bottlenecks when the issue is happening. This will be a good folow-up on the recent write-up that I did for SSWUG on tackling SQL Performance issues using tools provided by Microsoft.

Time: 2:30PM IST – 3:45PM IST
Date: 4th May, 2011

Here is the session abstract:

This session will demonstrate how to troubleshoot a SQL Server performance issue using out-of-the-box features without having to collect diagnostic data for post-mortem analysis.

Apart from this session, there are other sessions being delivering as part of this webcast series.

Managing and Optimizing Resources for SQL Server (Date: May 2, 2011 Time: 2:30 pm – 3:45 pm IST)

Optimizing and Tuning Full Text Search for SQL Server (Date: May 3, 2011 Time: 2:30 pm – 3:45 pm IST)

Cool Tools to have for SQL Server DBA (Date: May 5, 2011 Time: 2:30 pm – 3:45 pm IST)

Learn Underappreciated Features of SQL Server to Improve Productivity (Date: May 6, 2011 Time: 2:30 pm – 3:45 pm IST)

If you are interested, here is the registration link for signing up: http://virtualtechdays.com/SQLServer2008R2/

del.icio.us Tags: Virtual Tech Days,Microsoft,SQL Server,Performance,Webcasts

March Architect Innovation Cafe Webcasts-Register Today!

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Amit Banerjee

March 25, 2010 at 1:00pm – 2:00pm EST

Title: Extending Your Sites Reach with IE8 Add On Features

Abstract Today’s users are getting more sophisticated and they expect more features from the sites and services they use. In this session learn about how to implement low effort, high value add-ons that expand your sites reach and bring value to your customer base .

Link to Register: https://swrt.worktankseattle.com/webcast/4240/preview.aspx

Presenter:
Jim Cirone
Architect Evangelist, Microsoft
Jim Cirone is an Architect Evangelist with Microsoft’s Developer and Platform Evangelism team. He joined the DPE team 3 years ago after spending 10 years in Microsoft’s services group architecting and delivering complex solutions. In his current role he is focused on new and emerging web technologies.

March 26, 2010 at 1:00pm – 2:00pm EST

Title: Windows Azure Design Patterns

Abstract: One of the challenges in adopting a new platform is finding usable design patterns that work for developing effective solutions. The Catch-22 is that design patterns are discovered and not invented. Nevertheless it is important to have some guidance on what design patterns make sense early in the game.

This webcast attacks the problem through a set of application scenario contexts, Azure features and solution examples. It is unique in its approach and the fact that it includes the use of features from all components of the Windows Azure Platform including the Windows Azure OS, Windows Azure AppFabric and SQL Azure. In this webcast you will learn about the components of the Windows Azure Platform that can be used to solve specific business problems.

Link to Register: https://swrt.worktankseattle.com/webcast/4241/preview.aspx

Presenter:
Bill Zack
Architect Evangelist, Microsoft

Bill Zack is an Architect Evangelist with Microsoft. He comes to this role after serving as a Solutions Architect in the Financial Services Unit of Microsoft Consulting Services. His experience includes developing, supporting and evangelizing .NET/SOA based frameworks used to jump-start development projects for financial services companies.

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