SQL Sentry Essentials SQL Server Performance Monitoring and Tuning the SQL Sentry Way

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SQL Sentry Essentials Overview This course provides the knowledge and skills needed to gain basic proficiency with the extensive performance monitoring and optimization capabilities of SQL Sentry Event Manager and Performance Advisor. Using our practical, real-world approach to SQL Server performance analysis and tuning, students learn how to use this powerful toolset to find and correct the SQL Server performance problems prevalent in organizations today. MODULE ONE

Performance Advisor and Event Manager Overview All craftsmen know that a key element to obtaining proficiency in their trade is knowing the purpose of each tool in their toolbox and what tool to use in every situation. We start this course by introducing you to the tools in the SQL Sentry toolbox. MODULE TWO

SQL Sentry Software Product Components Before we start delving into details, it’s important we understand the fundamentals. In this module we cover the role played by each SQL Sentry component, the Windows and SQL Server features used to enable data collection, and your deployment options that ensure an efficient and reliable monitoring solution. We also discuss factors impacting the size and responsiveness of the SQL Sentry database, and how to ensure maximum performance. Topics covered include: • Product Components SQL Sentry Monitoring Service SQL Sentry Database SQL Sentry Client Cloud.SQLSentry.com & Power BI

MODULE THREE

Key Concepts Performance Advisor and Event Manager are built on some foundational concepts of what we should expect from monitoring and performance software and how it should work. It is important we understand what they are and how they have been implemented. Topics covered include: • • • • • •

SQL Sentry Product Component Integration Data Collection Targets and Instances Adding Targets and Instances The Alerting and Response System Hierarchy Data Retention and Dashboard Resolutions

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SQL Sentry Essentials MODULE FOUR

Product Security Management Security is an essential element of any software product. In this module we discuss permissions required by SQL Sentry to monitor your systems, user access privileges necessary to use the SQL Sentry client effectively, and options available to limit user access. Topics covered include: • • • • •

Monitoring Service Security Managing User and Groups SQL Sentry components permissions requirements – Role Based Security Managing Monitored Server Visibility – Rights Based Security Client Permissions and Access to Monitored Servers

MODULE FIVE

The SQL Sentry Client Interface The SQL Sentry Client provides a seamless experience for SQL Server and Windows monitoring and optimization, query tuning, alerting and job scheduling. This module discusses the elements of the SQL Sentry Client and their basic usage. Topics covered include: • • • • • •

SQL Sentry Client Overview Workspace – Event Manager Calendar & Performance Advisor Dashboard Navigator and Event View Panes Conditions and Settings Panes Status and Progress Indicators User Preferences

MODULE SIX

SQL Sentry Deployment Options Organizations’ SQL Server landscapes come in all shapes and sizes in response to their own business needs. Performance Advisor and Event Manager have been designed to monitor most every configuration from a single, local SQL Server instance to hundreds of instances (virtual and physical) deployed in multiple data centers around the world. • • • •

Deployment Basics – SQL Sentry monitoring services, database and client Planning your deployment Deploying in large environments Monitoring cloud environments

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SQL Sentry Essentials MODULE SEVEN

Creating an Effective Event Monitoring and Response System SQL Sentry enables you to create a comprehensive Monitoring and Response System using Conditions, Actions and Settings. This module explores each of these concepts in depth, and discusses how to implement them effectively. Topics covered include: • • • • • • •

Effective Event Monitoring and Response Systems Plan and Implement a Structured Event Monitoring and Response System Settings, Conditions, and Actions Response rulesets and condition settings Object groups Leveraging the Actions Log Going Beyond Alerting – automating actions in response to events Documenting remediation using notes

MODULE EIGHT

Monitoring SQL Server & Windows Performance Beyond monitoring and alerting on scheduled and unscheduled events such as job failures and deadlocks is performance monitoring. At this level we want our monitoring solution to be on the lookout for high resource utilization, combinations of performance metrics exceeding defined thresholds, and deviations from established baselines. In this module we examine how to realize this level of monitoring, and more. Topics covered include: • • • • • • • •

SQL Server and Windows KPMs – the Performance Advisor Dashboard Baselines Monitoring the Disk Subsystem Top SQL SQL Blocking and Deadlocks Database Tables and Indexes Working with grids The filter editor

MODULE NINE

Monitoring SQL Server HA Solutions SQL Server offers a range of native high availability solutions to meet most every budget and business requirement. SQL Sentry provides a centralized monitoring and alerting mechanism for all of them. • • • • •

Log Shipping Database Mirroring Replication SQL failover cluster instance AlwaysOn Availability Groups

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SQL Sentry Essentials MODULE TEN

Monitor SQL Server Performance with Custom Conditions We can’t always be watching Performance Advisor, waiting for indications of a performance issue. Instead, use Custom Conditions to define performance metric based conditions and alerts. • What are custom conditions? • Working with custom conditions in Performance Advisor – Conditions Lists and Events Logs • Getting Started – the custom condition download pack download and explore conditions in the conditions pack enable custom conditions by assigning actions disable custom conditions • Cloning, Importing and Exporting • Building a custom condition • Sharing custom conditions through the SQL Sentry Condition Exchange

MODULE ELEVEN

Performance Troubleshooting and Tuning with SQL Sentry Troubleshooting SQL Server performance issues does not lend itself to formulaic approaches. Individual metrics provide clues, but combinations of the right metrics, along with an understanding of “normal” behavior usually leads down the correct path to resolution. SQL Sentry excels at showing you combinations and correlations of metrics that, when combined with an understanding of how SQL Server works, makes finding the right path much easier. In this module we will explore methods for uncovering the root cause of common SQL Server performance issues. Topics covered include: • • • •

SQL Server Configuration Issues Using Waits and Queues CPU, Memory, and Disk I/O – Where’s the Bottleneck? Long running T-SQL , Blocking and Deadlocks

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SQL Sentry Essentials MODULE TWELVE

Query Tuning using Plan Explorer Plan Explorer helps you quickly get to the root of query tuning issues by making it obvious where issues exist in your execution plans. Performance Advisor continuously captures deep plan information for slow, poorly performing T-SQL. In this module we discuss the basics of query plan analysis and query tuning using Plan Explorer. Topics covered include: • • • • • • •

What plans are (and are not) captured Query plan capture settings Accessing captured query plans Plan Explorer layout The enhanced Plan Diagram, and other PE tabs Sharing Query Plans Query Plan Analysis using selected examples

MODULE THIRTEEN

SQL Sentry Reporting and cloud.sqlsentry.com SQL Sentry offers an expansive list of reporting options, generated using SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) technology. All reports can be viewed directly from the SQL Sentry Client, or deployed to a Reporting Services 2005 and above server for distribution. In this module we examine these reports, the process for deploying them, and how to create custom versions. We also discuss the role of reports in your monitoring and performance tuning solution. Topics covered include: • Generating SQL Sentry Reports • Deploying Reports to SSRS • cloud.sqlsentry.com Registration and Configuration Server Health Status Server Details Cloud Reports PowerBI Content Pack MODULE FOURTEEN

Summary This module will provide a wrap-up of topics in this course, a preview of Mastery level topics, and a list of resources.

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[email protected]

855-SQL-SPEED toll-free