Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
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Page latch waits
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Waits for the worker
Although it may be easier to access these wait stats from the DMVs within SQL Server, collecting
them as part of a system-wide data-gathering exercise with PerfMon minimizes the logistics effort
involved in collecting the information.
Getting a Performance Baseline
A performance baseline is simply a PerfMon log from a time frame representing “normal” perfor-
mance, retained for future review. The PerfMon log should contain counters that build a complete
picture of hardware and SQL Server resources during a representative workload period.
The performance baseline can provide answers to questions that an individual would otherwise be
unable to answer. On occasions when there are any performance problems, the baseline is available
for comparison; and by mapping the SQL Server batch requests per second against other values, it
will be possible to identify and compare problem server activity per workload with the workload of
a known good data capture.
The baseline should be continually maintained; otherwise, coni guration changes or tuning optimi-
zations could alter the output and invalidate any comparison. It's useful to get into the habit of tak-
ing a fresh baseline on a regular basis.
PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF LOGS
The Performance Analysis of Logs (PAL) tool is a free utility for analyzing PerfMon counter logs and
creating reports highlighting important areas by severity. The report color-codes counters to display
problem areas based on thresholds dei ned by subject matter experts in the support teams at Microsoft.
It was written and is maintained by Clint Huffman, a Premier Field Engineer at Microsoft, and sup-
ports most major Microsoft server products. It reduces the amount of time required to review and
analyze PerfMon logs by automating this analysis, saving you time by quickly highlighting potential
problem areas requiring further investigation.
Getting Started with PAL
PAL is available from Microsoft's open-source community project, CodePlex. PAL has been tested
on computers running Windows 7 × 64 and using the English-US locale. It can run on x86 operating
systems, but x64 is recommended when processing large log i les.
The tool was originally developed using VBScript, COM, the Microsoft Log Parser tool, and the
Microsoft Ofi ce 2003 Web Components (OWC11). The latest version of PAL at the time of writing
is 2.3.2; it has three prerequisites, each is free and publicly available:
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Windows PowerShell 2.0 or greater
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.NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1
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Microsoft Chart Controls for .NET Framework 3.5
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