Kevin Kline : Troubleshooting, Performance, Administration

Learn More About SQL Server IO and Query Tuning in These Webcasts

KKline — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 18:50:00 GMT

Join database expert Kevin Kline in two new webcasts for SQL Server users: Storage IO Best Practices and Query Tuning Best Practices....(read more)

New White Paper: SQL Server Extended Events and Notifications

KKline — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:13:00 GMT

Download the new, free white paper from Microsoft MVP Jason Strate detailing SQL Server Extended Events and Event Notifications (registration required)....(read more)

Everybody Needs a Test Harness

KKline — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:17:00 GMT

Here's a handy little block of T-SQL code to improve code stability....(read more)

Pain of the Week/Expert's Perspective: Performance Tuning for Backups and Restores

KKline — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:39:00 GMT

First off - the Pain of the Week webcast series has been renamed. It's now known as The Expert's Perspective . Please join us for future webcasts and, if you're interested in speaking, drop me a note to see if we can get you on the roster! The bigger...(read more)

Available Online - SQL Server Training Videos

KKline — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 03:37:00 GMT

Interested in my various performance tuning and troubleshooting videos about SQL Server? These videos feature my good buddies (and uber-SQL Server experts) Brent Ozar ( blog | twitter ) and Buck Woody ( blog | twitter ). View these insight-packed training...(read more)

New on SQLMag.Com: Update to SP_WHOISACTIVE

KKline — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 14:12:00 GMT

I profiled Adam Machanic's ( blog | twitter ) excellent stored procedure, SP_WHOISACTIVE, back in August of 2010 in my monthly SQLMag column, Tool Time. Adam has been diligent about maintaining the tool and adding new features. Read the details on my...(read more)

Reminder: Totally Awesome and Totally Free Training SQL Server Training

KKline — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 13:45:00 GMT

One of the things that I enjoy about working for Quest Software is that we give back copiously to the community. From activities and offerings like SQLServerPedia , to our free posters mailed anywhere in North America (and don't forget the free hi-res...(read more)

Join Me May 19th for 24 Hours of PASS

KKline — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 14:16:00 GMT

Check out all the great SQL Server sessions you can attend for FREE in this on-line event....(read more)

SSIS Packages Need Love Too, er, Memory Too!

KKline — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:53:00 GMT

I received a question this morning about whether there are any ways to estimate the memory requirements of executing SSIS packages? In the case of the question, the emailer wanted to know how to do things like find out the data size at the source and at the destination of a data transformation, or how to reckon the memory consumption of a SSIS package of variable size.

It turns out there are several good sources of information for this question and for others like it. First of all, I always recommend that you investigate http://www.sqlis.com, a site dedicated to Integration Services and supported by my MVP friends in the UK, Allan Mitchell and Darren Green.

Next, I googled for help on this specific question and came up with these resources:

1. http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sql/2005/ssisperf.mspx#EK

2. http://www.scalabilityexperts.com/default.asp?action=article&ID=167

3. And finally, http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms137622(SQL.90).aspx, showing how to monitor the performance of the data flow engine in SSIS.

I hope this helps,

-Kevin

P.S. Thanks to Wee Hyong for also tackling this question!

SQL Server Memory Tracking with Windows Task Manager

KKline — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 22:01:00 GMT

Have you ever looked at the Windows Task Manager for a quick read on SQL Server 2005 memory consumption?

You can get good information from the Windows Task Manager about SQL Server memory, but you have to know what to look for. When running with AWE memory enabled on a 32-bit system, you may see an unusually low amount of memory in the Windows Task Manager. If AWE is being used, you will probably get a much better idea of how much AWE memory is being consumed by checking page file usage. The page file usage value and the amount of AWE memory will correspond.

You can then cross-check this value against sys.dm_os_sys_info.bpool_committed for the exact value.

(Thanks to Geoff N. Hiten, the "SQL Craftsman", and Erland Sommarskog for the tip.)