SQL Server 2008 Systems Management

Tony Rogerson, SQL Server MVPhttp://sqlblogcasts.com/blogs/tonyrogerson [Feel free to learn something]http://www.sqlserverfaq.com [User Group - Feel free to join]http://www.sql-server.co.uk [Feel free to hire me]tonyrogerson@torver.net [Feel free to email me]

Who am I?• Entered industry in 86 coding PL/1,

DB2, CICS, Application System – mainframe beginnings.

• More DBA centric from 1993 starting on 4.21a of SQL Server.

• Freelance SQL Server specialist since 1999

• I started the UK SQL Server UG (sqlserverfaq.com) in 1999; been an SQL MVP since 1998.

History as a SQL Server DBA• Required Polling – lots of it• Extensive Development

− Monitoring− Maintenance− Capacity Planning

• Not much info available to DBA• Over use of xp_cmdshell• Afflicted with the business attitude

you can stick the box in the corner and it will look after itself.

Agenda

• Performance Studio• Policy Based Management• Powershell and SQLCmd• Event Notifications• Extended Events• DMVs (Dynamic Management Views)

Goal: Build a working environment in 40 minutes

Feature usage• Protect Production using Policy

Management• Backups and Maint using Powershell

and SQLCmd• Example of FTP using Powershell• Monitor for problems using Event

Notifications and Extended Events• Capacity Planning/Job Durations using

Performance Studio• Adhoc system enquiries using DMV’s

Management Data Warehouse Overview

MDWDB

DataCollecto

r

DataCollecto

r

DataCollecto

r

S2K8_TRADES

S2K8_SUPPORT

S2K8_REPORTING

Reporting- Management Studio- Report Builder- T-SQL

Validation for spending more dosh on resources

Demo – Performance Studio• Set up from scratch• Centralisation• Reporting

− Management Studio− Report Builder− TSQL

Policy Management Overview• Provide Standardised Management

Framework• Enforce Standards (all tables have a

clustered index)• Detect Changes (Change of Database

Option)• Push across your enterprise (all SQL

versions)

DEMO – Policy Based Management

• Set up protection for our Production Environment

Powershell and SQLCmd Overview

• PowerShell :: MS’s definitive scripting language – used in Windows OS, SQL Server, Exchange etc...

• SQLCmd :: specific to SQL Server• Just use PowerShell – Invoke-Sqlcmd• Automation of tasks• OS related tasks too simple for SSIS

DEMO – Powershell and SQLCmd

Event NotificationsExtended Events

• Extended Events− Diagnostic mechanism – replaces profiler

(for engine traces)• Event Notifications

− On a specific event occurring the event details get placed on a Service Broker queue

− Use to Email when faults happen – Mirroring block event, other blocking events, SQL error etc..

Demo – Extended Events / Event Notification

Dynamic Management Views (DMV’s) Overview

• Gives an insight into SQL Server• Many categories – IO related, index

related, execution related etc...• Very useful problem determination

mechanism• Very useful information capture –

basically what Data Collector uses in MDW.

Demo – DMV’s

Summary / Further Reading• http://tinyurl.com/yb5hysy takes you to

http://sqlblogcasts.com/blogs/tonyrogerson/archive/2009/09/25/further-reading-references-for-my-system-management-presentation-on-20090929-ms-data-management-conferenc-in-london.aspx

• http://sqlserverfaq.com – User GroupLiveMeetings through User Group (http://sqlserverfaq.com)20091022 : Tony Rogerson -> Management Data Warehouse20091105 : Tony Rogerson -> Policy Based Management20091112 : Allan Mitchell -> DMX 101 (Introduction to the basics of DMX, SELECT, FROM, Natural Prediction Join)20091119 : Tony Rogerson -> Powershell and SQLCmd20091126 : Allan Mitchell -> Using SSIS to connect to the cloud20091203 : Tony Rogerson -> Event Notifications and Extended Events20091210 : Allan Mitchell -> DMX 102 (A look at the Predict Function and its many guises)