Adam Machanic : extended events

Extended Events Code Generator v1.001 - A Quick Fix

Adam Machanic — Sat, 08 May 2010 23:23:00 GMT

If you're one of the estimated 3-5 people who've downloaded and are using my XE Code Generator , please note that version 1.000 has a small bug: text data (such as query text) larger than 8000 bytes is truncated. I've fixed this issue and am pleased to...(read more)

PASS Summit 2009: Extended Events Demos

Adam Machanic — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:32:00 GMT

Thanks to everyone who attended my talk on Advanced Extended Events at the PASS Summit this last week in Seattle. I just went to the PASS web site and noticed that they still haven't put the demos up for download. So just in case you're dying to play...(read more)

Introducing: Extended Events Code Generator v1.0

Adam Machanic — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:16:00 GMT

SQL Server 2008 Extended Events. It's a high-performance, feature-rich, and extremely useful tracing system. Too bad it's so difficult to figure out how to use it ! Or is it? Earlier this week Jonathan Kehayias announced his SSMS addin for Extended Events...(read more)

Demos - TechEd DAT402 - Microsoft SQL Server 2008: Performance Profiling and Troubleshooting with Extended Events

Adam Machanic — Thu, 14 May 2009 18:52:00 GMT

Whew! Another TechEd session completed, and now I'm done for the week. Thanks to everyone who joined me today; I had a fantastic time talking about the ins and outs of Extended Events. Demos are attached. I realize how complex some of these topics are, so please feel free to drop me a note in the comments here with any questions or concerns. Also stay tuned--I'm continuing to work with and improve these samples and will be publishing updates from time to time in the coming months.

TechEd Coming Up - Recommended Background for My Extended Events Talk

Adam Machanic — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 01:46:00 GMT

TechEd North America 2009 is just a few short weeks away, and I'm really looking forward not only to the show, but also the opportunity to visit Los Angeles for the first time in several years. I'm busy putting the finishing touches on my Extended Events talk, DAT402, "Microsoft SQL Server 2008: Performance Profiling and Troubleshooting with Extended Events", and I thought I should write a quick note to anyone out there who is thinking of attending.

What's noteworthy about this talk is that the TechEd team modified the title a bit and removed the word "Advanced", but left the talk at 400-level and also left the original abstract untouched:

Imagine tracking and aggregating wait statistics at the session level rather than the server level. Imagine seeing exactly how long each step in your query took and figuring out the real cost of that index scan. Imagine capturing an exception with an associated callstack--no more guessing about exactly what component failed and why. When you're done imagining, open your eyes and attend this session to learn all of these techniques and more, all thanks to Extended Events (XEvents)--the powerful new tracing infrastructure in SQL Server 2008. Designed for DBAs and developers who already understand the basics of XEvents, this session goes from 0 to 60 in the first few minutes. See a number of code examples and gain an understanding of how to maximize XEvents for performance profiling and troubleshooting purposes. If you're serious about making your SQL Servers fly, this is one session not to be missed.

When I gave this same talk earlier this year at SQL Server Connections in Orlando, some attendees apparently didn't understand that it really is an advanced talk, and showed up without quite enough background to follow along as well as they could have. I'm hoping to minimize that phenomenon at TechEd; so please keep in mind that although I do a quick (five-minute) refresher, that's it, and Extended Events is a much bigger topic than can be fully introduced in five minutes. Once the refresher part is over I jump into four fairly intense, demo-heavy deep-dive sections, so please, if you want to get your money's worth, make sure that you read one or more of the following in the next few weeks:

My chapter in the SQL Server 2008 Internals book
The Extended Events section in the recently-released Troubleshooting Performance Problems in SQL Server 2008 white paper
Paul Randal's Advanced Troubleshooting with Extended Events article in TechNet Magazine

Reading through these sources will give you the background so that you can focus on the performance troubleshooting aspects of the talk, rather than sitting there bogged down in the unfamiliar Extended Events syntax and terminology.

I'm looking forward to meeting some SQLblog readers at the event; if you're attending, even if you decide to skip my Extended Events talk, stop by the Database Practices TLC and say hi. Looking forward to seeing you in LA!