{"id":1932,"date":"2017-05-02T16:29:58","date_gmt":"2017-05-02T15:29:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/andreas-wolter.com\/?p=1932\/"},"modified":"2017-10-17T18:23:30","modified_gmt":"2017-10-17T17:23:30","slug":"the-new-sql-server-master-class-why-sqlsentry-bootcamp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/andreas-wolter.com\/en\/the-new-sql-server-master-class-why-sqlsentry-bootcamp\/","title":{"rendered":"The new SQL Server Master-Class in \u2013 why SQLSentry Bootcamp"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-av_heading-302204b2b534717f30cce9c2695d9d8c\">\n#top .av-special-heading.av-av_heading-302204b2b534717f30cce9c2695d9d8c{\npadding-bottom:10px;\n}\nbody .av-special-heading.av-av_heading-302204b2b534717f30cce9c2695d9d8c .av-special-heading-tag .heading-char{\nfont-size:25px;\n}\n.av-special-heading.av-av_heading-302204b2b534717f30cce9c2695d9d8c .av-subheading{\nfont-size:15px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='av-special-heading av-av_heading-302204b2b534717f30cce9c2695d9d8c av-special-heading-h3 blockquote modern-quote  avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_textblock  avia-builder-el-first '><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag'  itemprop=\"headline\"  >The new SQL Server Master-Class in \u2013 why SQLSentry Bootcamp<\/h3><div class=\"special-heading-border\"><div class=\"special-heading-inner-border\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-av_textblock-2de302bf1aa3cf4c9157dbe6f50ac7eb '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p>First off, the most important information in a nutshell:<\/p>\n<p>From 26-28 June, I am conducting a new <em>SQL Server Master-Class<\/em>: The <strong>Performance Troubleshooting Bootcamp with SQLSentry<\/strong> (shorthand: PSS*). For those in a hurry, the link for registration right below:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/sql-server-master-class.com\/#PSS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/sql-server-master-class.com\/#PSS<\/a><!--more--><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-av_partner-725aba63aa9d0582748ff9e52a732500\">\n.avia-logo-element-container.av-av_partner-725aba63aa9d0582748ff9e52a732500 .av-partner-fake-img{\nbackground-size:cover;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='avia-logo-element-container av-av_partner-725aba63aa9d0582748ff9e52a732500 avia-logo-slider avia-content-slider avia-smallarrow-slider avia-content-slider-active noHover avia-content-slider-odd  avia-builder-el-2  el_after_av_textblock  el_before_av_textblock  av-slideshow-ui av-control-default av-nav-arrows-visible av-nav-dots-visible av-no-slider-navigation av-slideshow-manual av-loop-once av-loop-manual-endless avia-content-slider1' data-slideshow-options=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;slide&quot;,&quot;autoplay&quot;:false,&quot;loop_autoplay&quot;:&quot;once&quot;,&quot;interval&quot;:5,&quot;loop_manual&quot;:&quot;manual-endless&quot;,&quot;autoplay_stopper&quot;:false,&quot;noNavigation&quot;:false,&quot;bg_slider&quot;:false,&quot;keep_padding&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;hoverpause&quot;:false,&quot;show_slide_delay&quot;:0}\"><div class='avia-smallarrow-slider-heading  no-logo-slider-heading '><div class='new-special-heading'>&nbsp;<\/div><\/div><div class=\"avia-content-slider-inner\"><div class=\"slide-entry-wrap\"><div  class='slide-entry av-av_partner_logo-b56261fbbbb17a16f2ae35676a5ea764 flex_column no_margin av_fullwidth real-thumbnail post-entry slide-entry-overview slide-loop-1 slide-parity-odd post-entry-last first'><span class='av-partner-fake-img' style='padding-bottom:67.666666666667%; background-image:url(https:\/\/andreas-wolter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/SentryOne-Master-Class-300x203.jpg);'><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-av_textblock-2de302bf1aa3cf4c9157dbe6f50ac7eb '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p><strong>Background to the Master-Class series<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Since 2013, I have been conducting these open seminars under the label <em>SQL Server Master-Class<\/em> once or twice a year (and additionally inhouse with clients, as needed). The first ones were 2-day classes on Extended Events (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.insidesql.org\/blogs\/andreaswolter\/2013\/03\/sql-server-master-class-seminare\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SQL Server Master-Class Seminars \u2013 The tools at your fingertips \u2013 Start in May with Extended Events<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>With these trainings I seek an in-depth and practice-oriented approach to teaching the topics \u2013 thus offering an alternative or complement to the MOC trainings that suffer from various problems (unrealistic thematic diversity, faulty material, inexperienced because cheap trainers \u2013 \u201c<em>you get what you pay for<\/em>\u201d, etc.).<\/p>\n<p>This has been a successful approach, as you can read in these <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sql-server-master-class.com\/sql-training\/Die-SQL-Server-Master-Classes-von-Sarpedon-Quality-Lab.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">customer reviews<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why a Master-Class on SQLSentry?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s start with:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why SQLSentry?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One may wonder why someone like me who is acting independently of third-parties is now offering a training strongly based (approx. 50%) on the software of a certain manufacturer.<\/p>\n<p>I am happy to elaborate on this. But first, let\u2019s take a step back:<\/p>\n<p>The reason as to why I am reluctant to refer to certain software (or hardware) manufacturers is that decisions based on them will naturally be attributed to me. And even with SQL Server itself, it is a challenge to recommend the most suitable (\u201cthe best,\u201d if you will), feature for particular demands. That is my main task, and that is what I am a (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.insidesql.org\/blogs\/andreaswolter\/2014\/01\/mcm-and-mcsm-data-platform-solutions-master-sql-server\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">two-fold<\/a>) Master for. Keeping track of other software manufacturers, their tools and, above all, their varying quality, on top of all this, is tough.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, it must really be <strong>the very best tool<\/strong> in a particular area, and with sufficient continuity, before I associate my name with it. And it so happens that <strong>SQLSentry<\/strong> by <strong>SentryOne<\/strong> is without doubt its own league in the area of <strong>Monitoring SQL Server<\/strong> (but also SSAS and Azure components).<\/p>\n<p>Why? If it was just a single feature, I would not be sticking to it.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-av_textblock-2de302bf1aa3cf4c9157dbe6f50ac7eb '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p>SQLSentry contains a <strong>plethora of specialized components<\/strong> for different areas in SQL Server, of which some are also patented, but I will try to keep it short and just name the most particular ones:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong><em>Event Calendar<\/em><\/strong> merges all SQL Agent Jobs but also Windows Tasks and striking Performance Events in an outlook-style calendar format, thus allowing for time correlations.<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Intelligent Alerting<\/em><\/strong> allows you to define <u>complex conditions<\/u> \u2013 because oftentimes, singular Performance Metrics alone do not suffice for an evaluation. With this feature, they can be combined. And this is how <strong><em>Pro-Active Monitoring<\/em><\/strong> is possible (!).<\/li>\n<li>The <strong><em>Disk-Activity view<\/em><\/strong> shows the SQL file usage in a detailed graphic representation.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong><em>AlwaysOn Availability Group Visualizations<\/em><\/strong> show the architecture and utilization of the Availability Groups \u2013 in fact, what\u2019s still missing is something comparable for Replication. \ud83d\ude42<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Index- and statistics analysis<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 from fragmentation down to histogram level<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Job Chaining<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 chaining processes of different components across servers<\/li>\n<li>And of course, the <strong><em>Performance Dashboard<\/em><\/strong> itself: it shows not only the utilization of the server (Windows, SQL and possibly VM Host), but it also makes it possible to quickly create one\u2019s own baselines or to rely on automatically created ones (like \u201clast week,\u201d \u201cyesterday\u201d) and save them for comparisons.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-av_image-9135b50f3e9d757b42df0098aadcd9ee\">\n.avia-image-container.av-av_image-9135b50f3e9d757b42df0098aadcd9ee img.avia_image{\nbox-shadow:none;\n}\n.avia-image-container.av-av_image-9135b50f3e9d757b42df0098aadcd9ee .av-image-caption-overlay-center{\ncolor:#ffffff;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='avia-image-container av-av_image-9135b50f3e9d757b42df0098aadcd9ee av-styling- avia-align-center  avia-builder-el-5  el_after_av_textblock  el_before_av_textblock '   itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><div class=\"avia-image-container-inner\"><div class=\"avia-image-overlay-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" class='wp-image-1933 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-1933 avia_image ' src=\"https:\/\/andreas-wolter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/1705_SQLSentry_performance-advisor_dashboard-s.png\" alt='' title='1705_SQLSentry_performance-advisor_dashboard-s'  height=\"450\" width=\"800\"  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" srcset=\"https:\/\/andreas-wolter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/1705_SQLSentry_performance-advisor_dashboard-s.png 800w, https:\/\/andreas-wolter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/1705_SQLSentry_performance-advisor_dashboard-s-600x338.png 600w, https:\/\/andreas-wolter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/1705_SQLSentry_performance-advisor_dashboard-s-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/andreas-wolter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/1705_SQLSentry_performance-advisor_dashboard-s-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/andreas-wolter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/1705_SQLSentry_performance-advisor_dashboard-s-705x397.png 705w, https:\/\/andreas-wolter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/1705_SQLSentry_performance-advisor_dashboard-s-450x253.png 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-av_textblock-2de302bf1aa3cf4c9157dbe6f50ac7eb '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p>Apart from the mere features that are already in themselves unrivaled, there are at least <strong>2 more aspects<\/strong> that are important to a professional Performance Monitoring tool:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Low Overhead<\/strong> on the monitored system: As a matter of fact, SentryOne is the only manufacturer to have published detailed numbers on the <strong>impact on the monitored server<\/strong> \u2013 and due to the optimized self-developed technology, it is very low \u2013 unlike what you will often hear about other tools.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>SQL Sentry: Overhead Analysis: <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/SQLSentryOverheadAnalysisDOC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/bit.ly\/SQLSentryOverheadAnalysisDOC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>2. <strong>Update cycles<\/strong>: Also an important aspect. The tool is continually being developed further. Generally, there are 2-4 updates a year, which are included in the maintenance service (as is support).<\/p>\n<p>These are the reasons as to why I can back my \u201cproduct recommendation\u201d with a clear conscience, knowing well that this product will be further maintained and updated at a high level on an ongoing basis.<\/p>\n<p>However, I do <strong>not<\/strong> mean to say that one shouldn\u2019t also consider <strong>other tools<\/strong> from time to time. It depends on one\u2019s environment: Size, complexity, performance level, SLA (reaction time: proactive, or is reactive sufficient?), and, again, time: Time to manually execute important correlations, time to build certain visualizations oneself. \u2013 For those with time on their hands, a saving of approx. 1 consultant day rate (per monitored server) may make sense, and I would not hesitate to recommend this myself. That\u2019s also what I am here to help with. (So just to be clear, I am in no way obliged to SentryOne.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>So why a Master-Class on SQLSentry?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Having justified the choice tool, let\u2019s now turn to the initial question:<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s simple: The <strong>demand<\/strong>. I have several clients by now who work with SQLSentry. Since this tool is comprehensive and powerful, as described above, it makes absolutely sense to learn the handling and configuration possibilities in detail in order to achieve the set <strong>goals: proactive monitoring, time-efficient troubleshooting<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>On top of that, I decided to split the training about 50-50 into <strong>native SQL techniques and specific handling of SQLSentry<\/strong>. The reason is that in my opinion, a certain knowledge of SQL Server\u2019s internal mechanisms and monitoring possibilities serve, for one, the understanding of why SQLSentry does this or that in such and such a way, and, secondly, an occasional excursion directly to the SQL Server makes sense over the course of a practical troubleshooting.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, we will be working with the <strong><em>Windows Performance Monitor<\/em><\/strong> (short: <strong><em>Perfmon<\/em><\/strong>), <strong><em>Dynamic Management Views<\/em><\/strong> (<strong><em>DMVs<\/em><\/strong>), and <strong><em>Extended Events<\/em><\/strong>, which are the tools of choice for In-Depth-Analysis, and whose use will be learned here. For the identification of Plan Regression, SQL Server Query Store of course lends itself for this purpose.<\/p>\n<p>With all these techniques we will be looking at different scenarios:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Memory problems<\/li>\n<li>Identifying Plan Regression<\/li>\n<li>Analysis of Indexes &#038; Statistics<\/li>\n<li>Identifying I\/O Latency problems<\/li>\n<li>Analyzing Tempdb Performance<\/li>\n<li>Locking &#038; Blocking Analysis<\/li>\n<li>Deadlocks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you would like to secure one of the rare spots (the seminar was already booked 70% within 2 weeks, even though the <strong>Early Bird Offer<\/strong> still applies <strong>until 23 May<\/strong>), below find once more the link for registration and further information:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/sql-server-master-class.com\/#PSS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>http:\/\/sql-server-master-class.com\/#PSS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>see you soon,<\/p>\n<p>Andreas<\/p>\n<p>*Insiders will recognize the innuendo for \u201cPSS,\u201d which also stands for \u201cProduct Support Services,\u201d and will also know that \u201cPSS Diag\u201d is a tool for collecting Performance data that is also used by the SQL Server PSS team \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n<p>P.S.: For this blog post, I have received no remuneration whatsoever by any manufacturer \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-av_one_full-97c650ae075063b375f558a776c570f8\">\n#top .flex_column.av-av_one_full-97c650ae075063b375f558a776c570f8{\nmargin-top:40px;\nmargin-bottom:40px;\n}\n.flex_column.av-av_one_full-97c650ae075063b375f558a776c570f8{\nborder-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\npadding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\n}\n.responsive #top #wrap_all .flex_column.av-av_one_full-97c650ae075063b375f558a776c570f8{\nmargin-top:40px;\nmargin-bottom:40px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='flex_column av-av_one_full-97c650ae075063b375f558a776c570f8 av_one_full  avia-builder-el-7  el_after_av_textblock 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For those in a hurry, the link for registration right below: http:\/\/sql-server-master-class.com\/#PSS","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2181,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,66,56],"tags":[67,68],"class_list":["post-1932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-extended-events-en","category-seminare","category-tracing-monitoring-en","tag-monitoring","tag-sql-server-master-class"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/andreas-wolter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/andreas-wolter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/andreas-wolter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andreas-wolter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andreas-wolter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1932"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/andreas-wolter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3663,"href":"https:\/\/andreas-wolter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1932\/revisions\/3663"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andreas-wolter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/andreas-wolter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andreas-wolter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andreas-wolter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}