What’s Really Happening on Your Server? 15 Powerful SQL Server Dynamic Management Objects

Presenter: Adam Machanic

Session 06 (17:00 GMT on May 19)

Session Details

There are two kinds of DBAs in this world: Those who scratch their heads, unsure of how to find answers, and those who demand real-time, comprehensive insight. This session is for the latter type—the Type A DBAs who are serious about managing their servers as efficiently as possible.

Dynamic Management Objects, a set of views and functions that first shipped with SQL Server 2005, are a window into the inner workings of your SQL Server instance. Locked within the objects is the information you need to help you solve virtually any performance problem, quickly debug issues as they're occurring, and gain insight into what's actually happening on your server, right now. This session is a fast-paced tour of the ins, outs, whys, hows, and even pitfalls of 15 of the most important views and functions—information gleaned from heavy use of the objects in a number of environments over the past 5 years. You will learn how to understand transaction behavior, locking, wait statistics, sessions, requests, and much more. No longer will you need to scratch your head, wondering what is slowing down your queries: You will be the master of your SQL Server instance.

About the Speaker

Adam Machanic is a Boston-based independent database consultant, writer, and speaker. He has been involved in dozens of SQL Server implementations for both high-availability OLTP and large-scale data warehouse applications, and has optimized data access layer performance for several data-intensive applications. Adam has written for numerous websites and magazines, including SQLblog, Simple Talk, Search SQL Server, SQL Server Professional, CoDe, and VSJ. He has also contributed to several books on SQL Server, including SQL Server 2008 Internals (Microsoft Press, 2009) and Expert SQL Server 2005 Development (Apress, 2007).

Adam regularly speaks at user groups, community events, and conferences on a variety of SQL Server and .NET-related topics. He is a Microsoft MVP for SQL Server, a Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP), and a member of the INETA North American Speakers Bureau.