Ali Shaik's Database Diary

  From a database administrator’s perspective, Azure Private Link provides a secure, private connection to Azure-hosted databases (like Azure SQL Database, Azure Database for MySQL, etc.) by mapping those services to private endpoints within a virtual network. This eliminates exposure of database traffic to the public internet, which greatly reduces risks of data leakage and unauthorised access. Key points for a database administrator: Private Connectivity: Database clients connect using private IP addresses inside your Azure Virtual Network (VNet) rather than public endpoints, keeping all traffic on Microsoft’s backbone network without traversing the internet. Data Exfiltration Protection : Private Link tightly controls access so only the specific mapped database resource is reachable through its private endpoint. This prevents authorized users or attackers from accessing other resources in the same service unintentionally. Network Security Controls: You can integrate Pri...

  Your SQL Server performance can make or break your application's user experience. While basic CPU monitoring is essential, truly mastering CPU bottleneck identification requires a deeper understanding of advanced diagnostics, preventive measures, and modern optimization techniques. Enhanced CPU Monitoring Strategy Beyond basic Task Manager monitoring, implement a comprehensive monitoring approach: Real-Time Performance Metrics ·          Performance Monitor Counters : Track % Processor Time , % Privileged Time , and Processor Queue Length ·          SQL Server Specific Counters : Monitor SQL Server:SQL Statistics - Batch Requests/sec and SQL Server:SQL Statistics - SQL Compilations/sec ·          Memory Pressure Indicators : Watch Available MBytes and Pages/sec as memory issues often manifest as CPU problems Advanced Threshold Management Whi...

  PRINT '-- top 10 Active CPU Consuming Queries (aggregated)--'; SELECT TOP 10 GETDATE() runtime, * FROM (SELECT query_stats.query_hash, SUM(query_stats.cpu_time) 'Total_Request_Cpu_Time_Ms', SUM(logical_reads) 'Total_Request_Logical_Reads', MIN(start_time) 'Earliest_Request_start_Time', COUNT(*) 'Number_Of_Requests', SUBSTRING(REPLACE(REPLACE(MIN(query_stats.statement_text), CHAR(10), ' '), CHAR(13), ' '), 1, 256) AS "Statement_Text"     FROM (SELECT req.*, SUBSTRING(ST.text, (req.statement_start_offset / 2)+1, ((CASE statement_end_offset WHEN -1 THEN DATALENGTH(ST.text)ELSE req.statement_end_offset END-req.statement_start_offset)/ 2)+1) AS statement_text             FROM sys.dm_exec_requests AS req                 CROSS APPLY sys.dm_exec_sql_text(req.sql_handle) AS ST ) AS query_stats     GROUP BY query_hash) AS t ORDER BY Total_Request_Cpu_Time_Ms DESC; PRINT '--top 10 Active CPU Consuming ...

In the world of database administration, performance tuning is an ongoing challenge. As SQL Server processes increasingly complex workloads, administrators seek every opportunity to optimize performance. One such advanced feature is the Affinity Mask option in SQL Server. While not commonly used in modern setups, it can be a valuable tool for certain scenarios where precise control over CPU usage is necessary. What Is the Affinity Mask Option? SQL Server is designed to utilize all available CPUs by default for its processing needs. However, there are situations where controlling how SQL Server threads interact with CPUs can lead to significant performance improvements. The Affinity Mask setting allows administrators to: Bind SQL Server threads to specific CPUs. Reduce context switching, which happens when threads jump between CPUs. Ensure certain CPUs are reserved for SQL Server, avoiding competition with other processes on the server. This level of control is particularly useful in ...