Picking over the Bones of a SQL Injection Attack

The best way to learn how to protect your databases from SQL Injection is to to see it in action and confront its consequences. This article tells the story of an attack on a vulnerable SQL Server REST interface, explaining how the attack unfolds, the mistakes that made it possible, and SQL Monitor's role as the 'canary in the mine'. Read more

Monitoring Changes in Permissions, Users, Roles and Logins

Phil Factor uses the default trace and a SQL Monitor custom metric to alert you to unauthorized changes in security membership or permissions in any of your monitored databases. Read more

Checking for Database Drift using Extended Events and SQL Monitor

Phil Factor uses Extended Events and a SQL Monitor custom metric to detect when the metadata of a database has 'drifted', meaning that a database object has been created, deleted or modified outside of the official change management process. Read more

Spotting Unauthorized Configuration Settings in SQL Server

If someone makes unauthorized changes to SQL Server configuration settings, it could compromise the availability, performance or security of your servers. Using using Extended Events, and a custom metric, in SQL Monitor, Phil Factor offers a way to get an immediate notification of such changes, and investigate their cause. Read more

How to Detect SQL Injection Attacks using Extended Events and SQL Monitor

Phil Factor shows how to monitor for the errors indicative of a possible SQL Injection attack on one of your SQL Server databases, using a SQL Monitor custom metric that uses diagnostic data from Extended Events. Read more

Troubleshooting Blocking in SQL Server using SQL Monitor

SQL Monitor tells us immediately when significant blocking occurs, and where, during busy periods, and provides the full blocking chain, in an easy-to-digest graphical format, so we can diagnose and resolve the blocking quickly. Read more

Custom Metrics for Detecting Problems with Ad-hoc Queries

Overuse of ad-hoc queries by applications is a common source of SQL Server performance problems. The symptoms include high CPU and memory pressure. Phil Factor offers a simple custom metric to monitor the percentage of ad-hoc queries being executed on a database, and shows how SQL Monitor can detect when the problem is happening, and show you the queries that are affecting the server. Read more

Using SQL Monitor to Detect Problems on Databases that use Snapshot-based Transaction Isolation

Use of the read committed snapshot isolation level is often an effective way to alleviate blocking problems in SQL Server, without needing to rewrite the application. However, it can sometimes lead to tempdb contention. This article offers a small-scale solution (not suitable for use on large tables) to detect cases when tempdb contention is related to use of RCSI. Read more

Monitoring and Troubleshooting Deadlocks with Redgate Monitor

This article explains what SQL Server deadlocks are, why they occur, why they require immediate investigation, and the diagnostic data required to troubleshoot them. It then demonstrates an "Update Order" deadlock condition and shows how to find the cause quickly, in Redgate Monitor, using the Extended Events deadlock graph provided by the deadlock alert. Read more

Investigating problems with ad-hoc queries using SQL Monitor

Phil Factor demonstrates the performance problems that overuse of ad-hoc queries can cause and then how SQL Monitor can warn us when they are the cause of these problems on your SQL Servers, using built-in metrics such as SQL Compilations/sec metric and Batch Requests/sec. Read more

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