Tracking Queries in Redgate SQL Monitor
SQL Monitor v12.1.28 has added functionality to track queries. This blog post will outline what this does and how it works.
What is a tracked query?
Tracked queries is a new feature on the Server Overview page for SQL Monitor. It was added in preview in SQL Monitor v12.1.28. This feature allows you to mark a query you are interested in as tracked to ensure we continue to sample data for the tracked query and to make it easier to find in the future.
Why should you track queries?
The ability to track queries is a powerful tool for users to keep watch on a query of interest. You may be interested in tracking queries that are new and you want to see their performance, or an older query that is causing problems and you want to keep a closer watch on.
For tracked queries, SQL Monitor continues to collect data even if the query no longer meets the usual thresholds for displaying among the top queries. The tracked query can be easily found and viewed by all team members on the Tracked Queries tab of Top Queries. This way, everyone on the team knows what to look for and can easily track how the query is behaving over time and what progress is being made. Eventually, this helps you ensure superior performance of your servers which translates into customer satisfaction and the overall success of your organization.
How does tracked queries work?
Tracked queries will appear as normal within Top Queries but in addition to this they will be added to the Tracked Queries tab.
Once a query has been tracked the query hash will be saved to a table of tracked queries. Any query which has a query hash which is tracked will continue to be sampled regardless of whether this query meets the usual thresholds to be shown within Top Queries. This means that data will always be saved for this query for as long as it is tracked even if it would otherwise have not been shown in Top Queries anymore.
How do I track a query?
Tracked queries can be found as a new tab on the server overview top queries table.
In order to track a query first find the query you wish to track within Top Queries, expand the query and then press the “Track Query” button.
Once a query has been tracked it can be found by clicked the Tracked Queries tab and you will see your query appears in the table.
Where will this feature be taken in the future?
We have a few ideas for improvements to the tracked queries feature including being able to purge tracked query data on different cadences and maybe in the more distant future having a “query overview” for tracked queries which you will be able to see history for a tracked query and other interesting details.
As with all our new features, we are actively looking for feedback. Please use the feedback widget on the page to let us know what you think and if you have any ideas for further improvements.
Tools in this post
Redgate Monitor
Real-time SQL Server and PostgreSQL performance monitoring, with alerts and diagnostics