Unearthing Bad Deployments with SQL Monitor and Redgate’s Database DevOps Tools
Sudden performance issues in SQL Server can have many causes, ranging all the way from malfunctioning hardware, through to simple misconfiguration, or perhaps just end users doing things they shouldn't. But one particularly common culprit is when deployments go wrong: I don't know a single DBA who hasn't been burned by a bad release.
By implementing reliable, scalable and repeatable processes for build, test and deployment of database changes, the risk of introducing defects into production is significantly reduced. But what if the change behaves differently to expected in the production environment?
Here’s the top of SQL Monitor’s Server Overview screen – the sort of screen you might be looking at after learning that a server’s running slowly. SQL Monitor raised a High CPU alert at 8:31, and it’s pretty clear that something went dramatically wrong shortly beforehand, but what?
At this point, the challenge is to narrow down the root cause as quickly as possible. As the DBA, this kind of investigation turns you into a detective, where every minute taken to find the problem has a real cost to the organisation’s productivity, as well as to your reputation.
While bad deployments can eventually be tracked down by following other avenues, SQL Monitor now makes the cause of the problem instantly obvious by surfacing deployment information generated by Redgate’s deployment tools (SQL Change Automation and SQL Compare) in context within SQL Monitor.
You now see the release marked on the timeline immediately below the performance data, and upon hovering, we see which database was deployed to, as well as by what tool. This saves valuable time by instantly revealing the smoking gun, with no further exploration needed.
This capability is part of Redgate’s SQL Toolbelt and is available for any changes made by the latest versions of SQL Change Automation, or SQL Compare. There’s zero setup needed, either in SQL Monitor or in the deployment tools, so changes made by anyone in the organisation using these tools will automatically be shown.
We’ll be improving this feature further, with information about the user responsible for making the change, and potentially the build number in the case of automated deployments, making it even easier to correlate changes in key metrics with specific release activities.
What now?
Check out the latest version of SQL Monitor, or read more about Redgate’s Database DevOps solution. As usual, we’d love to hear your feedback. How can we improve this further? Just drop an email to sqlmonitorfeedback@red-gate.com.
Requirements
To take advantage of this capability, you’ll need to be running SQL Monitor 7.1.5+ along with SQL Compare 13.0.3+ or SQL Change Automation.
This capability is also compatible with DLM Automation 2.0.18-[final version] and ReadyRoll 1.14.13-[final version]. Additionally the deployment tool must be licensed as part of the SQL Toolbelt, rather than as a standalone product.
The user making deployments will need to have execute permission on xp_logevent (or can alternatively either have the dbowner role on the master database, or be a sysadmin).
Tools in this post
Redgate Monitor
Real-time SQL Server and PostgreSQL performance monitoring, with alerts and diagnostics
You may also like
-
Business leaders webinar
Monitoring large estates at BMW
BMW have been monitoring their SQL Server estate for more than 7 years, but with evolving technology and increasing demands, monitoring needs to change and grow alongside. Join BMW's Tony Maddonna in conversation with Redgate's James King to learn more.
-
Article
Introduction to Analyzing Waits using SQL Monitor
Phil Factor sets out with the modest aim of giving you enough of an introduction to waits to better understand the wait information you get from a SQL Server monitoring tool like SQL Monitor, and the rather overwhelming amount of information available in the underlying DMVs and Extended Events.
-
Live training session
How and When to Use the Hybrid Workflow of SQL Source Control with SQL Change Automation Migrations
Redgate’s SQL Toolbelt gives you options: you may customize the way you author, version control, and deploy your code depending on how you want to work. In this training session, Kendra Little will show you: - How to choose the right workflow to fit your team’s skills, preferences, and goals - How to get the process right with build processes, environment creation, and automated testing - A technical look at an implementation of the hybrid workflow in action - Best practices for teams implementing the hybrid workflow
-
Business leaders webinar
How estate monitoring enables Vistaprint and their 17 million global customers
Vistaprint Senior DBA, Adam Brenden joined Microsoft Data Platform MVP, Grant Fritchey to discuss how proactive estate monitoring and reporting enable the Vistaprint team to detect, diagnose, and resolve issues before they impact operations or customers.
-
Forums
Redgate Monitor Forum
Real-time performance monitoring for SQL Server and PostgreSQL, with alerts and diagnostics
