Strange it may sound but being a SQL Server pro has its downside too. Common information on SQL does not interest me, while a good document is hard to find. So the reader in me is mostly discontented and constantly keeps looking for interesting documents. Recently, I chanced upon a really good white paper by Jonathan Keyhayias on SQL Serve r2008 extended events. I have known Jonathan through forums but have not met him in person yet. But I hope to meet him soon.
The white paper starts with introduction to the extended event and then elaborates on its architecture, system objects, confusing target data and other important aspects of the extended events. This white paper ends with life of an event, and I would recommend that you read this portion at least if you do not have sufficient time to read the whole white paper.
Let us go through the first paragraph taken from the white paper which lucidly defines extended events.
What is extended events?
As SQL Server matures with time, the diagnostics tools available to administrators to troubleshoot problems when they arise have also matured. SQL Server 2000 had very limited diagnostic tools when compared with SQL Server 2005. SQL Trace and SQL Server Profiler were often the tools of choice for administrators to identify problems with performance, along with DBCC and individual trace flags like 1205 for deadlocks, and 3605 to log results to the SQL Server error log. With SQL Server 2005, the diagnostic tools expanded to include the dynamic management views, which provide a deep view into the internal workings of SQL Server, additional trace events for SQL Trace and SQL Server Profiler including the deadlock graph and Showplan XML events, the ability to import performance counter logs in SQL Server Profiler to view trace events along with their impact on the system, and WMI events which use Service Broker endpoints for event notifications. SQL Server 2008 continues to build upon the diagnostic tools with a new feature called Extended Events.
You can continue reading the white paper Using SQL Server 2008 Extended Events here.
Let me have your views about this white paper.
Reference : Pinal Dave (https://blog.sqlauthority.com)
