Troubleshoot SQL Server Performance Issues (Effective Steps)

SQL server is the relational database management system (RDBMS) that is manufactured by Microsoft. This server is capable of supporting ANSI SQL which is the standard SQL language. SQL server is also called Microsoft SQL server or MSSQL. The primary interface tool of SQL server is the SSMS( SQL Server Management Studio).

However, it is possible for you to experience performance issues on the SQL server. This content walks you through the possible causes of the problem and how you can troubleshoot SQL server performance issues in an effective manner.

Probable Causes Of The Performance Issues With SQL Server

In order to troubleshoot SQL Server performance issues, you will first need to identify the causes of the performance issue. Identifying the exact cause can propel you in the right direction.

The TempDB Database Is Not Configured Properly

There can be performance issues with the SQL server if the tempDB database is not configured optimally. For example, among the data files, certain trace flags may not be enabled.

You are not running Index Maintenance In A Frequent Manner

It is not possible to understand how frequently you need to run the index maintenance. It depends on how the data alters. This might be one of the reasons why there are performance issues with your SQL server.

Lack Of Appropriate Indexing

In case there are indexes that perform poorly or are not utilized, it can result in performance issues with the SQL server. If there are multiple indexes, it can have an adverse effect on the DML transactions. Appropriate indexing implies that the indexes have a good impact on the read performance that rules out the negative effect on the write performance.

Stored Procedures And Queries

There might be some stored procedures that can be responsible for the recurring issues with the SQL server. Therefore, you need to check whether this is the cause of the performance problem.

Other than the above-mentioned reasons, application design problems could be the cause of the performance issue. Nonetheless, identifying the exact cause can be a time-consuming process.

Amazing Hacks To Troubleshoot SQL Server Performance Issues

There are some expert-approved techniques that you can use in order to troubleshoot the performance issues with the SQL server. Below are some of those techniques that you can follow meticulously to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

Check The Database Of The Application

You can troubleshoot the issue effectively if you check the application’s database. You can check the following things:

SQL Server Locking And Blocking

An application may become unresponsive due to a variety of reasons. One such reason is that the request of the application to the database has been queued. The reason for the database being queued may be a blocking session. First of all, you will need to check the code of the session instead of terminating the blocking session. This is because if the session originates from the application, terminating it would be of no use as another session is going to start with a similar code.

Additional Applications Running On The Same Server

In order to troubleshoot SQL server performance issues, you will need to check whether other applications are running on the malfunctioning server. By doing this, you will be able to determine whether the problem is with the server or not. In case the problem is associated with the server, all the applications are going to have problems. If it is not, then the problem lies in the application and not the database engine.

Recent Changes In The Application

The application might have been altered without your prior knowledge and the performance issues could arise due to the altered front end of the application.

In case the application utilizes a framework such as Hibernate, it indicates that the SQL code was not created by the programmer. Performance issues in SQL server 2012 could also occur because of this. On the other hand, if the programmer added ad-hoc queries, you can end up with this issue.

Enough Space In The Database

In order to troubleshoot SQL Server performance issues, you need to check whether there is enough free space in the hard disk.

SQL Server Instance

For SQL server performance tuning, you will have to check the SQL server instance. More specifically, you will need to check the waiting task type to get an idea about what is going on.

Another thing that you can check to troubleshoot SQL Server performance issues is whether the log files are fragmented or not. It can have an adverse effect on the performance of the SQL server.

The disk access time might also be inaccurate thereby causing this performance issue. For SQL server slow performance troubleshooting, you need to ensure that the disk access time is below 30 milliseconds. If you want to check this, you can open the SSMS activity monitor.

SQL server performance monitor can be used to rule out an issue with the disk subsystem. Therefore, you can check the error logs for bad pages or long I/O requests.

To troubleshoot SQL server performance issues, you need to check whether the application gets access to the data through a linked server or not. The reason you need to check this is that the problem may stem from a wrong server. You can look at the wait tasks for determining this.

Another thing you might want to check to troubleshoot SQL Server performance issues is whether the statistics are current or not. In case it is not up to date, the query optimizer won’t be able to create the best query plan. If this is the scenario, you will need to update the statistics and execute a command for clearing the procedure cache. Once you do this, new plans will be created using this updated statistic.

Bottom Line

In case you are having a hard time with the performance issues with the SQL server, there’s no reason to fret. The mentioned techniques are going to help you, provided you can execute them properly.