Identifying i/o Bottlenecks in SQL Server

In November of 2012 I presented to the Utah Valley SQL Server User Group on finding performance issues within SQL Server instances by focusing on storage and i/o for data and log files.

The Identifying i/o Bottlenecks slide deck is now available.


I used some slides from Wes Brown’s May 2011 SQL Rally presentation on Understanding Storage Systems and SQL Server, and included some PowerShell snippets.

There is a PowerShell script mentioned in a previous post I frequently use to view the storage used by a particular server referenced in the deck.

Worst Passwords from the Past Year

Seems like ‘monkey’ is still popular.

Worst Passwords of 2012 — and How to Fix Them
http://splashdata.com/press/PR121023.htm

My favorite approach is using multifactor authentication w/LastPass , application-specific passwords, and not even knowing your passwords, but here’s an approach from Steve Gibson (counter argument here).

Caffeine - Utility to disable screen saver w/o interrupting input

I ran this on a machine I was RDP’d into to prevent the screen saver from appearing while I was logged in.  Handy.  And like other powerful utilities, potentially dangerous.  Not so much in an RDP session, though, because the console running the RDP client wouldn’t/shouldn’t(not a good idea) have this running, just the target host.  The author simulates an F15 keypress to make this work.  Didn’t know I had an F15 key.  Very nice.

Only 2 files inside the compressed download, and one is a README.

http://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk/caffeine/
Caffeine

If you have problems with your PC locking or going to sleep, caffeine will keep it awake. It works by simulating a keypress once every 59 seconds, so your machine thinks you're still working at the keyboard, and won't lock the screen or activate the screensaver.

The icon is shown above - it's the leftmost one in the task tray, and this is all you see. Double-clicking the icon empties the coffee pot (that's what the icon is) and temporarily disables the program. Double-clicking it again refills the pot, and will keep your machine awake.