Last Friday I spent my lunch break going through some links I had marked for future reading. One of them was a post earlier this month by Erik Darling about a new troubleshooting tool he made called “sp_pressure_detector,” including a video showing how to use it.
Why yes, I do often spend my lunch breaks watching videos of folks executing queries. Is it really so strange?
Anyhow, Darling’s tool is designed to provide five data sets showing a quick view of memory and processor usage based on several dynamic management views (DMVs). It’s gives you a quick look into what’s going on when the CPU and/or memory of your SQL Server instance are feeling discomfort.
Why do I mention this? Because little did I know the very next day I would be presented with a fine opportunity to use this tool. And by opportunity I mean a server on fire. (Well, not literally, but still…)