SQL Server monitoring tool

dbForge Monitor is a free add-in for Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio that helps database administrators perform database monitoring in real time, keep an eye on resource utilization, and diagnose potential performance issues in no time.

  • Monitor SQL Server activity on the go
  • Get insights into your CPU and memory utilization metrics
  • Check the status of your servers and databases instantly
  • Have all the performance information at your fingertips
  • Locate and optimize slow queries in seconds
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Features

Analytical dashboard for SQL Server monitoring

The Overview tab allows you to see what actually happens on your database server. A rich collection of metrics for versatile real-time monitoring of SQL Server performance includes the following:

  • CPU utilization
  • Memory utilization
  • Disk activity
  • Read and write latencies
  • IO latency
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Data input/output

On the Data IO tab, you can get insights into the statistics of read and write operations for each database file. For instance, you can easily track the following metrics:

  • Total amount of data reads and writes
  • Count of input/output operations
  • Read/write latency
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Database statistics overview

The Databases tab gives a general overview of all your SQL Server databases. In case anything looks wrong, you can swiftly check SQL Server performance information. You can keep track of several highly useful metrics, including but not limited to:

  • Database state
  • Recovery model
  • Total size of a database
  • Data size
  • Collation name
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Wait statistics

On the Wait Stats tab, you can rapidly locate the resources that slow down your database server. This information, which includes the wait type, duration, and count, can prove highly useful for SQL Server performance tuning. Quite often, it's the quickest and easiest way to identify your bottleneck.

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Top queries

dbForge Monitor includes a SQL query performance analyzer that allows you to detect and optimize the most expensive queries that overload the system. You can see them on the Top Queries tab. Apart from the list of poorly performing queries, the tool displays the query text and query profiling information that can help you rewrite a query in the most productive way.

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Sessions

The Sessions tab allows tracking the number of active sessions on each of the databases on your server. It helps determine the users currently logged in to your databases and the applications they are running. By monitoring the number of SQL Server sessions, you can track how loaded your databases are and understand which users take more system resources.

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Backups

Backup operations in SQL Server are quite resource-consuming, especially when the database in question is relatively large. Therefore, it is important to track the backup process. dbForge Monitor provides a quick overview of backup events on your server and displays key statistics on the Last Month Backups tab.

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Frequently asked questions

How can I identify performance bottlenecks in SQL Server using dbForge Monitor?

dbForge Monitor provides comprehensive information about your database server divided into multiple tabs. The information in each of them—including CPU and memory usage, disk activity, wait statistics, query execution plans, and more—will help you assess the overall performance and identify bottlenecks.

What metrics should I monitor to ensure the health and stability of SQL Server?

The health and stability of your SQL Server instance depend on multiple factors, including but not limited to the following: uptime and service status, waits, CPU and memory usage, read/write latency, query performance, deadlocks, and backup efficiency. In order to keep an eye on all of these factors in real time, you can use SQL Server performance monitoring tools like dbForge Monitor.

What queries are slowing down my SQL Server, and how can I find them?

To find queries that are slowing down your SQL Server, go to the Top Queries tab of dbForge Monitor. There, you will be able to inspect their execution plans and identify costly operations within them.

How do wait statistics help optimize database performance?

By checking the wait statistics in dbForge Monitor, you can rapidly locate the resources that slow down your database server. This information, which includes the wait type, duration, and count, can become the easiest way to identify performance bottlenecks and fix them.

What insights can I gain from tracking database I/O activity?

You can track database I/O activity from the Data IO tab of dbForge Monitor. It provides insights into the total amount and latency of read and write operations for each database file.

Is it possible to monitor multiple SQL Server instances with dbForge Monitor?

Since you can connect to multiple instances in SSMS, you can easily monitor them simultaneously. Right-click the required connection from Object Explorer and go to Monitor > Show Monitor. Rinse and repeat for each instance you want to view. dbForge Monitor will show the stats for each server instance in a separate window.

How can dbForge Monitor help during unexpected performance spikes?

With dbForge Monitor, you can see performance spikes in real time and take timely action to investigate them.

What's the benefit of monitoring sessions and user activity in real time?

By monitoring your database server in real time, you always get an up-to-date picture of what's happening on it. If there's a sudden surge in CPU or memory utilization, you can notice it instantly.

How does dbForge Monitor differ from the built-in SQL Server Profiler or Activity Monitor?

Activity Monitor provides a high-level overview of the activity on a SQL Server instance; in other words, it gives a real-time snapshot of server health that's ideal for initial diagnostics.

SQL Server Profiler captures and analyzes detailed event data from the SQL Server engine, which is a better fit for in-depth performance analysis, identification and troubleshooting of slow queries, and the audit of server activity.

dbForge Monitor is a viable alternative that combines both approaches and provides the most versatile solution for SQL Server performance monitoring.

Can I use dbForge Monitor to analyze the backup impact on SQL Server performance?

Yes. To do that, proceed to the Last Month Backups tab of dbForge Monitor and check the stats for your latest backups.