Building XEvent Profiler Traces

In Chapter 8, Building Diagnostic Queries Using DMVs and DMFs, we learned how to gain insight into query performance using the built-in system views. This information is valuable, but because these views mostly represent the current point in time, they are not always sufficient to answer every question we have about the performance of our queries. In this chapter, we will introduce Extended Events (XEvents), the lightweight infrastructure that exposes relevant just-in-time information from every component of SQL Server, focusing on those related to T-SQL execution. We will explore real-world examples of how to use these XEvents to troubleshoot different poor-performance scenarios; leverage collection and analysis tools such as the XEvent Profiler, SQL Diag; use Replay Markup Language (RML) for event analysis; and drop a note on the infamously deprecated...