Spotlight on SQL Server 10.0.3 - Getting Started Guide

Select the connection name to configure an individual connection.

Select Default Settings to configure the default settings for all connections.

For an individual connection, select this option to configure the connection differently to the default settings.

For default settings, select this option to configure default settings for SQL Analysis. Clear this option to reset the configuration settings to the shipped defaults.

Select to enable SQL Analysis. SQL Analysis is disabled by default.

Note:

• This option is not available when Select connection to configure is Default Settings.
• Enabling SQL Analysis may adversely affect the performance of your SQL Server. SQL Analysis data collection puts extra load on your SQL Server; the more data you collect the more the load.

Select the event classes to be collected from the SQL Server instance.

The list of filters applied to the SQL Server instance.

Click to create a filter.

Tips:

• You can use the percent sign (%) and underscore (_) as wildcards.
• You cannot use wildcard characters in the Database name field when connected to a SQL Server 2000 instance.
• When filtering on a string field such as DatabaseName or ApplicationName, use only the "LIKE" and "NOT LIKE" conditions. The other conditions apply only to numeric values.

Note: This feature is available only in Spotlight on SQL Server Enterprise.

How often Spotlight collects SQL Analysis data. The default is six hours.

To change how often Spotlight collects SQL Analysis data

1. Click the link.
2. Select Override the default settings for the collection 'SQL Analysis'.
3. Under ‘Store reporting data in the Spotlight Statistics Repository’, click Store data.
4. Set the collection schedule. Data can be collected at regular intervals or at a specific time on one or more days.

Select to use Rowset trace to collect SQL Analysis data.

Rowset trace is convenient though may affect throughput on busy servers. It should be used with care.

Select to use sampling Server Side trace to collect SQL Analysis data. You must also enter a value for Server trace file location.

Server Side trace is more suitable for busy servers than Rowset trace.

Server Side trace will run until one of these conditions is met.

Specify the maximum amount of time Server Side trace should run for.

Specify the maximum size of the trace file.

Type a location for the server trace file. The path is relative to the SQL Server instance.

For example, C:\Trace Files.

Select to process trace files on the SQL Server instance. This option has the potential to affect throughput on busy servers.

Use this option when there are permission or firewall settings preventing the Spotlight Diagnostic Server machine from retrieving files from the SQL Server machine.

This is the default option.

Select to process trace files on the Spotlight Diagnostic Server. The Spotlight Diagnostic Server machine must have the appropriate permissions required to connect to the SQL Server instance.

This option is not available when configuring default settings.

Type the location of the server trace files on the SQL Server instance. The location should be a shared folder the Spotlight Diagnostic Server can connect to.

For example, \\computername\Trace Files.

This option is not available when configuring default settings.

Enter the maximum number of SQL executions to be retrieved from the SQL Server instance. The default is 200.

This setting determines what the top SQL executions are to collect. Choose from Average Duration, Average CPU, or Average I/O. When the limit is reached, the least significant records are discarded as new executions are collected.