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Category: Tools

SQL Server Performance Monitor Videos

Published 2026-03-27 by Kevin Feasel

Erik Darling continues a series of videos for his SQL Server Performance Monitor. First up is a breakdown of the two editions (both of which are free):

In this video, I delve into my new, completely free, open-source SQL Server monitoring tool, discussing which edition—full or light—you might find most useful based on your specific needs. The full edition creates a database and agent jobs to continuously collect data, offering complete control over the collection schedule and allowing for easy customization of stored procedures. It’s ideal for scenarios where you need constant data collection and want the flexibility to manage the monitoring tool as needed. On the other hand, the light edition uses an embedded DuckDB version inside itself, collecting data only when it’s open, making it perfect for quick triage or situations with limited server access, ensuring that no data is missed while you’re away from your computer. Both editions offer alerts and notifications for critical issues like blocking and high CPU usage, providing a seamless experience regardless of which edition you choose.

Erik also has a video covering how to communicate with the built-in MCP server:

In this video, I delve into the built-in MCP server feature of my FreeSQL server monitoring tool, Darling Data. This feature allows users to interact with their collected monitoring data in a conversational manner using language models like Claude or other compatible tools. The MCP server is designed for local use only and does not expose any data beyond what’s available within the performance monitor database, ensuring that no sensitive information is at risk. By enabling this feature, you can ask questions about your server’s performance directly to an LLM, receiving quick insights into issues such as deadlocks, query performance, and workload spikes. This approach simplifies the process of diagnosing problems without requiring extensive manual analysis or script writing.

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Background on a Performance Monitoring Tool

Published 2026-03-25 by Kevin Feasel

Erik Darling has a new video:

In this video, I introduce my new free performance monitoring tool for SQL Server, which was developed after a bit of boredom during the holidays and a desire to create something simple yet powerful. The main issue I’ve noticed is that many existing tools are either overly complex or too expensive, making them less accessible to smaller teams or individuals. My goal with this tool was to provide a straightforward solution that doesn’t require setting up VMs, dealing with firewalls, or managing domain accounts—essentially streamlining the process for anyone looking to monitor SQL Server performance without the hassle of a full-blown enterprise setup. The tool supports various editions of SQL Server and even Azure SQL DB, offering both a full version with database logging and an easier-to-use light version that’s self-contained within DuckDB. I also highlight how it integrates machine learning models for those who prefer not to dive deep into dashboards, providing quick answers through natural language queries.

It’s good to have yet another example of the productive powers of boredom.

Also, I need to get back into this tool now that the Linux bug has been fixed.

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Configuring a New Windows Device via Chocolatey

Published 2026-03-19 by Kevin Feasel

Reitse Eskens writes a script:

Last month, my company got me a new laptop. I have very little choice in which one I get, and I have to reinstall a lot of software. So, what to do next?

Click through for an example of such an installation script. Having one or more Chocolatey scripts does help, especially for fairly stable corporate machines. I’ve found it to be moderately useful for home devices, where I tend to cycle through software a bit more frequently. But it does make the process of rebuilding a Windows-based machine less painful.

On the Linux side, this is more built-in. For anything via repo managers (such as apt or yum), you can list your installed packages and turn that into a script. It’s a similar story for snap or flatpak packages, though maybe a little bit less conveneint. For AppImage files or deb/rpm files you installed separately from the repo, it’s a bit more of a mixed bag.

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An Overview of pgNow

Published 2026-03-18 by Kevin Feasel

Hamza Sajawal looks at a Redgate product:

pgNow is a lightweight PostgreSQL diagnostic tool developed by Redgate that provides quick visibility into database performance without requiring agents or complex setup. It connects directly to a PostgreSQL instance and delivers real-time insights into query workloads, active sessions, index usage, configuration health, and vacuum activity, helping DBAs quickly identify performance bottlenecks. Because it runs as a simple desktop application, pgNow is particularly useful for quick troubleshooting and point-in-time diagnostics when a full monitoring platform is not available. 

The tool is currently free to use, and its development is actively maintained by Redgate, with potential future enhancements expected as the project evolves. It analyzes workload behavior using PostgreSQL system views and extensions such as pg_stat_activity and pg_stat_statements.

Click through for setup instructions and an overview of what it currently can do.

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Alerting People in Microsoft Teams from Data Factory Pipelines

Published 2026-03-06 by Kevin Feasel

Andy Brownsword sends a message:

Whether running Data Factory, Synapse, or Fabric pipelines, things go wrong – and the de facto response is to send an email. We’ve looked at sending emails from pipelines before, but at scale they can become noise and are easy to ignore.

A more effective option is to surface alerts where collaboration already exists, such as Teams.

In this post we’re going to start looking at using Teams and consolidate notifications into a channel. This functionality gives team members visibility, the ability to update in threads, and the option to tag people for a tighter response loop than typical emails bring.

Click through for the process.

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Performance Studio

Published 2026-03-06 by Kevin Feasel

Erik Darling has a new free tool:

Stop clicking through SSMS execution plans like it’s 2005.
Performance Studio is a free, open-source plan analyzer that tells you what’s wrong,
where it’s wrong, and how bad it is — from the command line, a desktop GUI,
an SSMS extension, or an AI assistant.

Built by someone who has stared at more execution plans than any reasonable person should.

Click through for some of its capabilities, as well as how to get your hands on a copy.

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Updates for sp_Check Tooling

Published 2026-03-03 by Kevin Feasel

Jeff Iannucci announces some updates:

It’s been a while since we have updated some of these tools, so we have reviewed a lot of outstanding issues. We’ve also been working on pending enhancements, and now have updates for each of the tools. Moreover, there are more updates on the way soon, as we are planning for a more frequent cadence of updates.

Also, I’ll let you in on a little secret: there are more sp_Check tools on the way. We have a few additional stored procedures we have been testing internally that should be ready for public release in the coming months. We’re really excited not just for the new tools, but also for the future feature updates to the current tools.

Click through for a list of tool updates and the GitHub repo where you can find them all.

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Building Power BI Reports from the Desktop or Fabric

Published 2026-02-27 by Kevin Feasel

James Serra clears up some confusion:

If you’re a Power BI report author who’s just getting into Microsoft Fabric, you’ve probably asked the same question I hear over and over: am I supposed to stop using Power BI Desktop now?

It’s a fair question. Power BI Desktop is a Windows app that has traditionally been the place where report authors do everything: get data, transform it, model it, and build the report. Microsoft even describes that “connect, shape/transform, then load” experience as part of how Power BI Desktop works with Power Query.

Fabric changes the feel of that workflow because Power BI is now also a first-class experience in the browser inside the Fabric portal. And that browser experience isn’t just “view and share” anymore. You can edit semantic models in the service, including using Power Query for import models and building reports directly from that same environment.

Read on to see, for a brand new report, which of the two models can make the most sense.

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An Overview of the Fabric Unified Admin Monitoring Tool

Published 2026-02-23 by Kevin Feasel

Rob Sewell lays out some information:

When you are responsible for a Microsoft Fabric tenant, it will not be very long before you are facing many questions.

Questions like:

  • How is my capacity being used?
  • Which workspaces are consuming the most resources?
  • What are my users actually doing?
  • When are my peak usage times?

You can scabble around in the Admin portal and try to piece together the answers, but it is a bit like trying to navigate a city with a paper map — you can get there eventually, but it is slow and painful, and you will probably miss some things along the way.

Read on to see how FUAM can help answer these sorts of questions.

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Opening the VS Code Terminal in a New Window

Published 2026-02-23 by Kevin Feasel

Andrew Pruski splits things out:

A while back I wrote a quick post on setting up key mappings in Visual Studio Code…they make presenting (and generally working) in Visual Studio Code really smooth.

But one thing that kinda bugs me is the location of the terminal…I’ve always had it at the bottom, which is generally fine, and I know you can move it around (top, right, left)…however I’ve found that when presenting, space is at a premium. I bump up the font size and this can result in a lot of scrolling through results in the terminal, which ain’t great.

Read on to see how you can make the integrated terminal a separate tab.

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