[dba-SQLServer] SQL Server is hopelessly slow

Michael Maddison mmaddison at optusnet.com.au
Sat Sep 11 10:20:59 CDT 2004


Sometimes it pays do do things 1 at a time in EM.  I don't know what you've
done but...

try adding the field - add it as the last column, otherwise EM will drop and
rebuild the
whole table, save.

then change the column to increment - save.  Actually I've got a nagging
suspicion that
EM wont let you change the field once its saved...  I can't test it here at
home...

see if that helps.

cheers

Michael M


-----Original Message-----
From: dba-sqlserver-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:dba-sqlserver-bounces at databaseadvisors.com]On Behalf Of John W.
Colby
Sent: Sunday, 12 September 2004 12:28 AM
To: dba-sqlserver at databaseadvisors.com
Subject: RE: [dba-SQLServer] SQL Server is hopelessly slow


I am not running Server 2003 YET.  I have it, but I have to get the drivers
for my motherboard loaded.  The CD that comes with the MB does a system
check at install and prevents loading unless the OS is in a list of
supported OSs and Server 2003 is not in that list.  Tech support for the MB
company says the drivers should work so...  I ended up loading XP Pro just
to get up and running.  I wonder if I could do an OS upgrade to Server 2003
over the top of XP Pro.  Since the drivers are loaded, perhaps I could get
it installed that way.

I can certainly appreciate "a lot going on" but for example I tried to add
an identifier field (auto increment long) to the table.  AFAICT There just
isn't any way to do that before the load so I have to do it when I am done.
I started it running and THREE DAYS LATER my machine is still locked up.
With no feedback from EM I have no idea if it will be finished in an hour or
it is only on the 3 millionth row with 160 million rows to go?  A few hours
left or 3 years?  This is no way to run a company!

I re-imported a single set of 3 million records and am about to try setting
up the identifier field on that subset and time how long it takes.  However
my first machine is still locked up trying to roll back the previous attempt
on the entire database.  Now I start this on my remaining fast machine.
What if it locks that up for days on end?  This is simply silly.  There must
be a way for SQL Server to write a status to a log file or SOMETHING.  I
just can't believe that this superpowerful whizbang database engine won't
tell me whether it is doing something or simply on lunch break.

John W. Colby
www.ColbyConsulting.com

-----Original Message-----
From: dba-sqlserver-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:dba-sqlserver-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Mark Rider
Sent: Saturday, September 11, 2004 9:54 AM
To: dba-sqlserver at databaseadvisors.com
Subject: Re: [dba-SQLServer] SQL Server is hopelessly slow


Have you downloaded / installed / used Books Online (BOL)?  There is a LOT
of information on what to do and how to do it in there, and it has taught me
a LOT about what I have done wrong.  It is a free download from MS at

http://www.microsoft.com/sql/techinfo/productdoc/2000/books.asp

You have a 64 bit processor, but are you running Windows Server 2003?
That has the ability to take advantage of the processor architecture better
than any other OS.

The only other thing I can offer is that you give it some time and patience.
I deal with about 25 million rows of data every day, and when DTS gets
rolling along it seems to just sit there after the initial CSV import to the
table.  There is a lot going on behind the scenes, and I have learned (the
hard way) that stopping the import and trying to start over will take more
time than walking away for a while and coming back to the machine later.


On Sat, 11 Sep 2004 07:25:17 -0400, John W. Colby
<jwcolby at colbyconsulting.com> wrote:
> I have this mongo database.  Regardless of what I do it seems, SQL
> Server takes FOREVER to do anything.  To the point where it appears
> that it is locked up.  Is there ANY way to get EM to display a status
> of what it is doing so that I can even know that is doing something at
> all?  Is there any way to break EM when it appears to be hung.  This
> thing is just unworkable as it is.  I will try to do something
> (anything it seems) and EM locks the entire damn machine up.  No
> incrementing status, nothing except the busy cursor.
>
> I have built a smaller set of "just" 3 million records.  It does the
> same thing.  I need to get work done on this thing, set up indexes on
> fields, do data cleanup.  It simply isn't going to work if everything
> I do locks the machine up for a week.
>
> I have to believe I have some setting(s) wrong for SQL Server itself.
> My hardware is an Athlon64 3.0ghz with 2.5g RAM.  The machine itself
> is very close to as fast as you are going to get on a desktop machine.
> Everyone says "3 million records is nothing to SQL Server" but you
> couldn't prove it by me.  Can anyone help me troubleshoot this thing
> and figure out what I am doing wrong?
>
> John W. Colby
> www.ColbyConsulting.com


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