Q. How much overhead does Periscope for SQL Server generate?

A.  Almost immeasurable.  When configured to look for a minimum query duration of one second and a minimum blocking time of one second, Periscope caused a less than one percent increase in % Processor Time on a test SQL Server.  Increases in memory paging, physical disk I/O, and other counters were not detectable.  

When configured to look for minimum durations of three seconds the overhead was not measurable.   

Q.  How does Periscope capture SQL information?

A.  Periscope captures SQL statements by polling internal SQL Server tables.  This is accomplished through-state-of-the art .NET SQL Data Reader calls and is extremely light weight. The captured data is then asynchronously written to a repository database which can be viewed through a variety of supplied reports.

Q.  How is Periscope for SQL Server installed? How many tiers are involved?

A.   No components are installed on the monitored SQL Server.
A complete installation of Periscope for SQL Server consists of the following components, which may all be installed on one computer, or spread over different computers:

• Periscope Management Console – used to configure monitoring services

• Periscope Monitoring Services – standard Microsoft Windows services which monitor configured SQL Servers.

• Periscope Repository Database – holds and scrubs captured SQL Server data.

• Periscope Reports – HTML based reports.

Click below to view the complete installation guide and system requirements:

     Periscope Installation (MS Word)
     Periscope Installation (PDF)

Q: What types of database activities does Periscope track?

A.  Periscope will track SQL query call frequency, SQL text, CPU, duration, reads, writes, execution time, etc.  It will record queries by host, user, date/time, server, database, etc.  It will also track complete blocking scenarios, allowing you to easily see the head of the blocking chain and all effected queries, how long they waited, etc.

All of the above is easily viewable through supplied reports which allow for dynamic sorting, data mining, and even color coded charts.  Your boss wants to know what percentage of CPU the reports run by Bob in accounting used in your e-commerce database last month?
It’s right here…

Q: How is Periscope licensed?

A.  Periscope is licensed at a site level.  A Periscope site license allows you to monitor an unlimited of SQL Servers.  Periscope Reports may be viewed by an unlimited number of users in your organization.

Q: How do I test the product before I purchase?

A.  Simply download a free, fully functional evaluation version.  You may also see an online demo of the Periscope Reports Module here.