Hi everybody !

I´m maintaining a large intranet (approx 10000 concurrent users) running on
one IIS box and one DB box with sqlserver 2000.

Currently there is 2,5 GB Ram, 1 1400 mhz cpu and 2 scsi disks installed on
the db box.
Sqlserver is set to use max 1,4 GB RAM, and the sqlserver does not seem to
be using it all.

Currently SQLSERVER 2000 crashes at least once a day.
Its very weird, I run performance monitor with counters on, memory, disk
usage, num users, locks and such.

There is no indications in the counters before the crashes, they just happen
very sudden.
Only indication is that sqlserver makes some huge jumps in memory usage and
mostly the sqlserver then crashes an hour or 2 later.

The only thing that peaks a lot are the locks/sec counter.

My analysis of disk usage, queues etc. tells me i got no kind of i/o
bottlenecks.

Can anybody give me a clue as to what i should do ?

Best regards, Thue

"Thue Tuxen Sørensen" <tuxen@esynergy.dk> wrote in message
news:3ffd487f$0$9746$edfadb0f@dread14.news.tele.dk ...
> Hi everybody !
>
> I´m maintaining a large intranet (approx 10000 concurrent users) running
on
> one IIS box and one DB box with sqlserver 2000.
>
> Currently there is 2,5 GB Ram, 1 1400 mhz cpu and 2 scsi disks installed
on
> the db box.
> Sqlserver is set to use max 1,4 GB RAM, and the sqlserver does not seem to
> be using it all.
>
> Currently SQLSERVER 2000 crashes at least once a day.
> Its very weird, I run performance monitor with counters on, memory, disk
> usage, num users, locks and such.
>
> There is no indications in the counters before the crashes, they just
happen
> very sudden.
> Only indication is that sqlserver makes some huge jumps in memory usage
and
> mostly the sqlserver then crashes an hour or 2 later.
>
> The only thing that peaks a lot are the locks/sec counter.
>
> My analysis of disk usage, queues etc. tells me i got no kind of i/o
> bottlenecks.
>
> Can anybody give me a clue as to what i should do ?

First, make sure you've applied all the latest service packs.

Also, look at the most recent errorlog after a crash (errorlog.1 most
likely). It should have a dump of what was going on.

That might give you a clue.

Also check your event log for anything.

Finally, if this doesn't turn up anything, call Microsoft.

SQL Server does not normally crash. I have some boxes that ran for more
than a year before we had to reboot them due to a physical move.


>
> Best regards, Thue
>
>

1. Check the server logs for any informative error messages.




"Thue Tuxen Sørensen" <tuxen@esynergy.dk> wrote in message
news:3ffd487f$0$9746$edfadb0f@dread14.news.tele.dk ...
> Hi everybody !
>
> I´m maintaining a large intranet (approx 10000 concurrent users) running
on
> one IIS box and one DB box with sqlserver 2000.
>
> Currently there is 2,5 GB Ram, 1 1400 mhz cpu and 2 scsi disks installed
on
> the db box.
> Sqlserver is set to use max 1,4 GB RAM, and the sqlserver does not seem to
> be using it all.
>
> Currently SQLSERVER 2000 crashes at least once a day.
> Its very weird, I run performance monitor with counters on, memory, disk
> usage, num users, locks and such.
>
> There is no indications in the counters before the crashes, they just
happen
> very sudden.
> Only indication is that sqlserver makes some huge jumps in memory usage
and
> mostly the sqlserver then crashes an hour or 2 later.
>
> The only thing that peaks a lot are the locks/sec counter.
>
> My analysis of disk usage, queues etc. tells me i got no kind of i/o
> bottlenecks.
>
> Can anybody give me a clue as to what i should do ?
>
> Best regards, Thue
>
>

[posted and mailed, vänligen svara i nys]

Thue Tuxen Sørensen (tuxen@esynergy.dk) writes:
> Only indication is that sqlserver makes some huge jumps in memory usage
> and mostly the sqlserver then crashes an hour or 2 later.

The fact that the memory usage of SQL Server jumps, is perfectly normal,
and is only a sign of that someone is using the application.

By default, SQL Server grabs as much memory it can. This is because the
bigger the cache SQL Server can have, the better will the response time
be.

Possible causes for SQL Server crashes:

* Bug in SQL Server, provoked by some SQL statement.
* Access violation in a extended procedure or OLE object that is called
by SQL Server from application code.
* Hardware problems.

The error log for SQL Server should give information about the case.

If I were you, I would investigate the second point before I opened a
case with Microsoft, because this is the most likely reason.

--
Erland Sommarskog, SQL Server MVP, sommar@algonet.se

Books Online for SQL Server SP3 at
http://www.microsoft.com/sql/techinf...2000/books.asp

Thanks for all the answers !

Its running with SP3.

I think I explained the crashes a bit wrong before maybe ...
What I mean is that the sqlserver suddenly 'hangs' and that its impossible
to communicate with in any way.
The performance monitor also stops getting input and just freezes.

The only way to get the site up running again is to restart the sqlserver
service (not the server).
Theres no indication in the errorlogs, as to what happens just before the
'crash'.
Ive looked through all of them, to see if any of them had some info I could
use.

All errorlogs begin with info regarding the startup of sqlserver
initialising the listener and starting up the db´s and such.
After all the info regarding the startup there is nothing in the log.

The next piece of info in the log is the entry where it writes that
sqlserver is terminating due to 'stop' request from service control manager.

And the stop request is issued by me after the system has crashed / is
hanging.

The event viewer is also not helping with anything.
No messages regarding what could cause the error.

I´m really frustrated about the problem, because I don´t have a clue to
chase down.
But thanks agian for all the answers and your time.
Please do not hesitate to write ! ) if any of you suddenly comes up with
more things I could check out before calling in a pro.

Best Regards Thue

Hi there

I share your pain and frustration. I would like all possible causes of CPU
100% to be listed somewhere so I can check that I have taken all precautions
to avoid this. Is there such a page anywhere?!

I want to resolve the CPU 100% problem myself - I thought I had resolved
before but has come back to haunt me now with a new database server machine
with SQL Server 2000, SP 3, which apparently does not allow one to fully
remove the "named pipes" protocol. I resolved a CPU 100% issue months ago by
making sure only TCP/IP was used as the protocol, and removing Named pipes.
Removing from the Enterprise manager (button at bottom in general settings
tab), network protcol "named pipes", and from client connection settings
manager, so that only TCP/IP is allowed as a network protocol. My theory is
that these pipes become blocked, and this causes 100% CPU usage. Could
anyone confirm that this is a known symptom of the named pipes protocol ?!

I am currently having to reboot the machine every few days now since we put
in a new database server with the latest service packs (SQL Server 2000,
SP3). Removing the named-pipes protcol does not seem to have resolved this
nasty problem this time round. I have seen on some newsgroup postings, that
it is no longer possible to actually remove Named Pipes fully since SP3.

The following article thread indicates this:-
http://www.mcse.ms/message97673.html

which is kind of worrying to me, because I was fairly sure removing Named
Pipes as a protocol before, completely cured the CPU 100% symptoms.

My correspondence chess website www.chessworld.net makes heavy use of SQL
Server 2000. It has been running for over 2 years now, and sometimes has
about 200 members online or more within the space of 10 minutes. Overall SQL
Server 2000 has been great, but recently these reboots have been quite
frustrating, and I cannot seem to identify the cause. I continually monitor
any ASP pages that time out with SQL Server errors, and always keen to
ensure all queries run quick on my site. I do not think it is a bad sql
query problem. I continually make efforts to optimise all queries used on
the site. I have also made sure from a long time ago that (NO LOCK) is being
used on select statements to minimise lock escalation.

I found the following article today which is another possible cause of CPU
100%:-

http://support.microsoft.com/default...NoWebContent=1

which possible attributes the Microsoft search service to CPU 100%. I have
now disabled this service from our new database server machine, and put it
to Manual on Startup.

Help needed to resolve CPU 100% issue !

Best wishes
Tryfon Gavriel
Webmaster
www.chessworld.net




"Thue Tuxen Sørensen" <tuxen@esynergy.dk> wrote in message
news:3ffd487f$0$9746$edfadb0f@dread14.news.tele.dk ...
> Hi everybody !
>
> I´m maintaining a large intranet (approx 10000 concurrent users) running
on
> one IIS box and one DB box with sqlserver 2000.
>
> Currently there is 2,5 GB Ram, 1 1400 mhz cpu and 2 scsi disks installed
on
> the db box.
> Sqlserver is set to use max 1,4 GB RAM, and the sqlserver does not seem to
> be using it all.
>
> Currently SQLSERVER 2000 crashes at least once a day.
> Its very weird, I run performance monitor with counters on, memory, disk
> usage, num users, locks and such.
>
> There is no indications in the counters before the crashes, they just
happen
> very sudden.
> Only indication is that sqlserver makes some huge jumps in memory usage
and
> mostly the sqlserver then crashes an hour or 2 later.
>
> The only thing that peaks a lot are the locks/sec counter.
>
> My analysis of disk usage, queues etc. tells me i got no kind of i/o
> bottlenecks.
>
> Can anybody give me a clue as to what i should do ?
>
> Best regards, Thue
>
>

"Tryfon Gavriel" <tryfon@gtryfon.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:btmms5$3n2$1$830fa78d@news.demon.co.uk...
> Hi there
>
> I share your pain and frustration. I would like all possible causes of CPU
> 100% to be listed somewhere so I can check that I have taken all
precautions
> to avoid this. Is there such a page anywhere?!
>
> I want to resolve the CPU 100% problem myself - I thought I had resolved
> before but has come back to haunt me now with a new database server
machine
> with SQL Server 2000, SP 3, which apparently does not allow one to fully
> remove the "named pipes" protocol. I resolved a CPU 100% issue months ago
by
> making sure only TCP/IP was used as the protocol, and removing Named
pipes.
> Removing from the Enterprise manager (button at bottom in general settings
> tab), network protcol "named pipes", and from client connection settings
> manager, so that only TCP/IP is allowed as a network protocol. My theory
is
> that these pipes become blocked, and this causes 100% CPU usage. Could
> anyone confirm that this is a known symptom of the named pipes protocol ?!

Nope, never seen that happen.

>
> I am currently having to reboot the machine every few days now since we
put
> in a new database server with the latest service packs (SQL Server 2000,
> SP3). Removing the named-pipes protcol does not seem to have resolved this
> nasty problem this time round. I have seen on some newsgroup postings,
that
> it is no longer possible to actually remove Named Pipes fully since SP3.
>
> The following article thread indicates this:-
> http://www.mcse.ms/message97673.html
>
> which is kind of worrying to me, because I was fairly sure removing Named
> Pipes as a protocol before, completely cured the CPU 100% symptoms.
>
> My correspondence chess website www.chessworld.net makes heavy use of SQL
> Server 2000. It has been running for over 2 years now, and sometimes has
> about 200 members online or more within the space of 10 minutes. Overall
SQL
> Server 2000 has been great, but recently these reboots have been quite
> frustrating, and I cannot seem to identify the cause. I continually
monitor
> any ASP pages that time out with SQL Server errors, and always keen to
> ensure all queries run quick on my site. I do not think it is a bad sql
> query problem. I continually make efforts to optimise all queries used on
> the site. I have also made sure from a long time ago that (NO LOCK) is
being
> used on select statements to minimise lock escalation.

Keep in mind that is NOT always a good solution.



>
> I found the following article today which is another possible cause of CPU
> 100%:-
>
>
http://support.microsoft.com/default...NoWebContent=1
>
> which possible attributes the Microsoft search service to CPU 100%. I have
> now disabled this service from our new database server machine, and put it
> to Manual on Startup.
>
> Help needed to resolve CPU 100% issue !

Best bet is probably to try to have profiler running.


There can be many reasons. Keep in mind it's perfectly possible to be using
100% of the CPU and it not be a bug etc. It could simply be you're that
busy.

We have a DB server that from time to time hits 100% CPU. And stays that
way for a few seconds or more. It hurts performance, but returns to normal.


>
> Best wishes
> Tryfon Gavriel
> Webmaster
> www.chessworld.net
>
>
>
>
> "Thue Tuxen Sørensen" <tuxen@esynergy.dk> wrote in message
> news:3ffd487f$0$9746$edfadb0f@dread14.news.tele.dk ...
> > Hi everybody !
> >
> > I´m maintaining a large intranet (approx 10000 concurrent users) running
> on
> > one IIS box and one DB box with sqlserver 2000.
> >
> > Currently there is 2,5 GB Ram, 1 1400 mhz cpu and 2 scsi disks installed
> on
> > the db box.
> > Sqlserver is set to use max 1,4 GB RAM, and the sqlserver does not seem
to
> > be using it all.
> >
> > Currently SQLSERVER 2000 crashes at least once a day.
> > Its very weird, I run performance monitor with counters on, memory, disk
> > usage, num users, locks and such.
> >
> > There is no indications in the counters before the crashes, they just
> happen
> > very sudden.
> > Only indication is that sqlserver makes some huge jumps in memory usage
> and
> > mostly the sqlserver then crashes an hour or 2 later.
> >
> > The only thing that peaks a lot are the locks/sec counter.
> >
> > My analysis of disk usage, queues etc. tells me i got no kind of i/o
> > bottlenecks.
> >
> > Can anybody give me a clue as to what i should do ?
> >
> > Best regards, Thue
> >
> >
>
>

"Thue Tuxen Sørensen" <tuxen@esynergy.dk> wrote in message
news:3ffe994e$0$9745$edfadb0f@dread14.news.tele.dk ...
> Thanks for all the answers !
>
> Its running with SP3.

Good.


>
> I think I explained the crashes a bit wrong before maybe ...
> What I mean is that the sqlserver suddenly 'hangs' and that its impossible
> to communicate with in any way.

You contradict this down below. Which is somewhat critical.


> The performance monitor also stops getting input and just freezes.
>

What metrics are you measuring.


> The only way to get the site up running again is to restart the sqlserver
> service (not the server).
> Theres no indication in the errorlogs, as to what happens just before the
> 'crash'.
> Ive looked through all of them, to see if any of them had some info I
could
> use.
>
> All errorlogs begin with info regarding the startup of sqlserver
> initialising the listener and starting up the db´s and such.
> After all the info regarding the startup there is nothing in the log.
>
> The next piece of info in the log is the entry where it writes that
> sqlserver is terminating due to 'stop' request from service control
manager.

Ok. This indicates that the server IS listening.

One thing you may want to do is issue a NET STOP SQLSERVERAGENT command
followed by NET STOP MSSQLSERVER and see which one (if either takes a long
period of time).

When starting does it start up quickly or take time? Is there anything in
the error log about recovering a DB?

Also, does your app call ANY extended stored procs (XP_fooname)


>
> And the stop request is issued by me after the system has crashed / is
> hanging.
>

Yeah. I wouldn't call this a crash. Not even sure I'd call it a hang. But
that's partly semantics.

> The event viewer is also not helping with anything.
> No messages regarding what could cause the error.
>
> I´m really frustrated about the problem, because I don´t have a clue to
> chase down.
> But thanks agian for all the answers and your time.
> Please do not hesitate to write ! ) if any of you suddenly comes up with
> more things I could check out before calling in a pro.
>

Just the above.

What happens if you wait? (how long do you wait before cycling it?)


> Best Regards Thue
>
>

Tryfon Gavriel (tryfon@gtryfon.demon.co.uk) writes:
> I am currently having to reboot the machine every few days now since we
> put in a new database server with the latest service packs (SQL Server
> 2000, SP3). Removing the named-pipes protcol does not seem to have
> resolved this nasty problem this time round. I have seen on some
> newsgroup postings, that it is no longer possible to actually remove
> Named Pipes fully since SP3.

100% CPU may not be cause for alarm. When SQL Server becomes completely
unresponsive, it certainly is.

I know of two way this can happen. Or rather, I know of one, and one
"seemingly unresponsive". The one case where it becomes unresponsive,
is error 17883. If this happens, you should see this in the error log,
where you get a load of these messages. The message only appears with
SP3 or later hotfixes.

The other case I've seen was with some poor SQL. In this particular
case I was testing performance of this poor SQL for an article on my
web site. I was surprised to see that this particular query took so
much CPU, that issuing an sp_who could have a response time on over
30 seconds.

But there are probably more possibilities than these two. But then again,
it certainly not somehing which happens all over town, so if your SQL
Server becomes unresponsive, there is something fishy on your machine,
be that hardware or poor SQL statements.

One way to track down the latter is to have a profiler trace running,
and see what you get just before the machine goes into nirvana.

--
Erland Sommarskog, SQL Server MVP, sommar@algonet.se

Books Online for SQL Server SP3 at
http://www.microsoft.com/sql/techinf...2000/books.asp

Hi again.

Im measuring CPU, MEMORY, LOCKS and Disk Usage.
Nothing speciel in the logs about revovering.
We don´t use any extended procedures.
I have´nt tried to wait for a long time before restarting it, because theres
a lot of users waiting for it to be up again.
Usually i wait like 5 minutes or so.

/Thue



"Greg D. Moore (Strider)" <mooregr@greenms.com> skrev i en meddelelse
news:k2HLb.131878$JW3.4033@twister.nyroc.rr.com...
>
> "Thue Tuxen Sørensen" <tuxen@esynergy.dk> wrote in message
> news:3ffe994e$0$9745$edfadb0f@dread14.news.tele.dk ...
> > Thanks for all the answers !
> >
> > Its running with SP3.
>
> Good.
>
>
> >
> > I think I explained the crashes a bit wrong before maybe ...
> > What I mean is that the sqlserver suddenly 'hangs' and that its
impossible
> > to communicate with in any way.
>
> You contradict this down below. Which is somewhat critical.
>
>
> > The performance monitor also stops getting input and just freezes.
> >
>
> What metrics are you measuring.
>
>
> > The only way to get the site up running again is to restart the
sqlserver
> > service (not the server).
> > Theres no indication in the errorlogs, as to what happens just before
the
> > 'crash'.
> > Ive looked through all of them, to see if any of them had some info I
> could
> > use.
> >
> > All errorlogs begin with info regarding the startup of sqlserver
> > initialising the listener and starting up the db´s and such.
> > After all the info regarding the startup there is nothing in the log.
> >
> > The next piece of info in the log is the entry where it writes that
> > sqlserver is terminating due to 'stop' request from service control
> manager.
>
> Ok. This indicates that the server IS listening.
>
> One thing you may want to do is issue a NET STOP SQLSERVERAGENT command
> followed by NET STOP MSSQLSERVER and see which one (if either takes a long
> period of time).
>
> When starting does it start up quickly or take time? Is there anything in
> the error log about recovering a DB?
>
> Also, does your app call ANY extended stored procs (XP_fooname)
>
>
> >
> > And the stop request is issued by me after the system has crashed / is
> > hanging.
> >
>
> Yeah. I wouldn't call this a crash. Not even sure I'd call it a hang.
But
> that's partly semantics.
>
> > The event viewer is also not helping with anything.
> > No messages regarding what could cause the error.
> >
> > I´m really frustrated about the problem, because I don´t have a clue to
> > chase down.
> > But thanks agian for all the answers and your time.
> > Please do not hesitate to write ! ) if any of you suddenly comes up
with
> > more things I could check out before calling in a pro.
> >
>
> Just the above.
>
> What happens if you wait? (how long do you wait before cycling it?)
>
>
> > Best Regards Thue
> >
> >
>
>