UPDATE: This script has been updated. Please view the latest version at http://sqlfool.com/2011/06/index-defrag-script-v4-1/.
In my blog post, “Index Defrag Script Updates – Beta Testers Needed“, I stated “I’ll hopefully have the new version online in just a few days.” That was dated January 26th. I had every intention of following through with it, too, but something came up:
My daughter, Chloe Lynn, was born on February 10th. She’s a happy, healthy baby girl who consumes all of my free time and already has both her parents wrapped around her adorable little finger. So while I apologize for the delay in posting the latest version, I hope you can understand and forgive me. 
Alrighty, back to SQL stuff! This version of the script has been significantly overhauled from previous versions. Here’s a full synopsis of the changes and enhancements:
- There’s now a time limit option so you have more control over how long your defrags run. This time limit is checked *before* a defrag is begun, so it’s still possible to have a defrag occur after the time limit is exceeded (i.e. a large index).
- I’ve added a static table for managing the index defrag scans. This way, you can start and stop the defrag process without the need to rescan. This is especially useful for VLDB’s or any environment where you’re unable to complete the defrags in one operation.
- Just in case you want to perform a rescan, even if there’s still indexes left to defrag from your last rescan, there’s a parameter to force it.
- There’s now an option to sort by page count, range scan count, or fragmentation level. Range scan count is defaulted, as the indexes that have high amounts of range scans will benefit the most from having a defragged index. You can also specify whether you want to sort by ASC or DESC.
- There’s now min and max parameters for page counts. This is useful for a) ignoring indexes with less than 1 extent (as recommended by Microsoft) and b) for scheduling index operations by size. For instance, you may want to defrag your small indexes during business hours but leave your big indexes for evening or weekend hours.
- There’s now a parameterized option for sorting in TEMPDB. This may reduce execution time and will prevent unnecessary database file size inflation during defrags. NOTE: Make sure you have enough free space in TEMPDB prior to enabling this option.
- I moved the SQL statement output to display before execution so you can see what’s currently executing.
- I’ve added a debug output of the parameters selected. I’ve added additional validation to the start of the script, so this will help show you if an invalid value was submitted and overwritten.
- I’ve added new columns to the log table to show what command is being executed and what error, if any, occurred when trying to execute.
- I’ve added try/catch logic to handle errors during execution; this way, a single error will not prevent the whole script from terminating.
- The script will now force a rebuild for indexes with allow_page_locks = off.
- For those who use partitioning, you can now exclude the right-most populated partition from the defrag operation. This won’t be applicable for all partitioning schemes, but for sliding-window scenarios (one of the most common schemes), it’ll reduce contention on the partition that’s being actively written to.
- I’ve fixed a bug where tables with LOB indexes may have more than one record returned from sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats.
- For various reasons, I’ve removed the option to rebuild stats.
Also, if you have a previous version of the script installed, this version will rename those tables, since there have been some changes made to them.
FAQ:
I often receive the same questions about this script, so allow me to answer them here:
“I keep running the script, but my index is still fragmented. Why?”
This is most likely a very small index. Here’s what Microsoft has to say:
“In general, fragmentation on small indexes is often not controllable. The pages of small indexes are stored on mixed extents. Mixed extents are shared by up to eight objects, so the fragmentation in a small index might not be reduced after reorganizing or rebuilding the index. For more information about mixed extents, see Understanding Pages and Extents.”
“What database should I create it in?” or “Can I create this in the MASTER database?”
It’s up to you where you create it. You could technically create it in the MASTER database, but I recommend creating a utility database for your DBA administrative tasks.
“Can I run this againt a SharePoint database?”
I’ve never tried personally, but I’ve been told it runs just fine.
“What are the minimum requirements to run this script?” or “Will this run on SQL Server 2000 instances?”
You need to be on SQL Server 2005 SP2 or higher.
Without further ado, here’s the script:
UPDATE: This script has been updated. Please view the latest version at http://sqlfool.com/2011/06/index-defrag-script-v4-1/.
/* Scroll down to the see notes, disclaimers, and licensing information */ Declare @indexDefragLog_rename varchar(128) , @indexDefragExclusion_rename varchar(128) , @indexDefragStatus_rename varchar(128); Select @indexDefragLog_rename = 'dba_indexDefragLog_obsolete_' + Convert(varchar(10), GetDate(), 112) , @indexDefragExclusion_rename = 'dba_indexDefragExclusion_obsolete_' + Convert(varchar(10), GetDate(), 112) , @indexDefragStatus_rename = 'dba_indexDefragStatus_obsolete_' + Convert(varchar(10), GetDate(), 112); If Exists(Select [object_id] From sys.tables Where [name] = 'dba_indexDefragLog') Execute sp_rename dba_indexDefragLog, @indexDefragLog_rename; If Exists(Select [object_id] From sys.tables Where [name] = 'dba_indexDefragExclusion') Execute sp_rename dba_indexDefragExclusion, @indexDefragExclusion_rename; If Exists(Select [object_id] From sys.tables Where [name] = 'dba_indexDefragStatus') Execute sp_rename dba_indexDefragStatus, @indexDefragStatus_rename; Go Create Table dbo.dba_indexDefragLog ( indexDefrag_id int identity(1,1) Not Null , databaseID int Not Null , databaseName nvarchar(128) Not Null , objectID int Not Null , objectName nvarchar(128) Not Null , indexID int Not Null , indexName nvarchar(128) Not Null , partitionNumber smallint Not Null , fragmentation float Not Null , page_count int Not Null , dateTimeStart datetime Not Null , dateTimeEnd datetime Null , durationSeconds int Null , sqlStatement varchar(4000) Null , errorMessage varchar(1000) Null Constraint PK_indexDefragLog_v40 Primary Key Clustered (indexDefrag_id) ); Print 'dba_indexDefragLog Table Created'; Create Table dbo.dba_indexDefragExclusion ( databaseID int Not Null , databaseName nvarchar(128) Not Null , objectID int Not Null , objectName nvarchar(128) Not Null , indexID int Not Null , indexName nvarchar(128) Not Null , exclusionMask int Not Null /* 1=Sunday, 2=Monday, 4=Tuesday, 8=Wednesday, 16=Thursday, 32=Friday, 64=Saturday */ Constraint PK_indexDefragExclusion_v40 Primary Key Clustered (databaseID, objectID, indexID) ); Print 'dba_indexDefragExclusion Table Created'; Create Table dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus ( databaseID int , databaseName nvarchar(128) , objectID int , indexID int , partitionNumber smallint , fragmentation float , page_count int , range_scan_count bigint , schemaName nvarchar(128) Null , objectName nvarchar(128) Null , indexName nvarchar(128) Null , scanDate datetime , defragDate datetime Null , printStatus bit Default(0) , exclusionMask int Default(0) Constraint PK_indexDefragStatus_v40 Primary Key Clustered(databaseID, objectID, indexID, partitionNumber) ); Print 'dba_indexDefragStatus Table Created'; If ObjectProperty(Object_ID('dbo.dba_indexDefrag_sp'), N'IsProcedure') = 1 Begin Drop Procedure dbo.dba_indexDefrag_sp; Print 'Procedure dba_indexDefrag_sp dropped'; End; Go Create Procedure dbo.dba_indexDefrag_sp /* Declare Parameters */ @minFragmentation float = 10.0 /* in percent, will not defrag if fragmentation less than specified */ , @rebuildThreshold float = 30.0 /* in percent, greater than @rebuildThreshold will result in rebuild instead of reorg */ , @executeSQL bit = 1 /* 1 = execute; 0 = print command only */ , @defragOrderColumn nvarchar(20) = 'range_scan_count' /* Valid options are: range_scan_count, fragmentation, page_count */ , @defragSortOrder nvarchar(4) = 'DESC' /* Valid options are: ASC, DESC */ , @timeLimit int = 720 /* defaulted to 12 hours */ /* Optional time limitation; expressed in minutes */ , @database varchar(128) = Null /* Option to specify a database name; null will return all */ , @tableName varchar(4000) = Null -- databaseName.schema.tableName /* Option to specify a table name; null will return all */ , @forceRescan bit = 0 /* Whether or not to force a rescan of indexes; 1 = force, 0 = use existing scan, if available */ , @scanMode varchar(10) = N'LIMITED' /* Options are LIMITED, SAMPLED, and DETAILED */ , @minPageCount int = 8 /* MS recommends > 1 extent (8 pages) */ , @maxPageCount int = Null /* NULL = no limit */ , @excludeMaxPartition bit = 0 /* 1 = exclude right-most populated partition; 0 = do not exclude; see notes for caveats */ , @onlineRebuild bit = 1 /* 1 = online rebuild; 0 = offline rebuild; only in Enterprise */ , @sortInTempDB bit = 1 /* 1 = perform sort operation in TempDB; 0 = perform sort operation in the index's database */ , @maxDopRestriction tinyint = Null /* Option to restrict the number of processors for the operation; only in Enterprise */ , @printCommands bit = 0 /* 1 = print commands; 0 = do not print commands */ , @printFragmentation bit = 0 /* 1 = print fragmentation prior to defrag; 0 = do not print */ , @defragDelay char(8) = '00:00:05' /* time to wait between defrag commands */ , @debugMode bit = 0 /* display some useful comments to help determine if/where issues occur */ As /********************************************************************************* Name: dba_indexDefrag_sp Author: Michelle Ufford, http://sqlfool.com Purpose: Defrags one or more indexes for one or more databases Notes: CAUTION: TRANSACTION LOG SIZE SHOULD BE MONITORED CLOSELY WHEN DEFRAGMENTING. DO NOT RUN UNATTENDED ON LARGE DATABASES DURING BUSINESS HOURS. @minFragmentation defaulted to 10%, will not defrag if fragmentation is less than that @rebuildThreshold defaulted to 30% as recommended by Microsoft in BOL; greater than 30% will result in rebuild instead @executeSQL 1 = execute the SQL generated by this proc; 0 = print command only @defragOrderColumn Defines how to prioritize the order of defrags. Only used if @executeSQL = 1. Valid options are: range_scan_count = count of range and table scans on the index; in general, this is what benefits the most from defragmentation fragmentation = amount of fragmentation in the index; the higher the number, the worse it is page_count = number of pages in the index; affects how long it takes to defrag an index @defragSortOrder The sort order of the ORDER BY clause. Valid options are ASC (ascending) or DESC (descending). @timeLimit Optional, limits how much time can be spent performing index defrags; expressed in minutes. NOTE: The time limit is checked BEFORE an index defrag is begun, thus a long index defrag can exceed the time limitation. @database Optional, specify specific database name to defrag; If not specified, all non-system databases will be defragged. @tableName Specify if you only want to defrag indexes for a specific table, format = databaseName.schema.tableName; if not specified, all tables will be defragged. @forceRescan Whether or not to force a rescan of indexes. If set to 0, a rescan will not occur until all indexes have been defragged. This can span multiple executions. 1 = force a rescan 0 = use previous scan, if there are indexes left to defrag @scanMode Specifies which scan mode to use to determine fragmentation levels. Options are: LIMITED - scans the parent level; quickest mode, recommended for most cases. SAMPLED - samples 1% of all data pages; if less than 10k pages, performs a DETAILED scan. DETAILED - scans all data pages. Use great care with this mode, as it can cause performance issues. @minPageCount Specifies how many pages must exist in an index in order to be considered for a defrag. Defaulted to 8 pages, as Microsoft recommends only defragging indexes with more than 1 extent (8 pages). NOTE: The @minPageCount will restrict the indexes that are stored in dba_indexDefragStatus table. @maxPageCount Specifies the maximum number of pages that can exist in an index and still be considered for a defrag. Useful for scheduling small indexes during business hours and large indexes for non-business hours. NOTE: The @maxPageCount will restrict the indexes that are defragged during the current operation; it will not prevent indexes from being stored in the dba_indexDefragStatus table. This way, a single scan can support multiple page count thresholds. @excludeMaxPartition If an index is partitioned, this option specifies whether to exclude the right-most populated partition. Typically, this is the partition that is currently being written to in a sliding-window scenario. Enabling this feature may reduce contention. This may not be applicable in other types of partitioning scenarios. Non-partitioned indexes are unaffected by this option. 1 = exclude right-most populated partition 0 = do not exclude @onlineRebuild 1 = online rebuild; 0 = offline rebuild @sortInTempDB Specifies whether to defrag the index in TEMPDB or in the database the index belongs to. Enabling this option may result in faster defrags and prevent database file size inflation. 1 = perform sort operation in TempDB 0 = perform sort operation in the index's database @maxDopRestriction Option to specify a processor limit for index rebuilds @printCommands 1 = print commands to screen; 0 = do not print commands @printFragmentation 1 = print fragmentation to screen; 0 = do not print fragmentation @defragDelay Time to wait between defrag commands; gives the server a little time to catch up @debugMode 1 = display debug comments; helps with troubleshooting 0 = do not display debug comments Called by: SQL Agent Job or DBA ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: This code and information are provided "AS IS" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties or merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LICENSE: This index defrag script is free to download and use for personal, educational, and internal corporate purposes, provided that this header is preserved. Redistribution or sale of this index defrag script, in whole or in part, is prohibited without the author's express written consent. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date Initials Version Description ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2007-12-18 MFU 1.0 Initial Release 2008-10-17 MFU 1.1 Added @defragDelay, CIX_temp_indexDefragList 2008-11-17 MFU 1.2 Added page_count to log table , added @printFragmentation option 2009-03-17 MFU 2.0 Provided support for centralized execution , consolidated Enterprise & Standard versions , added @debugMode, @maxDopRestriction , modified LOB and partition logic 2009-06-18 MFU 3.0 Fixed bug in LOB logic, added @scanMode option , added support for stat rebuilds (@rebuildStats) , support model and msdb defrag , added columns to the dba_indexDefragLog table , modified logging to show "in progress" defrags , added defrag exclusion list (scheduling) 2009-08-28 MFU 3.1 Fixed read_only bug for database lists 2010-04-20 MFU 4.0 Added time limit option , added static table with rescan logic , added parameters for page count & SORT_IN_TEMPDB , added try/catch logic and additional debug options , added options for defrag prioritization , fixed bug for indexes with allow_page_lock = off , added option to exclude right-most partition , removed @rebuildStats option , refer to http://sqlfool.com for full release notes ********************************************************************************* Example of how to call this script: Exec dbo.dba_indexDefrag_sp @executeSQL = 1 , @printCommands = 1 , @debugMode = 1 , @printFragmentation = 1 , @forceRescan = 1 , @maxDopRestriction = 1 , @minPageCount = 8 , @maxPageCount = Null , @minFragmentation = 1 , @rebuildThreshold = 30 , @defragDelay = '00:00:05' , @defragOrderColumn = 'page_count' , @defragSortOrder = 'DESC' , @excludeMaxPartition = 1 , @timeLimit = Null; *********************************************************************************/ Set NoCount On; Set XACT_Abort On; Set Quoted_Identifier On; Begin Begin Try /* Just a little validation... */ If @minFragmentation Is Null Or @minFragmentation Not Between 0.00 And 100.0 Set @minFragmentation = 10.0; If @rebuildThreshold Is Null Or @rebuildThreshold Not Between 0.00 And 100.0 Set @rebuildThreshold = 30.0; If @defragDelay Not Like '00:[0-5][0-9]:[0-5][0-9]' Set @defragDelay = '00:00:05'; If @defragOrderColumn Is Null Or @defragOrderColumn Not In ('range_scan_count', 'fragmentation', 'page_count') Set @defragOrderColumn = 'range_scan_count'; If @defragSortOrder Is Null Or @defragSortOrder Not In ('ASC', 'DESC') Set @defragSortOrder = 'DESC'; If @scanMode Not In ('LIMITED', 'SAMPLED', 'DETAILED') Set @scanMode = 'LIMITED'; If @debugMode Is Null Set @debugMode = 0; If @forceRescan Is Null Set @forceRescan = 0; If @sortInTempDB Is Null Set @sortInTempDB = 1; If @debugMode = 1 RaisError('Undusting the cogs and starting up...', 0, 42) With NoWait; /* Declare our variables */ Declare @objectID int , @databaseID int , @databaseName nvarchar(128) , @indexID int , @partitionCount bigint , @schemaName nvarchar(128) , @objectName nvarchar(128) , @indexName nvarchar(128) , @partitionNumber smallint , @fragmentation float , @pageCount int , @sqlCommand nvarchar(4000) , @rebuildCommand nvarchar(200) , @dateTimeStart datetime , @dateTimeEnd datetime , @containsLOB bit , @editionCheck bit , @debugMessage nvarchar(4000) , @updateSQL nvarchar(4000) , @partitionSQL nvarchar(4000) , @partitionSQL_Param nvarchar(1000) , @LOB_SQL nvarchar(4000) , @LOB_SQL_Param nvarchar(1000) , @indexDefrag_id int , @startDateTime datetime , @endDateTime datetime , @getIndexSQL nvarchar(4000) , @getIndexSQL_Param nvarchar(4000) , @allowPageLockSQL nvarchar(4000) , @allowPageLockSQL_Param nvarchar(4000) , @allowPageLocks int , @excludeMaxPartitionSQL nvarchar(4000); /* Initialize our variables */ Select @startDateTime = GetDate() , @endDateTime = DateAdd(minute, @timeLimit, GetDate()); /* Create our temporary tables */ Create Table #databaseList ( databaseID int , databaseName varchar(128) , scanStatus bit ); Create Table #processor ( [index] int , Name varchar(128) , Internal_Value int , Character_Value int ); Create Table #maxPartitionList ( databaseID int , objectID int , indexID int , maxPartition int ); If @debugMode = 1 RaisError('Beginning validation...', 0, 42) With NoWait; /* Make sure we're not exceeding the number of processors we have available */ Insert Into #processor Execute xp_msver 'ProcessorCount'; If @maxDopRestriction Is Not Null And @maxDopRestriction > (Select Internal_Value From #processor) Select @maxDopRestriction = Internal_Value From #processor; /* Check our server version; 1804890536 = Enterprise, 610778273 = Enterprise Evaluation, -2117995310 = Developer */ If (Select ServerProperty('EditionID')) In (1804890536, 610778273, -2117995310) Set @editionCheck = 1 -- supports online rebuilds Else Set @editionCheck = 0; -- does not support online rebuilds /* Output the parameters we're working with */ If @debugMode = 1 Begin Select @debugMessage = 'Your selected parameters are... Defrag indexes with fragmentation greater than ' + Cast(@minFragmentation As varchar(10)) + '; Rebuild indexes with fragmentation greater than ' + Cast(@rebuildThreshold As varchar(10)) + '; You' + Case When @executeSQL = 1 Then ' DO' Else ' DO NOT' End + ' want the commands to be executed automatically; You want to defrag indexes in ' + @defragSortOrder + ' order of the ' + UPPER(@defragOrderColumn) + ' value; You have' + Case When @timeLimit Is Null Then ' not specified a time limit;' Else ' specified a time limit of ' + Cast(@timeLimit As varchar(10)) End + ' minutes; ' + Case When @database Is Null Then 'ALL databases' Else 'The ' + @database + ' database' End + ' will be defragged; ' + Case When @tableName Is Null Then 'ALL tables' Else 'The ' + @tableName + ' table' End + ' will be defragged; We' + Case When Exists(Select Top 1 * From dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus Where defragDate Is Null) And @forceRescan <> 1 Then ' WILL NOT' Else ' WILL' End + ' be rescanning indexes; The scan will be performed in ' + @scanMode + ' mode; You want to limit defrags to indexes with' + Case When @maxPageCount Is Null Then ' more than ' + Cast(@minPageCount As varchar(10)) Else ' between ' + Cast(@minPageCount As varchar(10)) + ' and ' + Cast(@maxPageCount As varchar(10)) End + ' pages; Indexes will be defragged' + Case When @editionCheck = 0 Or @onlineRebuild = 0 Then ' OFFLINE;' Else ' ONLINE;' End + ' Indexes will be sorted in' + Case When @sortInTempDB = 0 Then ' the DATABASE' Else ' TEMPDB;' End + ' Defrag operations will utilize ' + Case When @editionCheck = 0 Or @maxDopRestriction Is Null Then 'system defaults for processors;' Else Cast(@maxDopRestriction As varchar(2)) + ' processors;' End + ' You' + Case When @printCommands = 1 Then ' DO' Else ' DO NOT' End + ' want to print the ALTER INDEX commands; You' + Case When @printFragmentation = 1 Then ' DO' Else ' DO NOT' End + ' want to output fragmentation levels; You want to wait ' + @defragDelay + ' (hh:mm:ss) between defragging indexes; You want to run in' + Case When @debugMode = 1 Then ' DEBUG' Else ' SILENT' End + ' mode.'; RaisError(@debugMessage, 0, 42) With NoWait; End; If @debugMode = 1 RaisError('Grabbing a list of our databases...', 0, 42) With NoWait; /* Retrieve the list of databases to investigate */ Insert Into #databaseList Select database_id , name , 0 -- not scanned yet for fragmentation From sys.databases Where name = IsNull(@database, name) And [name] Not In ('master', 'tempdb')-- exclude system databases And [state] = 0 -- state must be ONLINE And is_read_only = 0; -- cannot be read_only /* Check to see if we have indexes in need of defrag; otherwise, re-scan the database(s) */ If Not Exists(Select Top 1 * From dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus Where defragDate Is Null) Or @forceRescan = 1 Begin /* Truncate our list of indexes to prepare for a new scan */ Truncate Table dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus; If @debugMode = 1 RaisError('Looping through our list of databases and checking for fragmentation...', 0, 42) With NoWait; /* Loop through our list of databases */ While (Select Count(*) From #databaseList Where scanStatus = 0) > 0 Begin Select Top 1 @databaseID = databaseID From #databaseList Where scanStatus = 0; Select @debugMessage = ' working on ' + DB_Name(@databaseID) + '...'; If @debugMode = 1 RaisError(@debugMessage, 0, 42) With NoWait; /* Determine which indexes to defrag using our user-defined parameters */ Insert Into dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus ( databaseID , databaseName , objectID , indexID , partitionNumber , fragmentation , page_count , range_scan_count , scanDate ) Select ps.database_id As 'databaseID' , QuoteName(DB_Name(ps.database_id)) As 'databaseName' , ps.object_id As 'objectID' , ps.index_id As 'indexID' , ps.partition_number As 'partitionNumber' , Sum(ps.avg_fragmentation_in_percent) As 'fragmentation' , Sum(ps.page_count) As 'page_count' , os.range_scan_count , GetDate() As 'scanDate' From sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats(@databaseID, Object_Id(@tableName), Null , Null, @scanMode) As ps Join sys.dm_db_index_operational_stats(@databaseID, Object_Id(@tableName), Null , Null) as os On ps.database_id = os.database_id And ps.object_id = os.object_id and ps.index_id = os.index_id And ps.partition_number = os.partition_number Where avg_fragmentation_in_percent >= @minFragmentation And ps.index_id > 0 -- ignore heaps And ps.page_count > @minPageCount And ps.index_level = 0 -- leaf-level nodes only, supports @scanMode Group By ps.database_id , QuoteName(DB_Name(ps.database_id)) , ps.object_id , ps.index_id , ps.partition_number , os.range_scan_count Option (MaxDop 2); /* Do we want to exclude right-most populated partition of our partitioned indexes? */ If @excludeMaxPartition = 1 Begin Set @excludeMaxPartitionSQL = ' Select ' + Cast(@databaseID As varchar(10)) + ' As [databaseID] , [object_id] , index_id , Max(partition_number) As [maxPartition] From ' + DB_Name(@databaseID) + '.sys.partitions Where partition_number > 1 And [rows] > 0 Group By object_id , index_id;'; Insert Into #maxPartitionList Execute sp_executesql @excludeMaxPartitionSQL; End; /* Keep track of which databases have already been scanned */ Update #databaseList Set scanStatus = 1 Where databaseID = @databaseID; End /* We don't want to defrag the right-most populated partition, so delete any records for partitioned indexes where partition = Max(partition) */ If @excludeMaxPartition = 1 Begin Delete ids From dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus As ids Join #maxPartitionList As mpl On ids.databaseID = mpl.databaseID And ids.objectID = mpl.objectID And ids.indexID = mpl.indexID And ids.partitionNumber = mpl.maxPartition; End; /* Update our exclusion mask for any index that has a restriction on the days it can be defragged */ Update ids Set ids.exclusionMask = ide.exclusionMask From dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus As ids Join dbo.dba_indexDefragExclusion As ide On ids.databaseID = ide.databaseID And ids.objectID = ide.objectID And ids.indexID = ide.indexID; End Select @debugMessage = 'Looping through our list... there are ' + Cast(Count(*) As varchar(10)) + ' indexes to defrag!' From dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus Where defragDate Is Null And page_count Between @minPageCount And IsNull(@maxPageCount, page_count); If @debugMode = 1 RaisError(@debugMessage, 0, 42) With NoWait; /* Begin our loop for defragging */ While (Select Count(*) From dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus Where ( (@executeSQL = 1 And defragDate Is Null) Or (@executeSQL = 0 And defragDate Is Null And printStatus = 0) ) And exclusionMask & Power(2, DatePart(weekday, GetDate())-1) = 0 And page_count Between @minPageCount And IsNull(@maxPageCount, page_count)) > 0 Begin /* Check to see if we need to exit our loop because of our time limit */ If IsNull(@endDateTime, GetDate()) < GetDate() Begin RaisError('Our time limit has been exceeded!', 11, 42) With NoWait; End; If @debugMode = 1 RaisError(' Picking an index to beat into shape...', 0, 42) With NoWait; /* Grab the index with the highest priority, based on the values submitted; Look at the exclusion mask to ensure it can be defragged today */ Set @getIndexSQL = N' Select Top 1 @objectID_Out = objectID , @indexID_Out = indexID , @databaseID_Out = databaseID , @databaseName_Out = databaseName , @fragmentation_Out = fragmentation , @partitionNumber_Out = partitionNumber , @pageCount_Out = page_count From dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus Where defragDate Is Null ' + Case When @executeSQL = 0 Then 'And printStatus = 0' Else '' End + ' And exclusionMask & Power(2, DatePart(weekday, GetDate())-1) = 0 And page_count Between @p_minPageCount and IsNull(@p_maxPageCount, page_count) Order By + ' + @defragOrderColumn + ' ' + @defragSortOrder; Set @getIndexSQL_Param = N'@objectID_Out int OutPut , @indexID_Out int OutPut , @databaseID_Out int OutPut , @databaseName_Out nvarchar(128) OutPut , @fragmentation_Out int OutPut , @partitionNumber_Out int OutPut , @pageCount_Out int OutPut , @p_minPageCount int , @p_maxPageCount int'; Execute sp_executesql @getIndexSQL , @getIndexSQL_Param , @p_minPageCount = @minPageCount , @p_maxPageCount = @maxPageCount , @objectID_Out = @objectID OutPut , @indexID_Out = @indexID OutPut , @databaseID_Out = @databaseID OutPut , @databaseName_Out = @databaseName OutPut , @fragmentation_Out = @fragmentation OutPut , @partitionNumber_Out = @partitionNumber OutPut , @pageCount_Out = @pageCount OutPut; If @debugMode = 1 RaisError(' Looking up the specifics for our index...', 0, 42) With NoWait; /* Look up index information */ Select @updateSQL = N'Update ids Set schemaName = QuoteName(s.name) , objectName = QuoteName(o.name) , indexName = QuoteName(i.name) From dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus As ids Inner Join ' + @databaseName + '.sys.objects As o On ids.objectID = o.object_id Inner Join ' + @databaseName + '.sys.indexes As i On o.object_id = i.object_id And ids.indexID = i.index_id Inner Join ' + @databaseName + '.sys.schemas As s On o.schema_id = s.schema_id Where o.object_id = ' + Cast(@objectID As varchar(10)) + ' And i.index_id = ' + Cast(@indexID As varchar(10)) + ' And i.type > 0 And ids.databaseID = ' + Cast(@databaseID As varchar(10)); Execute sp_executesql @updateSQL; /* Grab our object names */ Select @objectName = objectName , @schemaName = schemaName , @indexName = indexName From dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus Where objectID = @objectID And indexID = @indexID And databaseID = @databaseID; If @debugMode = 1 RaisError(' Grabbing the partition count...', 0, 42) With NoWait; /* Determine if the index is partitioned */ Select @partitionSQL = 'Select @partitionCount_OUT = Count(*) From ' + @databaseName + '.sys.partitions Where object_id = ' + Cast(@objectID As varchar(10)) + ' And index_id = ' + Cast(@indexID As varchar(10)) + ';' , @partitionSQL_Param = '@partitionCount_OUT int OutPut'; Execute sp_executesql @partitionSQL, @partitionSQL_Param, @partitionCount_OUT = @partitionCount OutPut; If @debugMode = 1 RaisError(' Seeing if there are any LOBs to be handled...', 0, 42) With NoWait; /* Determine if the table contains LOBs */ Select @LOB_SQL = ' Select @containsLOB_OUT = Count(*) From ' + @databaseName + '.sys.columns With (NoLock) Where [object_id] = ' + Cast(@objectID As varchar(10)) + ' And (system_type_id In (34, 35, 99) Or max_length = -1);' /* system_type_id --> 34 = image, 35 = text, 99 = ntext max_length = -1 --> varbinary(max), varchar(max), nvarchar(max), xml */ , @LOB_SQL_Param = '@containsLOB_OUT int OutPut'; Execute sp_executesql @LOB_SQL, @LOB_SQL_Param, @containsLOB_OUT = @containsLOB OutPut; If @debugMode = 1 RaisError(' Checking for indexes that do not allow page locks...', 0, 42) With NoWait; /* Determine if page locks are allowed; for those indexes, we need to always rebuild */ Select @allowPageLockSQL = 'Select @allowPageLocks_OUT = Count(*) From ' + @databaseName + '.sys.indexes Where object_id = ' + Cast(@objectID As varchar(10)) + ' And index_id = ' + Cast(@indexID As varchar(10)) + ' And Allow_Page_Locks = 0;' , @allowPageLockSQL_Param = '@allowPageLocks_OUT int OutPut'; Execute sp_executesql @allowPageLockSQL, @allowPageLockSQL_Param, @allowPageLocks_OUT = @allowPageLocks OutPut; If @debugMode = 1 RaisError(' Building our SQL statements...', 0, 42) With NoWait; /* If there's not a lot of fragmentation, or if we have a LOB, we should reorganize */ If (@fragmentation < @rebuildThreshold Or @containsLOB >= 1 Or @partitionCount > 1) And @allowPageLocks = 0 Begin Set @sqlCommand = N'Alter Index ' + @indexName + N' On ' + @databaseName + N'.' + @schemaName + N'.' + @objectName + N' ReOrganize'; /* If our index is partitioned, we should always reorganize */ If @partitionCount > 1 Set @sqlCommand = @sqlCommand + N' Partition = ' + Cast(@partitionNumber As nvarchar(10)); End /* If the index is heavily fragmented and doesn't contain any partitions or LOB's, or if the index does not allow page locks, rebuild it */ Else If (@fragmentation >= @rebuildThreshold Or @allowPageLocks <> 0) And IsNull(@containsLOB, 0) != 1 And @partitionCount <= 1 Begin /* Set online rebuild options; requires Enterprise Edition */ If @onlineRebuild = 1 And @editionCheck = 1 Set @rebuildCommand = N' Rebuild With (Online = On'; Else Set @rebuildCommand = N' Rebuild With (Online = Off'; /* Set sort operation preferences */ If @sortInTempDB = 1 Set @rebuildCommand = @rebuildCommand + N', Sort_In_TempDB = On'; Else Set @rebuildCommand = @rebuildCommand + N', Sort_In_TempDB = Off'; /* Set processor restriction options; requires Enterprise Edition */ If @maxDopRestriction Is Not Null And @editionCheck = 1 Set @rebuildCommand = @rebuildCommand + N', MaxDop = ' + Cast(@maxDopRestriction As varchar(2)) + N')'; Else Set @rebuildCommand = @rebuildCommand + N')'; Set @sqlCommand = N'Alter Index ' + @indexName + N' On ' + @databaseName + N'.' + @schemaName + N'.' + @objectName + @rebuildCommand; End Else /* Print an error message if any indexes happen to not meet the criteria above */ If @printCommands = 1 Or @debugMode = 1 RaisError('We are unable to defrag this index.', 0, 42) With NoWait; /* Are we executing the SQL? If so, do it */ If @executeSQL = 1 Begin Set @debugMessage = 'Executing: ' + @sqlCommand; /* Print the commands we're executing if specified to do so */ If @printCommands = 1 Or @debugMode = 1 RaisError(@debugMessage, 0, 42) With NoWait; /* Grab the time for logging purposes */ Set @dateTimeStart = GetDate(); /* Log our actions */ Insert Into dbo.dba_indexDefragLog ( databaseID , databaseName , objectID , objectName , indexID , indexName , partitionNumber , fragmentation , page_count , dateTimeStart , sqlStatement ) Select @databaseID , @databaseName , @objectID , @objectName , @indexID , @indexName , @partitionNumber , @fragmentation , @pageCount , @dateTimeStart , @sqlCommand; Set @indexDefrag_id = Scope_Identity(); /* Wrap our execution attempt in a try/catch and log any errors that occur */ Begin Try /* Execute our defrag! */ Execute sp_executesql @sqlCommand; Set @dateTimeEnd = GetDate(); /* Update our log with our completion time */ Update dbo.dba_indexDefragLog Set dateTimeEnd = @dateTimeEnd , durationSeconds = DateDiff(second, @dateTimeStart, @dateTimeEnd) Where indexDefrag_id = @indexDefrag_id; End Try Begin Catch /* Update our log with our error message */ Update dbo.dba_indexDefragLog Set dateTimeEnd = GetDate() , durationSeconds = -1 , errorMessage = Error_Message() Where indexDefrag_id = @indexDefrag_id; If @debugMode = 1 RaisError(' An error has occurred executing this command! Please review the dba_indexDefragLog table for details.' , 0, 42) With NoWait; End Catch /* Just a little breather for the server */ WaitFor Delay @defragDelay; Update dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus Set defragDate = GetDate() , printStatus = 1 Where databaseID = @databaseID And objectID = @objectID And indexID = @indexID And partitionNumber = @partitionNumber; End Else /* Looks like we're not executing, just printing the commands */ Begin If @debugMode = 1 RaisError(' Printing SQL statements...', 0, 42) With NoWait; If @printCommands = 1 Or @debugMode = 1 Print IsNull(@sqlCommand, 'error!'); Update dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus Set printStatus = 1 Where databaseID = @databaseID And objectID = @objectID And indexID = @indexID And partitionNumber = @partitionNumber; End End /* Do we want to output our fragmentation results? */ If @printFragmentation = 1 Begin If @debugMode = 1 RaisError(' Displaying a summary of our action...', 0, 42) With NoWait; Select databaseID , databaseName , objectID , objectName , indexID , indexName , partitionNumber , fragmentation , page_count , range_scan_count From dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus Where defragDate >= @startDateTime Order By defragDate; End; End Try Begin Catch Set @debugMessage = Error_Message() + ' (Line Number: ' + Cast(Error_Line() As varchar(10)) + ')'; Print @debugMessage; End Catch; /* When everything is said and done, make sure to get rid of our temp table */ Drop Table #databaseList; Drop Table #processor; Drop Table #maxPartitionList; If @debugMode = 1 RaisError('DONE! Thank you for taking care of your indexes! :)', 0, 42) With NoWait; Set NoCount Off; Return 0 End |
You can also download it here: dba_indexDefrag_sp_v40_public.txt
I’ve had this latest version in production on terabyte-size databases running SQL Server 2005 and 2008 Enterprise editions for the last 3 months, where it runs nightly without issue. I’ve also had numerous beta testers report success in their environments, too. But to be safe, make sure to keep an eye on it the first time it runs to ensure you understand the impact on your server.
Enjoy!
Michelle
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Michelle,
Congrats on your new born and thanks for your new script!
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Congratulations on including @endDate; that’s a rare step in and of itself. Have you considered doing estimates on how long it is likely to take to run the next step, as well, to prevent (for instance) a multi-hour, dozens of millions of rows, wide table from starting to be rebuilt (offline, for instance) only half an hour before the end time?
I might suggest separating out clustered from nonclustered (since they operate at different speeds, clustered being faster on my tests), and allow the passing in of “initial” speed guesses, which are used for the first N seconds (10 seconds, in my example), after which a cumulative average speed to date is used. Pages per second seems to be the least unreliable measure of speed in SQL Server 2000, for defragging indexes (retrusting constraints is another story entirely). In the case of the rebuild threshold being >0, rebuild vs reorganize will also operate at different speeds.
Also, have you considered including low Scan Density as an optional parameter for triggering rebuilds (which will increase the scan density)?
As a last pair of suggestions, I’d say for ordering, include an option for range_scan_count*fragmentation; get the most used, most heavily fragmented tables first. And for the log, include the current Fill Factor, so when you see a given index showing up too often, you can easily see what the fill factor has been each time (and you can track what fill factor changes do to the fragmentation).
Congratulations, also, on including min and max page count; I find doing small index maintenance daily and larger index maintenance on less frequent schedules to fit with the maintenance windows I’m given.
My personal opinion is that when one is given a fixed maintenance window during which severe performance limits and table locking is perfectly OK, there’s little reason to waste any of it. Do the most important maintenance first, and if there’s time left, do more maintenance to further optimize the system.
Thank you for and excellent tool – great work and congratulations on your great looking little girl. Grandbabies are cool too!
Awesome updated script!
“- For various reasons, I’ve removed the option to rebuild stats. ”
Can you say the reasons why the rebuild stats was removed from this version (4.0)?
Excellent Tools, Excelente herramienta, For Me as New DBA Jr,…. From Santo Domingo, Republica Dominicana
@Nadrek Thank you for your suggestions. I’ll definitely consider them when I work on the next version.
@Lawrence Sure. There was a bug in the previous version with the rebuild, although it’s been so long since I looked at it that I don’t recall the details. I then made it just rebuild stats for each database, but the feedback I received was that it could cause problems in some environments. I didn’t want that to hold up the release, so I just removed it. I’ll most likely add it back in the next version.
I see where it says the timelimit is up, but don’t see how it stops the loop…
Great. Thks!
Excellent Script!
As an aside I inherited some DB’s that stupidly have four zero’s as a prefix on their name, ie 0000_DB_Name, this caused some issues. Amended one line of the script to resolve the error:
/* Do we want to exclude right-most populated partition of our partitioned indexes? */
IF @excludeMaxPartition = 1
BEGIN
SET @excludeMaxPartitionSQL = ‘
Select ‘ + CAST(@databaseID AS VARCHAR(10)) + ‘ As [databaseID]
, [object_id]
, index_id
, Max(partition_number) As [maxPartition]
From [' + DB_NAME(@databaseID) + '].sys.partitions
Where partition_number > 1
And [rows] > 0
Group By object_id
, index_id;’;
As you can see I added square brackets to the From ‘ + DB_NAME(@databaseID) + ‘.sys.partitions
Thanks for the script Michelle!!! Can always count on you to help us busy DBA’s out! ;0)
Great Script Michelle. Thank You.
Just a quick thing though for anyone who is experiencing an issue with DB’s with numbers prefixing DB names…..
I have unfortunately inherited some DB’s that have 4 zero’s as a prefix. IE 0000_DB_Name.
I changed the following part of the script to allow for this:
/* Do we want to exclude right-most populated partition of our partitioned indexes? */
IF @excludeMaxPartition = 1
BEGIN
SET @excludeMaxPartitionSQL = ‘
Select ‘ + CAST(@databaseID AS VARCHAR(10)) + ‘ As [databaseID]
, [object_id]
, index_id
, Max(partition_number) As [maxPartition]
From [' + DB_NAME(@databaseID) + '].sys.partitions
Where partition_number > 1
And [rows] > 0
Group By object_id
, index_id;’;
INSERT INTO #maxPartitionList
EXECUTE SP_EXECUTESQL @excludeMaxPartitionSQL;
As you can see I’ve amended the line
From ‘ + DB_NAME(@databaseID) + ‘.sys.partitions
and added Square Brackets.
There is a bug if you run the script twice. Then it complains about the names of the clustered indexes having duplicate names
>As a last pair of suggestions, I’d say for ordering, include an option for range_scan_count*fragmentation;
The fix for this is easy…
, @defragOrderColumn nvarchar(20) = ‘range_scan_count’
–>
, @defragOrderColumn nvarchar(200) = ‘range_scan_count’
and then delete
Or @defragOrderColumn Not In (‘range_scan_count’, ‘fragmentation’, ‘page_count’)
Now you can do @defragOrderColumn = ‘range_scan_count * range_scan_count * fragmentation’ or whatever you want as your calculation
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really stupid question! we have installed this to our DBA database named, appropriately “DBA”
how does the stored procedure “know” where the Index itself resides?
when we did some testing it didn’t look like the indexes were getting updated…???
Michelle,
Thanks, great script. But, I found a situation where it appears not to work properly.
I am seeing that sys.dm_db_index_operational_stats does not return information for XML indexes and since you do an inner join on this and sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats my XML indexes are not being included in any index maintenance.
I have found that simply changing the join to a left join and therefore relying only on sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats for the source of index information my XML indexes get included. This is not without its flaws. Specifically, if I sort the indexing operation by range_scan_count the XML indexes will be done last because of the null range_scan_count due to the left join mentioned.
@Ricky On line 621, if the time limit is exceeded, I raise an error, which exits the TRY block and continues to the CATCH block.
Thanks, @Paul and @Dennis… I’ll take a look at implementing those in the next version.
@Mina No worries, I don’t believe in stupid questions.
The stored procedure “knows” where the index resides because of the database_id in sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats. If you don’t pass it a database_id, it will return information on all indexes on the server. If your indexes weren’t being updated, make sure to check the size of the indexes; by default, the script doesn’t defrag indexes with less than 8 pages (1 extent), so indexes on small tables will usually be untouched. HTH.
@Wayne Thanks. I’ve actually never had the opportunity to work with XML indexes, so I didn’t test for that. I’ll take a look at fixing in the next version.
I ran into a case sensitive issue with the XP_MSVER and SP_EXECUTESQL command. Our database uses Server collation: SQL_Latin1_General_CP850_BIN2 and is therefore case sensitive.
Otherwise, the script is great! Thanks.
thanks for the script. nice picture. Just be prepared, she’ll be mad at you when she is 14 for posting a picture of her naked. ( the voice of experience)
Scratch my question. Must have been something I changed while modifying for case. It’s working.
I got this error when trying to create the SP. I haven’t looked at what’s wrong yet.
“Msg 102, Level 15, State 1, Procedure dba_indexDefrag_sp, Line 440
Incorrect syntax near ‘Object_Id’.”
Ignore my previous post. My database was in 2000 mode, not 2005
Does anybody tested this script against Share Point databases? I really appreciate your input as I’m waiting to get confirmation from the users who used it this script to defrag Share point database Indexes.
Thank you
Panish
If your’re looking for ideas then you could utilise the output defrag information table to identigy those that are commonly fragmented and find the hotspot tables
This script contains capitalization errors that make it not work on databases/servers with binary collations. I’ve not looked through the extent of the problems but just in the first few lines it starts with SP_RENAME and that proc is actually called sp_rename.
@Panish I’ve not personally tested this on SharePoint, but I’ve heard that it works just fine.
@Emil That’s caused by the WordPress code plugin, which is why I included a link to a downloadable file. See above at the very end of the post for the link.
Thanks
Not the best plug-in if it reformats your code so it doesn’t work.
So, I encountered an issue. Perhaps not a huge deal, but it gave me the impression of the script being broken until I found out what was happening.
Might be a huge deal for some, if they suddenly start rebuilding stuff in their production DB while they intended to work on another one.
The scenario.
1. I scan database A but do not defrag it.
2. I run the proc on database B, *not* with force rebuild on.
3. I observe that the output says it’s working on database A.
The reason:
IF Not Exists(SELECT TOP 1 * FROM dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus WHERE defragDate IS Null)
Or @forceRescan = 1
Even if you change DB names, it works on the old one if there are indexes it has not maintained yet.
I’ve had the same error Paul mentioned, which was slved by the same fix (placing square brackets around ‘ DB_Name(@databaseID) ‘ )
This failed this script with a database name that had a minus ( – ) sign in the name, common in Sharepoint / WSS environments
Other then that it seems to work perfectly for me …
Thanks for the great work!
Michelle – Thank you so much for writing this script. It is awesome!! I like a couple of others had to add some brackets because my developers used spaces in a couple of database names but that was the easy part. My question is about the rebuild online setting. It looks like the stored procedure is tailored to reorg indexes that need to be rebuilt if @onlineRebuild = 1. If I set the variable to zero will the sp rebuild all sp offline or just those that need to be taken offline. Again, thanks for the work you put into this script…=0)
I got this error when trying to create the SP.
“Msg 102, Level 15, State 1, Procedure dba_indexDefrag_sp, Line 440
Incorrect syntax near ‘Object_Id’.”
Awesome script, been using it since you made the first one public. Here’s a script to generate histograms of how fragmented your indexes have been over time:
SELECT databaseName, COUNT(*) AS Touches, AVG(durationSeconds * 1.00) AS AvgDuration, SUM(durationSeconds) AS TotalDuration, AVG(fragmentation) AS AvgFragmentation
, COUNT(CASE WHEN fragmentation BETWEEN 0 AND 10 THEN 1 END) AS Frag10
, COUNT(CASE WHEN fragmentation BETWEEN 10 AND 20 THEN 1 END) AS Frag20
, COUNT(CASE WHEN fragmentation BETWEEN 20 AND 30 THEN 1 END) AS Frag30
, COUNT(CASE WHEN fragmentation BETWEEN 30 AND 40 THEN 1 END) AS Frag40
, COUNT(CASE WHEN fragmentation BETWEEN 40 AND 50 THEN 1 END) AS Frag50
, COUNT(CASE WHEN fragmentation BETWEEN 50 AND 60 THEN 1 END) AS Frag60
, COUNT(CASE WHEN fragmentation BETWEEN 60 AND 70 THEN 1 END) AS Frag70
, COUNT(CASE WHEN fragmentation BETWEEN 70 AND 80 THEN 1 END) AS Frag80
, COUNT(CASE WHEN fragmentation BETWEEN 80 AND 90 THEN 1 END) AS Frag90
, COUNT(CASE WHEN fragmentation BETWEEN 90 AND 100 THEN 1 END) AS Frag100
FROM master.dbo.dba_indexDefragLog
WHERE dateTimeStart > ’7/1/2010′
GROUP BY databaseName
ORDER BY databaseName
I use this to figure out whether I’m using the right percentages for defrag/rebuild, and whether I need to investigate a particular database’s indexes because they’re getting rebuilt too often.
Hi Michelle, thanks very much for this really useful script.
To those with the ‘Object_ID’ error: likely you are trying to create the sproc on SQL Server 2000, or the database you are trying to create it in is Compatibility level 80 (SQL Server 2000).
Great script! I started on something like this, but then found your solution. No chance i could of built something even remotely as good!!
My solution wasn’t to defrag however, but only to monitor/provide history.
I modified your proc slightly so that even if the execute is not happening, its still adding the results of the scan into the Log table.
This way I can run it daily (hourly, or whatever) to get an idea of how fast an index is degrading.
The only issue is that its hard to capture how long it takes for the scan to actually finish, so the dateTimeEnd field isn’t quite as useful, but i’ll play with that.
again, thanks for the great utility!
Hi Michelle,
We have 20 databases and out of them only 5 databases required to do Index defrag.
Is there any option in the above script to select multiple databases?
I can see that we can give either one database or all databases
@DATABASE VARCHAR(128) = Null
/* Option to specify a database name; null will return all */
Thanks
hi,
I just tried to pass two databases as below
@DATABASE = ‘Mydb1′,’Mydb2′
But getting the below error:
Msg 119, Level 15, State 1, Line 1
Must pass parameter number 8 and subsequent parameters as ‘@name = value’. After the form ‘@name = value’ has been used, all subsequent parameters must be passed in the form ‘@name = value’.
Thanks
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Hello,
I have been using this script against various servers with exceptional results. However, when I run it on a server that hosts a database whose name contains a guid, it appears to be blowing up whilst scanning for partitions because the database name contains “-”.
working on _85992528-be67-4058-94f2-f89ddaa987c4…
Incorrect syntax near ‘-’. (Line Number: 6)
DONE! Thank you for taking care of your indexes!
I was able to get around this by using the QUOTENAME function when concatenating the db name to sys.partitions.
Can we pass multiple tables for a particular Database?
Thanks
I’ve been using this *with much gratitude* for a while now. I am noticing a snag when I am defragging very large databases. If I run it once a week, let’s say… instead of every night, some of the indexes that were originally scanned no longer exist the next week. I believe this is why I’m getting an error when debugging:
Cannot insert the value NULL into column ‘objectName’, table ‘master.dbo.dba_indexDefragLog’; column does not allow nulls. INSERT fails. (Line Number: 708) [SQLSTATE 01000]
I think it’s a good idea to make sure that what was originally scanned is still around. Maybe I’m wrong about what’s happening though. Am I missing something in the code?
Why are tables with a LOB always reorganized (regardless of the fragmentation)?
If the fragmentation is above the treshold, I suggest to switch to offline rebuilding. Or do you have a KB article about this?
It seems the script is first looking into the indexdefragstatus table to process unhandled indexes. But if this script is only running on some specific days, I would like to discard outdated data about those indexes (because another index might be more fragmented)
My suggestion is to add another parameter which is a treshold for how long unprocessed indexes will stay in this table. Delete outdated data before processing based on this parameter
I have indexes with long names. This script ends with an error String or binary data would be truncated. I fixed this by increasing the NVARCHAR’s (in variables and tables) currently limited to 128 characters. After this it runs fine. Maybe an idea to include this in the next version?
Great stuff here …thanks for sharing!
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hi guys,
Previously used this great script, but now I have my Mirror database enabled and I can’t use it, because this scrip change Recovery Model, and the mirror I need Full Recovery Model on all the time. You can help me change this scrip to use it and not have to change the Recovery Model.
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Hi everyone, I am an IT Admin at a small office. I have little to no dba experience and I found this script to help defrag and rebuild index if necessary. Thank you Michelle for sharing such a wonderful script. However, when I paste this script and tried to run it, I get these errors. I didn’t edit anything, just copied and paste into an sql query and execute.
Caution: Changing any part of an object name could break scripts and stored procedures.
Caution: Changing any part of an object name could break scripts and stored procedures.
Caution: Changing any part of an object name could break scripts and stored procedures.
dba_indexDefragLog Table Created
dba_indexDefragExclusion Table Created
Msg 2714, Level 16, State 4, Line 43
There is already an object named ‘PK_indexDefragStatus_v40′ in the database.
Msg 1750, Level 16, State 0, Line 43
Could not create constraint. See previous errors.
Msg 2714, Level 16, State 3, Procedure dba_indexDefrag_sp, Line 834
There is already an object named ‘dba_indexDefrag_sp’ in the database.
It always runs the first time creating the tables only, then reports that it has been completed. However, I know there are a lot of fragmentation on my database. Any help is greatly appreciated. I need to get this to run asap for everyone in the office is complaining that it is slow.
Congratulations Michelle. I just had my first baby girl as well.
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Michelle,
I’ve made a slight change to the script which others may find useful. It basically allows you to specify a comma separated list of databases in the ‘@database’ parameter.
Where the database list is populated around line 400 I’ve added to the where clause as follows:
WHERE
(
name = IsNull(@database, name)
OR
@database + ‘,’ LIKE ‘%’ + name + ‘,%’
)
AND … (rest of original where clause)
Michelle,
This post is simply AWESOME, i didn’t know about this post until today, but now i’m using and it is very useful and indeed.
Congrats for this post.
I am having an issue when i run this and it throws an error when it it’s a read only database I have that is used for reporting. It uses log shipping. Is there away to have the procedure skip it?
Hi, I apologize for my English (I’m Italian). I want to know how to use the script and the extension.
Can I use it on a database maintained by iAnywhere?
Thanks
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Hi Michelle,
First, thank you for your great script
Quickly I have a question:
==================
I wanted to create the tables into my DBA database, which caused no problem at all.
Then I wanted to rename the tables to be compliant with our naming convention, which caused no problem at all.
Finally I wanted to rename the columns to be compliant with our naming convention, which caused SOME problems.
Can you confirm that there is only one column for which the name cannot be changed: “range_scan_count” in the status table?
And I have one tiny tiny bug:
When reinstalling your “software”, the primary key constraints are causing a problem when trying to recreate them.
As you can read, this is definetely not an issue, but in case you are as perfectionist as I am, i thought i’ll let you know
Thanks again
Regards,
Pierre
Hi, I’m trying your script out and have an initial comment to make. I have set @executeSQL=0 and @printCommands=1 in order to see what it’s going to do. What confused me for a while though was that on running it a second time, the ALTER statements did not appear. Whilst I understand this is because the statements have already gone into the Status table. My expectation was that setting executeSQL to 0 would mean that it did “nothing” and therefore ran the same each time.
@Steven Running the script above just builds the objects. In order to actually execute the script, you need to run:
Exec dbo.dba_indexDefrag_sp;
@David I’ll have to investigate that error when I work on revisions.
@Adriano I can’t say for sure, but if it’s a SQL Server database, you should be able to use it successfully.
@Piroc Thanks. I did that so I wouldn’t inadvertently overwrite historical log tables that folks may want to keep. But I’ll fix the script in future versions to look to see if those tables exist first before trying to recreate them. As for the range_scan_count column, I believe you should be able to change the column names. My guess is you tried to do a find/replace on that column name, but the @defragOrderColumn value must remain range_scan_count, even if you change the column name in the table.
HTH. Thanks, everyone.
Michelle
@Robin Thanks for the head’s up. I’d expect it to function the way you were expecting, too. I’ll take a look and see about adding it to the bugs list.
thank you so much for this important tool.. It’s saving my life hehe..
So.. What do you think about if we could put which tables we are wanting to Defrag as a parameter? because some times we have just a few hours to can defrag all the database, thus, if we can choice the tables for defrag, it’s easier..
Marcos Freccia
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Silly question .. do most of you up the page count parameter well over the default? I find this script ends up trying to reorganize the same index (getting no real results) day after day because the frag level doesn’t go down on the smaller indexes.. It runs through them super fast, so its not a performance thing but I am trying to look in the defraglog table and there is a lot of duplicate repeating stuff that sometimes makes it a chore to sift through.
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Very good script, but noticed that dba_indexDefrag_sp errors if it comes across a database name with a dash “-” symbol in it.
Probably need to escape the databasename in [ ] brackets.
Looping through our list of databases and checking for fragmentation…
working on model…
working on msdb…
working on AAAA-YYYYYYY…
Incorrect syntax near ‘-’. (Line Number: 6)
DONE! Thank you for taking care of your indexes!
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If an index does not meet the rebuild or reorganize criteria, is there a way to just update statistics? I looked but didn’t see any option for this in your script. Is it something that could or should be added?
I’m having some trouble with this script. I’m a relatively new DBA so please bear with me. It appears to me that the script is not defragging all of the databases that it should be.
Before running the script, I queried the DMVs for all indexes on a particular database that have more than 8 pages and 10 or more percent fragmentation. It came back with 212 indexes. This database is on a test server and maintenance hasn’t been done on it for a while. When I run the script on the same database, it says there are 86 indexes to defrag.
After the script has finished, I check the DMVs and it appears that the script did what it said it would — there are now about 140 indexes left that need to be defragged. So I run the script again with the same parameters. This time it finds 34 indexes to defrag.
When the script finishes, I check the DMVs again and now I have about 110 indexes left to defrag. So it appears that the script is defragging indexes, but I’m wondering why it isn’t choosing to defrag all 212 in the first round.
Here’s the text that shows the parameters I have chosen when the script starts:
Defrag indexes with fragmentation greater than 10;
Rebuild indexes with fragmentation greater than 30;
You DO want the commands to be executed automatically;
You want to defrag indexes in DESC order of the RANGE_SCAN_COUNT value;
You have specified a time limit of 720 minutes;
The mdb database will be defragged;
ALL tables will be defragged;
We WILL be rescanning indexes;
The scan will be performed in LIMITED mode;
You want to limit defrags to indexes with more than 8 pages;
Indexes will be defragged OFFLINE;
Indexes will be sorted in TEMPDB;
Defrag operations will utilize system defaults for processors;
You DO NOT want to print the ALTER INDEX commands;
You DO want to output fragmentation levels;
You want to wait 00:00:05 (hh:mm:ss) between defragging indexes;
You want to run in DEBUG mode.
Ok…maybe it is just me, but I cannot get the script to compile in my database. I am getting “Msg 102, Level 15, State 1, Procedure dba_indexDefrag_sp, Line 440
Incorrect syntax near ‘Object_Id’.”
Did anyone else have this problem. I have been up several hours trying to work on the problem myself before I found this blog so I am sure I am just looking over something. Please help…thanks in advance
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Hi Michelle,
Thanks for such a good script.
I have a big DWH database server on which ETL jobs is not allowing to run DBM uniformally on all databases.Now i have to run DBM according to ETL schedule.
Can this be possible to run above script at a particular schedule on particular time.
I dont want to create multiple sql job for multiple databases.
Only one job which call that SP and check which database/table has a schedule to run and perform its task.
If that is possible than it would be a great relief for me as its very difficult to manage many jobs.
Thanks in Advance…
Regards,
Maneesh
I get the same Msg 102, Level 15, State 1, Procedure dba_indexDefrag_sp, Line 440
Incorrect syntax near ‘OBJECT_ID’.
My version of SQL is : Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 (RTM) – 10.50.1600.1 (X64) Apr 2 2010 15:48:46 Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation Enterprise Edition (64-bit) on Windows NT 6.1 (Build 7600: )
Many thanks.
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Amazing script and I would love to run it but I’m getting an error… below is my debug mode, note the “string or binary data would be truncated” error
Undusting the cogs and starting up…
Beginning validation…
Your selected parameters are…
Defrag indexes with fragmentation greater than 10;
Rebuild indexes with fragmentation greater than 30;
You DO want the commands to be executed automatically;
You want to defrag indexes in DESC order of the PAGE_COUNT value;
You have not specified a time limit; minutes;
The LaughStub database will be defragged;
ALL tables will be defragged;
We WILL be rescanning indexes;
The scan will be performed in LIMITED mode;
You want to limit defrags to indexes with more than 8 pages;
Indexes will be defragged ONLINE;
Indexes will be sorted in TEMPDB;
Defrag operations will utilize 1 processors;
You DO want to print the ALTER INDEX commands;
You DO want to output fragmentation levels;
You want to wait 00:00:05 (hh:mm:ss) between defragging indexes;
You want to run in DEBUG mode.
Grabbing a list of our databases…
Looping through our list of databases and checking for fragmentation…
working on LaughStub…
Looping through our list… there are 72 indexes to defrag!
Picking an index to beat into shape…
Looking up the specifics for our index…
String or binary data would be truncated. (Line Number: 1)
DONE! Thank you for taking care of your indexes!
Hi,
First, thanks for this very good script!!!!!!
I just have a small problem, when I run it, I receive an error:
Incorrect syntax near ‘-’. (Line Number: 6)
I thinks it a problem with a DB name containing a “-”.
Of course, I can’t change the name of this DB, it would be too easy
Could you help me?
Thanks.
Regards, Christophe
THank you for developing this script. It has helped quite a bit in my work.
I am running into one issue that is problematic. I can run this script without issue when logged into SSMS but when I put the script into a SQL Server 2005 Maintenance Plan I always get the following error:
Possible failure reasons: Problems with the query, “ResultSet” property not set correctly, parameters not set correctly, or connection not established correctly. End Error DTExec: The package execution returned DTSER_FAILURE (1).
I have tried setting up various connections etc to no avail. Any help woudl be appreciated.
Thank you
Hello,
Thank you for the script,
My problem is that the script run for 2:56:46 then failed.
Date 5/27/2011 10:00:00 PM
Log Job History (Index Defrag)
Step ID 1
Server *\*
Job Name Index Defrag
Step Name Run Script
Duration 02:56:46
Sql Severity 0
Sql Message ID 50000
Operator Emailed
Operator Net sent
Operator Paged
Retries Attempted 0
Message
Executed as user: *. …ssage 50000) Beginning validation… [SQLSTATE 01000] (Message 50000) Your selected parameters are… Defrag indexes with fragmentation greater than 1; Rebuild indexes with fragmentation greater than 30; You DO want the commands to be executed automatically; You want to defrag indexes in DESC order of the PAGE_COUNT value; You have not specified a time limit; minutes; ALL databases will be defragged; ALL tables will be defragged; We WILL be rescanning indexes; The scan will be performed in LIMITED mode; You want to limit defrags to indexes with more than 8 pages; Indexes will be defragged OFFLINE; Indexes will be sorted in TEMPDB; Defrag operations will utilize system defaults for processors; You DO want to print the ALTER INDEX commands; You DO want… The step failed.
Any direction you can point me to ?
Thank you,
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Hi, have been testing this script, and have not really noticed a drop in fragmentation on a table with an index with a page count > 20 and fragmention percent > 30, but when I manually ran the ALTER INDEX command on this index with a FILLFACTOR = 1 statement included, the fragmentation level dropped to nearly 0. Have you ever considered adding logic to include a FILLFACTOR in your REBUILD INDEX logic?
Just a quick note to say I love this script and recommended it over 30 times over on sqlservercentral.com
I’m currently working on a fill factor rework project and I’m using your log tables to pick the best candidates for changes. My “issue” is that you log everything EXCEPT the schema so it makes it a little hard to build my own commands from the history. I know it’s in the command column but since I’ll be redoing a couple 100 indexes I’d rather not have to work that hard to get it!
TIA.
am i correct in thinking that the current script will use a default fillfactor of 0?… is so can it be changed to pick the indexes current fillfactor and use this in the alter index statement. Ta.
Adjusted my script to allow for an exclusion list of databases (had a 2nd copy of prod db and doubled the maintenance time).
I’m sure I’m not the only one who needs this feature.
Had another thought on this great script. Would it be benenficial to limit the indexes in scope by table rowcount rather than by index pagecount?.
My thought here is that then i could have several jobs working overnight simultaneously, each one reindexing tables according to the tables rowcount. If i tried this using pagecount i suspect the jobs could end up rebuilding different indexes for the same table at the same time – which would probably cause some sort of contention problem.
Hope that makes sense… thanks.
In response to my previous comment on the FILLFACTOR used i think it’s a misunderstanding because BOL is a bit contradictory…
“FILLFACTOR = fillfactor
Specifies a percentage that indicates how full the Database Engine should make the leaf level of each index page during index creation or alteration. fillfactor must be an integer value from 1 to 100. The default is 0.”
But later says…
“When an option is not explicitly specified, the current setting is applied. For example, if a FILLFACTOR setting is not specified in the REBUILD clause, the fill factor value stored in the system catalog will be used during the rebuild process.”
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So while I apologize for the delay in posting the latest version, I hope you can understand and forgive me.
Don’t apologize unless you’re actually sorry – and int this case, there’s no reason to be. Thanks for your work on the script.