Ahh back from my break and time for a very quick gem:
One on my only gripes about SQL Server 2008 is the new activity monitor,
its swish, it has filters but the layout and format is... less than desireable for those of us with small screens.
Run sp_who or sp_who2 on your box and be amazed by the wealth of usefull information that is returned by your system in a nice tabular format. No EXEC is needed.
Its great for identifying what (and whome!) is causing your environment to run slowly as well as highlighting any blocks that are occuring.
If you havent used it yet, give it a shot, then next time you find yourself wondering "what the heck is going on on the system" you will know where to turn...
Oh and Microsoft: Please sort this out in Denali!
