Built in Performance Reports in SSMS

Overview

Another way to get performance related information from SQL Server is to use the built-in performance reports.  The reports were first introduced with SQL Server 2005 as an add-on, but are now standard with later versions.  The reports provide useful information that can assist you in determining where your performance bottlenecks may be. The data from these reports is pulled from DMVs as well as the default trace that is always running.

Explanation

To access the reports, open SSMS, right click on the SQL Server instance name and select Reports > Standard Reports as shown below.

There are several reports related to performance that can be used to see current activity as well as historical activity.

Here is a list of some of the available reports.

• Performance Dashboard
• Server Dashboard
• Configuration Changes History
• Schema Changes History
• Scheduler Health
• Memory Consumption
• Activity – All Blocking Transactions
• Activity – All Cursors
• Activity – Top Cursors
• Activity – All Sessions
• Activity – Top Sessions
• Activity – Dormant Sessions
• Activity – Top Connections
• Top Transactions by Age
• Top Transactions by Blocked Transactions Count
• Top Transaction by Locks Count
• Performance – Batch Execution Statistics
• Performance – Object Execution Statistics
• Performance – Top Queries by Average CPU Time
• Performance – Top Queries by Average IO
• Performance – Top Queries by Total CPU Time
• Performance – Top Queries by Total IO
• Service Broker Statistics
• Transaction Log Shipping Status

Here is a sample Performance – Batch Execution Statistics report:

Next Steps

• Take the time to explore these reports to determine which report best suits your performance monitoring needs.

Greg Robidoux

Greg Robidoux has been working with databases for 35+ years with extensive hands on SQL Server experience from version 6.5 to 2025. He has authored over 250 technical articles and delivered several presentations online and at various conventions. Greg is also the President and founder of Edgewood Solutions, a technology services company delivering services and solutions for Microsoft SQL Server.