SQL Server Management Studio - Starting a trace

Starting a trace helps you analyze the performance of your database server by analyzing the events and data columns you have chosen to trace. It helps you identify and troubleshoot any performance issues, it can help you optimize queries, and it can be used to audit activity on the server.

To start a trace in SSMS 18, open SSMS, connect to the server you want to trace, and select the "tools" drop down menu. Select "SQL Server Profiler" to launch SQL Server Profiler.

In the "Trace Properties" window under the "General" tab, you can specify a name for the trace, change the template used, select a file to save the output to, and set a time limit for the trace.

Once you have finished choosing your desired settings in the "General" tab, switch to the "Events Selection" tab to select the events and data columns you want to trace and then click the "Run" button to start the trace. For example, you can start a trace to analyze the performance of a query by selecting the "RPC:Completed" and "SQL:BatchCompleted" events, and then selecting data columns like "CPU", "Reads", and "Duration". The SPID field is always required. You can then use this trace to identify which queries are taking the longest to execute.