master Resource Governor
Overview
Resource Governor is two sets of objects that look identical and are not.
| Set | What it holds |
|---|---|
| The catalog views | The configuration somebody typed. |
| The DMVs | The configuration the engine is actually enforcing. |
They differ whenever somebody has changed something and not run ALTER RESOURCE GOVERNOR RECONFIGURE, which is the single most common way for this feature to be wrong, and no dialog anywhere says so plainly.
Where to find it
Expand a server in the tree, expand the master database, then Master → Resource Governor.
Shown on SQL Server 2008 and newer.
Why this page is here rather than beside the memory pages
The classifier function lives in master.
It runs on every login, before the session exists, and a classifier that is slow or throws blocks new connections in a way that looks exactly like an instance that has stopped answering.
Its text is on the page for that reason, and the toolbar copies it.
Two states get a sentence instead of a chart
| State | Why |
|---|---|
| Resource Governor is off | The common case, and an answer. |
| On, with nothing but the default and internal pools | The case that looks configured and is not, and is worth saying out loud rather than drawing two bars nobody can interpret. |
Reading the grid
| Column | What it is |
|---|---|
| Name | The resource pool, workload group, or the classifier. |
| Kind | Pool, group, external pool, or classifier function. |
| Configured | What the catalog says: the min and max CPU and memory, the cap, the importance, the degree of parallelism. |
| Running | What the DMV says the engine is enforcing. |
| Note | Whether the two agree, and what the difference means if they do not. |
Configured against Running, side by side, is the whole point of the page. A row where they differ is a RECONFIGURE nobody ran.
The toolbar
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Configuration values | Opens the Configuration Values report. |
| Instance memory | Opens the Instance Memory report, where a pool’s memory cap lands. |
| Copy the classifier | Copies the classifier function’s text. |
Where the data comes from
| Source | What it gives |
|---|---|
sys.resource_governor_configuration |
Whether it is on, and which function is the classifier. |
sys.resource_governor_resource_pools |
The configured pools. |
sys.resource_governor_workload_groups |
The configured groups. |
sys.dm_resource_governor_resource_pools |
The pools the engine is enforcing, with their live statistics. |
sys.dm_resource_governor_workload_groups |
The same for groups. |
sys.sql_modules |
The classifier function’s text. |
Related reports
| Report | Why you would go there |
|---|---|
| Instance Memory | Where a pool’s memory cap actually lands. |
| Configuration Values | The instance level settings around it. |
| Connections | What a slow classifier is doing to new connections. |
| Waits | Where a capped workload shows itself. |
| master Startup Procedures | The other code that runs before anybody is watching. |
Frequently asked questions
Configured and Running disagree. Somebody changed the configuration and did not run ALTER RESOURCE GOVERNOR RECONFIGURE. Until they do, the engine is enforcing the old values and every dialog shows the new ones.
Resource Governor is on and nothing seems capped. Check whether there is anything but the default and internal pools. That configuration is on and does nothing, and the page says so in a sentence.
New connections are slow. Read the classifier. It runs on every login before the session exists, so a slow or throwing classifier looks exactly like an instance that has stopped answering.
Which edition is this available in? Resource Governor is an Enterprise feature. The page is shown on 2008 and newer regardless, because the catalog views exist everywhere and the honest answer on a Standard instance is that it is off.