SQL Server 6.5: Some useful undocumented DBCC commands
Alexander Chigrik
chigrik@mssqlcity.com
- Introduction
- Undocumented DBCC commands:
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- DBCC allocdump
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- DBCC bhash
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- DBCC buffer
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- DBCC bytes
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- DBCC dbinfo
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- DBCC dbtable
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- DBCC delete_row
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- DBCC des
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- DBCC extentchain
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- DBCC extentcheck
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- DBCC extentdump
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- DBCC extentzap
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- DBCC findnotfullextents
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- DBCC help
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- DBCC ind
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- DBCC locateindexpgs
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- DBCC lock
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- DBCC log
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- DBCC page
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- DBCC pglinkage
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- DBCC procbuf
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- DBCC prtipage
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- DBCC pss
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- DBCC rebuildextents
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- DBCC resource
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- DBCC show_bucket
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- DBCC tab
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- DBCC undo
- Literature
Introduction
In this article, I want to tell you about some useful undocumented DBCC commands, and how you can use these commands in SQL Server 6.5 for administering and monitoring.
DBCC is an abbreviation for Database Console Command. DBCC commands are generally used to check the physical and logical consistency of a database, although they are also used for a variety of miscellaneous tasks, as you will see here.
Note, the command:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)
is issued before each of the following DBCC examples in order to better demonstrate the effects of the command by displaying a trace of the output of the DBCC command. It is not actually required to run the DBCC commands examined below. If you run any of the DBCC commands below without the above option, the command runs, but you don't see what it is doing.
Undocumented DBCC commands
Here you can find some useful SQL Server 6.5 undocumented DBCC commands.
DBCC allocdump
This command can be used to display all the extents on an allocation page.
Syntax:
DBCC allocdump( dbid, page )
where dbid - is the database id page - is the allocation page number |
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)DECLARE @dbid int, @pageid intSELECT @dbid = DB_ID('pubs')SELECT @pageid = first FROM sysindexes WHERE id = object_id('titleauthor') AND indid = 1DBCC allocdump(@dbid, @pageid) |
DBCC bhash
This command can check the integrity of the buffer hash table, and optionally print it.
Syntax:
DBCC bhash( { print_bufs | no_print }, bucket_limit )
where print_bufs - display all buffers (default) no_print - display only buffers with problems bucket_limit - number of buffers allowed in a bucket (default = 0) |
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)DBCC bhash |
DBCC buffer
This command can be used to display buffer headers and pages from the buffer cache.
Syntax:
DBCC buffer([dbid|dbname][,objid|objname][,nbufs], printopt = {0|1|2},buftype)
where dbid|dbname - database name or database ID (0 will show data for all databases) objid|objname - object ID or object name (0 will show data for all objects) nbufs - number of buffers to examine printopt - print option 0 print out only the buffer header and page header (default) 1 print out each row separately and the offset table 2 print out each row as a whole and the offset table buftype - buffer type to print |
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)dbcc buffer(0,'sysobjects') |
DBCC bytes
This command can be used to dump out bytes from a specific address.
Syntax:
DBCC bytes( startaddress, length )
where startaddress - starting address to dump length - number of bytes to dump |
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)dbcc bytes (1000000, 100) |
DBCC DBINFO
Displays DBINFO structure for the specified database.
Syntax:
DBCC DBINFO [( dbname )]
where dbname - is the database name. |
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)DBCC DBINFO (pubs) |
DBCC DBTABLE
This command displays the contents of the DBTABLE structure.
Syntax:
DBCC DBTABLE ({dbid|dbname})
where dbid|dbname - database name or database ID |
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)DBCC DBTABLE (pubs) |
The DBTABLE structure has an output parameter called dbt_open. This parameter keeps track of how many users are in the database.
Look at here for more details:
FIX: Database Usage Count Does Not Return to Zero
DBCC delete_row
This command can be used to delete an index or data row, by either a row number or an offset on a page. DBCC delete_row is a nonlogged command, so you can delete a particular row without placed it into the transaction log. Use this command at your own risk!
Syntax:
DBCC delete_row ( dbid|dbname, page, delete_by_row, rownum )
where dbid|dbname - database ID or database name page - logical page number delete_by_row - how delete: by row or by offset (1 - the next parameter is row number) (0 - the next parameter is offset on the page) rownum - row number or offset |
Example:
SET NOCOUNT ONGOUSE pubsGODBCC TRACEON (3604)GODECLARE @pgid intSELECT COUNT(*) FROM titleauthorSELECT @pgid = first FROM sysindexes WHERE id = object_id('titleauthor') AND indid = 1SELECT xactid AS TRAN_ID, op AS LOG_RECORD FROM syslogsDBCC delete_row (pubs, @pgid, 'row', 1)SELECT xactid AS TRAN_ID, op AS LOG_RECORD FROM syslogsSELECT COUNT(*) FROM titleauthor |
DBCC des
This command used to print the contents of the specified DES (descriptor).
Syntax:
DBCC des( [ dbid|dbname ][, objid ] )
where dbid|dbname - database ID or database name objid - object ID |
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)DBCC DES |
DBCC extentchain
This command displays extent header info for all extents in use by the specified object.
Syntax:
DBCC extentchain(dbid,objid,indexid,sort={1|0},display={1|0} [,order={1|0}])
where dbid - database ID objid - object ID indexid - index ID sort - report on state of the sort bit (0 don't include this info) (1 do report on sort bit status) display - what to report (0 display the count only) (1 display the extents) order - (optional) order to follow the chain (0 descending, 1 ascending) |
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)DECLARE @dbid int, @objectid intSELECT @dbid = DB_ID('pubs')SELECT @objectid = object_id('authors')dbcc extentchain(@dbid,@objectid,0,0,0,0) |
DBCC extentcheck
This command has the same output as extentchain, and examines all extents on allocation pages for the specified object.
Syntax:
DBCC extentcheck( dbid, objid, indexid, sort = {1|0} )
where dbid - database ID objid - object ID indexid - index ID sort - state of the sort bit (0 don't report this, 1 report sort bit status) |
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)DECLARE @dbid int, @objectid intSELECT @dbid = DB_ID('pubs')SELECT @objectid = object_id('authors')dbcc extentcheck(@dbid,@objectid,0,1) |
DBCC extentdump
This command displays an extent dump.
Syntax:
DBCC extentdump( dbid, page )
where dbid - database ID page - the number of a page controlled by the extent in question |
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)DECLARE @dbid intSELECT @dbid = DB_ID('pubs')DBCC extentdump(@dbid, 1) |
DBCC extentzap
This command can be used to clear all extents matching the parameter values.
Syntax:
DBCC extentzap( dbid, objid, indexid, sort )
where dbid - database ID objid - object ID indexid - index ID sort - state of the sort bit |
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)DECLARE @dbid int, @objectid intSELECT @dbid = DB_ID('pubs')SELECT @objectid = object_id('authors')DBCC extentzap(@dbid,@objectid,0,0) |
DBCC findnotfullextents
This command shows the extent id of extents allocated to the specified objid that are not full. If the objid is specified, then an indexid can be specified. If objid is all, then all database tables are displayed.
Syntax:
DBCC findnotfullextents( dbid,objid,indexid, sort = {1|0} )
where dbid - database ID objid - object ID indexid - index ID sort - state of the sort bit |
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)DECLARE @dbid int, @objectid intSELECT @dbid = DB_ID('pubs')SELECT @objectid = object_id('authors')DBCC findnotfullextents(@dbid,@objectid,0,0) |
DBCC HELP
DBCC HELP returns syntax information for the specified DBCC statement.
Syntax:
DBCC HELP ('dbcc_statement' | @dbcc_statement_var | '?')
This is the example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)DECLARE @dbcc_stmt sysnameSELECT @dbcc_stmt = 'CHECKTABLE'DBCC HELP (@dbcc_stmt) |
DBCC ind
Shows all pages in use by indexes of the specified table name.
Syntax:
DBCC ind( dbid|dbname, objid, printopt = { 0 | 1 | 2 } )
where dbid|dbname - database ID or database name objid - object ID printopt - print option (0 print out only the buffer header and page header (default) 1 print page headers, page data in row format, and offset tables 2 print page headers, unformatted page data, and offset tables) |
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)declare @obid intSELECT @obid = object_id('authors')DBCC ind (pubs, @obid, 1) |
DBCC locateindexpgs
This command prints all references in the index to the specified page.
Syntax:
DBCC locateindexpgs( dbid, objid, page, indexid, level )
where dbid - database ID objid - object ID page - logical page number of the page for which index references are being searched indexid - index ID level - level within the index to search for references |
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)DECLARE @dbid int, @objectid intSELECT @dbid = DB_ID('pubs')SELECT @objectid = object_id('authors')DBCC locateindexpgs(@dbid,@objectid,1,1,0) |
DBCC lock
This command can be used to display lock chains.
Syntax:
DBCC lock
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)DBCC lock |
DBCC log
This command is used to view the transaction log for the specified database.
DBCC log ( {dbid|dbname}, [, type={0|1|2|3|4}] )
PARAMETERS: Dbid or dbname - Enter either the dbid or the name of the database in question. type - is the type of output: 0 - minimum information (operation, context, transaction id) 1 - more information (plus flags, tags, row length) 2 - very detailed information (plus object name, index name, page id, slot id) 3 - full information about each operation 4 - full information about each operation plus hexadecimal dump of the current transaction log's row.by default type = 0 |
To view the transaction log for the master database, you can run the following command:
DBCC log (master)
DBCC PAGE
You can use this command to view the data page structure.
DBCC PAGE ({dbid|dbname}, pagenum [,print option] [,cache] [,logical])
PARAMETERS: Dbid or dbname - Enter either the dbid or the name of the database in question. Pagenum - Enter the page number of the SQL Server page that is to be examined. Print option - (Optional) Print option can be either 0, 1, or 2. 0 - (Default) This option causes DBCC PAGE to print out only the page header information. 1 - This option causes DBCC PAGE to print out the page header information, each row of information from the page, and the page's offset table. Each of the rows printed out will be separated from each other. 2 - This option is the same as option 1, except it prints the page rows as a single block of information rather than separating the individual rows. The offset and header will also be displayed. Cache - (Optional) This parameter allows either a 1 or a 0 to be entered. 0 - This option causes DBCC PAGE to retrieve the page number from disk rather than checking to see if it is in cache. 1 - (Default) This option takes the page from cache if it is in cache rather than getting it from disk only. Logical - (Optional) This parameter is for use if the page number that is to be retrieved is a virtual page rather then a logical page. It can be either 0 or 1. 0 - If the page is to be a virtual page number. 1 - (Default) If the page is the logical page number. |
In this example, one data page is viewed from the titleauthor table in the pubs database.
USE pubsGODBCC TRACEON (3604)GODECLARE @pgid intSELECT @pgid = first FROM sysindexes WHERE id = object_id('titleauthor') AND indid = 1DBCC PAGE (pubs, @pgid, 1)GO |
This is the result from my computer:
...DATA:Offset 32 - 011e9820: 04042000 3137322d 33322d31 31373650 .. .172-32-1176P011e9830: 53333333 33016400 0000051a 16150f04 S3333.d............ |
Look at here for more details:
Data page structure in MS SQL 6.5
DBCC pglinkage
This command can be used to display the page chain, performing integrity checks during traversal.
Syntax:
DBCC pglinkage(dbid,start,number,printopt={0|1|2},target,order={1|0})
where dbid - database ID start - page number with which to start number - number of pages to examine, or 0 if target is specified printopt - print option (0 display only the count of pages scanned 1 display information about the last 16 pages scanned 2 display all page numbers in the scan) target - the particular page we are looking for order - traversal order (0 descending, 1 ascending) |
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)DBCC pglinkage(6,26,0,1,0,1) |
DBCC procbuf
This command displays procedure buffer headers and stored procedure headers from the procedure cache.
Syntax:
DBCC procbuf( [dbid], [objid], [nbufs], [printopt = {0|1}] )
where dbid - database ID objid - object ID nbufs - number of buffers to print printopt - print option (0 print out only the proc buff and proc header (default) 1 print out proc buff, proc header and contents of buffer) |
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)DECLARE @dbid int, @objectid intSELECT @dbid = DB_ID('master')SELECT @objectid = object_id('sp_help')DBCC procbuf(@dbid,@objectid,1,0) |
DBCC prtipage
This command prints the page number pointed to by each row on the specified index page.
Syntax:
DBCC prtipage( dbid, objid, indexid, indexpage )
where dbid - database ID objid - object ID indexid - index ID indexpage - the logical page number of the index page to dump |
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)DECLARE @dbid int, @objectid intSELECT @dbid = DB_ID('pubs')SELECT @objectid = object_id('authors')DBCC prtipage(@dbid,@objectid,1,0) |
DBCC pss
This command shows info about processes currently connected to the server.
Syntax:
DBCC pss( suid, spid, printopt = { 1 | 0 } )
where suid - server user ID spid - server process ID printopt - print option (0 standard output, 1 all open DES's and current sequence tree) |
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)dbcc pss |
DBCC rebuildextents
DBCC rebuildextents rebuilds an object's extent chain. You should set the READ ONLY option for your database, before you run this command.
Syntax:
DBCC rebuildextents( dbid, objid, indexid )
where dbid - database ID objid - object ID indexid - index ID |
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)DECLARE @dbid int, @objectid intSELECT @dbid = DB_ID('pubs')SELECT @objectid = object_id('authors')DBCC rebuildextents(@dbid,@objectid,1) |
DBCC resource
This command shows the server's level RESOURCE, PERFMON and DS_CONFIG information. RESOURCE shows addresses of various data structures used by the server. PERFMON structure contains master..spt_monitor field info. DS_CONFIG structure contains master..syscurconfigs field information.
Syntax:
DBCC resource
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)DBCC resource |
DBCC show_bucket
This command shows hash bucket information for the specified pageid.
Syntax:
DBCC show_bucket( dbid|dbname, pageid, lookup_type )
where dbid|dbname - database ID or database name page - logical page number of page being looked for lookup_type - how to conduct search (1 use hash algorithm to look in the bucket the page should be in 2 scan the entire buffer cache) |
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)DBCC show_bucket (pubs, 1, 1) |
DBCC TAB
You can use the following undocumented command to view the data pages structure (in comparison with DBCC PAGE, this command will return information about all data pages for viewed table, not only for particular number):
DBCC tab (dbname, objname, printopt={ 0 | 1 | 2 })
where dbname - is the database name, objname - is the table name, printopt - is the type of the output: 0 - minimum information (only the pages headers, the total number of data pages in this table and the total number of data rows in this table) 1 - more information (plus full rows structure) 2 - as printopt = 1, but without rows separation (full dump)by default printopt = 0 |
Example:
DBCC TRACEON (3604)DBCC tab (pubs, 'authors') |
DBCC undo
Syntax:
DBCC undo( dbid, pageno, rowno )
Literature
1. What are all the dbcc commands for SQL Server?
2. INFO: Description of DBCC PAGE Command
3. THE UNAUTHORIZED DOCUMENTATION OF DBCC
4. The Totally Unauthorized List of Sybase DBCC Commands (1)
5. The Totally Unauthorized List of Sybase DBCC Commands (2)
6. The Totally Unauthorized List of Sybase DBCC Commands (3)
7. FIX: Database Usage Count Does Not Return to Zero
8. INFO: Description of the DBCC PGLINKAGE Command
