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I have created an extended events session to capture login and logout information. The session is setup to store events to a file. I understood that one of the advantages of using an event file (rather than a ring buffer) was that events history would be persistent across a restart. However it appears that a new event file is created when SQL Server is restarted and the history is lost. Is this expected? If so, what is the advantage of using a file rather than a ring buffer?

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  • What is your max_rollover_files setting? – SqlWorldWide Oct 26 '17 at 12:22
  • It is set to 1 because I want to keep all the data in one file. I know that limits the number of events I can store but the file is being truncated before it reaches the size limit. – Dave Potts Oct 26 '17 at 14:17
  • I just tested this and it will not work. With restart SQL Server will still look at max_rollover_files setting and keep that many files. – SqlWorldWide Oct 26 '17 at 14:22
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Based on your question (and additional comments regarding your setting of max_rollover_files to 1:

However it appears that a new event file is created when SQL Server is restarted and the history is lost. Is this expected?

Yes - that is expected. When you restarted SQL Server all currently running extended events were terminated. When you restarted SQL Server, a new extended event session started and your existing target file was replaced because you indicated you only wanted 1 file. If you want to preserve extended event data stored in target files across server restarts, you will have to increase the max_rollover_files to something greater than 1.

sys.fn_xe_file_target_read_file (path, mdpath, initial_file_name, initial_offset) has the capability of reading all extended event files in a the path referenced by mdpath if you specify null for the initial_file_name, so maintaining multple files should not be a problem.

Regarding the use of the Ring Buffer, take a look at why Jonathan Kehayias (world renowned expert in SQL Server Extended Events) Hates the ring buffer.

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  • Thanks for the quick response. I'll set max_rollover_files to a larger number and look at sys.fn_xe_file_target_read_file to read from multiple files. I think the last bit is the piece I was missing. I think I had previously read Jonathan's article and had avoided using Ring Buffer for one or more of the reasons he described. – Dave Potts Oct 26 '17 at 15:32

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