SP_Who Cmd column values

Question

 

Is there any place I can look for a list of all the possible values in the cmd column when I run sp_who, and an explanation of what each one means.  Everyone once in a while I catch a new command in there and I never know where to look for a concise explanation. 

 

Thanks.

Answer 1

Books Online, Topic: 'sp_who', goes into great detail. -Who'd ever thought of that one.

 

Also, for a quick 'refresher', you can use sp_help:

 

EXECUTE sp_help 'sp_who'

Answer 2

 

Arnie is correct,  SQL Server Books Online is typically the best place to start when looking for reference material such as commands and statements (what they do, available options,  examples, etc.).  I recommend downloading the latest version of Books Online (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=BE6A2C5D-00DF-4220-B133-29C1E0B6585F&mg_id=10124&displaylang=en)   or if you prefer online access, try out the Books Online search tool here: http://search.live.com/macros/sql_server_user_education/booksonline.

 

Regards,

Gail

 

Answer 3

 

 

Thanks, I agree BOL is a great place to start...and I started there .  I've looked several times in BOL and never found the answer to this question.  BOL, in my opinion, does not go into great detail regarding this topic.  Maybe I didn't explain it correctly (or maybe I am just not reading correctly).

 

sp_who returns a column, cmd, with various values, for instance:

 

TRACE QUEUE TASK, RESOURCE MONITOR, UNKNOWN TOKEN, etc. 

 

Most of the time they are fairly self explantory, but sometimes, like Trace Queue Task, I don't understand what that means or why its there.  I am looking for a resource that can say Trace Queue Task means the database engine is <Insert answer here>.   

 

BOL, these fourms, and even google all fail to provide a definition.

 

Maybe a list like that doesn't exist?

Answer 4

You're right. The detail about what these enumerations mean is severely lacking.

 

I encourage you to offer a suggestion/request/complaint at:

 

Suggestions for SQL Server

http://connect.microsoft.com/sqlserver

 

And if it helps, you might look at the Trace Architecture in the diagram at:

 

ms-help://MS.SQLCC.v9/MS.SQLSVR.v9.en/udb9/html/6bbaff65-45f3-4b53-8a04-8ea8a997f844.htm

 

Answer 5

Having just googled the same thing (should I be bing-ing instead?  Would that get better results), I found this link, which does at least tell us that 'Trace Queue Task' is an internal process.... which is better than nothing.  Or rather, means I can tell the Data Admin manager that this is not a profiling trace and he can Stop Worrying.

HTH

J