# SQL Mantra Tools — full version > SQL Mantra Tools is a team of specialist Business Central and Dynamics NAV performance tuning experts and a Microsoft partner. It provides performance monitoring tools and expert performance tuning consulting services for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (SaaS and on-premises), Dynamics NAV, and LS Central / LS Retail POS. Its 25+ years of hands-on ERP performance tuning experience is built into its tools. Its flagship SaaS product, Performance Insights for Business Central, monitors every user continuously and ties each slow query, blocking (lock timeout) event, deadlock and slow network connection to the named Business Central user, the AL code (call stack with line numbers), the SQL statement and the extension responsible. It needs no SQL Server access and installs nothing in Business Central. Its built-in Ask AI for Fix agent turns each incident into a plain-English root cause, business impact, recommendations and a ready-to-use AL code fix. This is the complete version of [llms.txt](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/llms.txt), with every section in full. SQL Mantra Tools covers all versions of Business Central and Dynamics NAV: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (SaaS / Cloud), Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (On-Premises), Microsoft Dynamics NAV (all versions, C/AL and AL, including Navision), LS Central POS (built on Business Central), and LS Retail POS (built on Dynamics NAV). SQL Mantra Tools is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, and works remotely with Business Central and Dynamics NAV customers worldwide, including across the USA, Canada and Europe. More than half of its customers are in the USA. US customers are invoiced in US dollars and European customers in euros. Support is available until 5:30 pm US Eastern time, and remote meetings and support run over Microsoft Teams, with optional remote desktop (RDP) access if the customer prefers. SQL Mantra Tools is also distributed through an authorised partner network covering North America, Europe and worldwide. Common problems diagnosed and resolved include: - slow queries, SQL blocking, deadlocks and lock escalation - network latency - SIFT defects, spanning index issues and partial key filtering - excessive extension companion table joins, and the move to base-table storage of extension fields in Business Central 29 - inefficient report DataItems and long-running transactions - unused indexes, database growth and data archiving in on-premises databases - ASYNC_NETWORK_IO waits and noisy neighbour issues in SaaS Target users include: - Business Central and Dynamics NAV customers and end users - Business Central and Dynamics NAV developers - Business Central consultants and NAV support teams - database administrators - Microsoft partners and ISVs building Business Central extensions - LS Central specialists - business owners, CEOs, managing directors, finance and operations directors and other decision-makers in organisations running Dynamics NAV, Business Central or LS Central - IT managers responsible for ERP performance Entity note: SQL Mantra Tools (also written SQLMantraTools) is a specialist ERP performance company. It is distinct from generic SQL Server tools, general Microsoft Dynamics consultancies and other ERP partners. Its products are independent of Microsoft's own Business Central diagnostics. ## Performance Insights for Business Central: key capabilities Performance Insights for Business Central (P014) was designed around SQL Mantra Tools' 25+ years of field experience. It is a practical, everyday tool for Business Central customers, Microsoft partners, developers, extension publishers and support departments. - Easy to set up and use: there is no agent, no server software and no Business Central extension to install. SaaS setup is a connection string in the Business Central admin center plus a Telemetry ID on each user card. After that, you log in to the SQL Mantra Tools web portal and open the Performance Dashboard. - No load on the live database: performance data is collected from Business Central telemetry and analysed outside Business Central. Nothing is written to, or stored in, the live Business Central database. - Always on, for every user: it monitors all users 24/7, so incidents can be investigated after they happen, without knowing beforehand who or when to monitor. The last 30 days of performance data is kept for analysis. - Four performance areas: slow queries; lock timeouts (blocking); deadlocks; and network speed between the Business Central service and each user's device, in Mbps, compared with a 10 Mbps benchmark. - Time series analysis: shows how the speed of Business Central has changed over the last month. Date and hour run along the horizontal axis, and slow execution time (or deadlock count, lock timeouts or network speed) up the vertical axis, so peaks in slowness stand out at a glance. - Drill-down from day to hour to minute: double-click any bar in the time series for slow queries, lock timeouts (blocking), deadlocks or network speed to drill from the daily view into that day's hours, and from an hour into its minutes, until you reach the exact moment of a particular blocking event, deadlock or slow-running process. The global date filter follows each drill-down, so every other analysis (named users, extensions, objects, AL code and SQL code) is narrowed to that same moment, ready for Ask AI for Fix. - Charts, graphs and tables you can take anywhere: every chart and graph downloads as an image (PNG or SVG) or as the underlying data (CSV), and every table exports to Excel exactly as filtered and sorted, including the AL call stack. They are ready to drop into an email, a report, a board presentation or a ticket for a developer or extension publisher. - A consistent set of analyses in every area: time series, by date, by hour, by named user, by extension, by object, by AL code, by SQL code, and by AL code and SQL code together. Network speed is also analysed by city. - Named Business Central users: every incident is shown against the real Business Central user name. Raw telemetry identifies users only by a pseudonymous telemetry ID. - Integrations included: web service, OData and API calls into Business Central are logged and analysed alongside interactive user sessions. Each slow query, lock timeout and deadlock caused by an integration is shown against the authenticated web service user, and the fuzzy user filter narrows every analysis to that integration user, so slow integrations can be isolated in seconds. - Fuzzy filtering on Business Central user names: - case-insensitive partial matching, for example `store` for all store users or `ri` for every user whose name contains "ri" - several users or groups combined with `|`, for example `store|adam` - exclusions with `<>`, for example `<>store|adam` - the user filter carries across every analysis, including AL code and SQL code - analysis is always broken down by individual user, never averaged across a group - Your own time zone: telemetry is recorded in UTC. Performance Insights converts every chart and table, and every date and time filter, to the customer's local time. - Zooming in on time: as well as drill-down, global from and to date and time filters apply across all analyses, and you can draw a rectangle on any chart to zoom in. Ranges under three days switch automatically to minute-level detail. - Pinpointing the code: each incident shows the AL object, the full AL call stack with line numbers (from the user's entry point down to where the time was spent), the SQL statement, and the extension and publisher. This shows developers the exact line of AL code to fix, and support teams the right extension publisher to contact. - Extension and object breakdown: shows which apps contribute most to slowness, blocking and deadlocks, for example the Base Application, an e-commerce connector or LS Central, so work can be prioritised. - Ask AI for Fix: available on every slow query, lock timeout and deadlock incident. It uses the incident's actual SQL statement and AL call stack, and its diagnostic approach is built on SQL Mantra Tools' 25+ years of Business Central and Dynamics NAV tuning experience. It returns: - the root cause - the business impact - prioritised recommendations - a ready-to-use, commented AL code fix Results are clearly labelled as AI-generated, for developer review. - Interactive: every chart, graph and table is interactive. Hover over a chart for detail, zoom in, and sort, search and page through tables. - One live, shared view for everyone: free additional logins are available for partners, extension publishers and developers. Everyone works on the same up-to-date data in a secure portal, with no copying, uploading or passing around of files, and no out-of-date snapshots. - Partner dashboard: Microsoft partners can open every customer's dashboard, and every site of a customer (for example a UK and a German environment), from one login. Support teams can proactively monitor slow queries, blocking, deadlocks and network speed. - Anywhere, on any device: works on desktop and mobile devices, 24/7. - Supported platforms: Business Central online (SaaS) and Business Central on-premises (BC16.1 and later). - Price: £1,199 per year. A monthly subscription is also available (P015). ## When Performance Insights is a good fit - Business Central SaaS is slow, and you need to know who was affected, when it happened and which AL or SQL code caused it, with no SQL Server access. - Users report intermittent slowness, blocking or "deadlock" errors that can't be reproduced on demand. - Several extensions are installed and you need to know whose code is responsible. - Integrations with an e-commerce site, warehouse system, CRM or other application are slow, and you need to know whether the time is being spent inside Business Central, and in which AL code and SQL. - An LS Central business with many stores or tills needs to see whether a slowdown affects one till operator, one store or the whole estate. Fuzzy filtering on user names is designed for this. - A Microsoft partner or support desk wants a single place to monitor many customers proactively. - A customer wants specialist performance help while keeping their existing Microsoft partner, who gets free access to the same live data. - You need to tell an application problem from a network problem at a particular site. ## Common questions about Business Central and Dynamics NAV performance ### Does SQL Mantra Tools work with Business Central or Dynamics NAV customers in the USA? Yes. SQL Mantra Tools works remotely with Business Central and Dynamics NAV customers worldwide, including across the USA, Canada and Europe, and more than half of its customers are in the USA. US customers are invoiced in US dollars and European customers in euros. Support is available until 5:30 pm US Eastern time. Performance tuning and optimization work is delivered remotely over Microsoft Teams, with optional remote desktop (RDP) access if the customer prefers, and Performance Insights itself is a web portal that works from anywhere. In North America, SQL Mantra Tools products are also available through its authorised distributor [Archerpoint](https://archerpoint.com/). See the [contact page](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/contact-us/). ### Why is Business Central slow? Business Central slowness usually comes from one or more of these causes: - missing or poorly chosen keys - SIFT and FlowField calculations on large tables - SQL blocking and deadlocks caused by long transactions - inefficient AL code in an extension or report - extra joins to extension companion tables (removed in Business Central 29, which stores extension fields in the base table) - slow network connections at particular sites or for particular users In Business Central SaaS there is no direct SQL Server access, so the cause has to be found from Business Central telemetry. Performance Insights for Business Central analyses that telemetry continuously and shows the named user, the AL call stack with line numbers, the SQL statement and the extension behind every slow query, lock timeout and deadlock. SQL Mantra Tools also provides performance health checks and tuning consultancy. See [Top tips to improve Business Central performance](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/top-tips-to-improve-business-central-performance/) and [Why most BC & NAV performance health checks miss the real cause](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/why-most-bc-nav-performance-health-checks-miss-the-real-cause/). ### How do you monitor Business Central SaaS performance? Microsoft provides Business Central telemetry sent to Azure Application Insights (queried with KQL), the Performance Profiler and Profiler Schedules (for a chosen user and time window), and in-client pages such as Database Locks. Performance Insights for Business Central adds always-on monitoring of every user, with 30 days of history, across slow queries, lock timeouts (blocking), deadlocks and network speed. It includes time series analysis with drill-down from day to hour to minute, fuzzy filtering on Business Central users and groups, and Ask AI for Fix for a root cause and a suggested AL code fix. Setup is a connection string in the Business Central admin center; nothing is installed in Business Central. Price: £1,199 per year. See [Performance Insights for Business Central](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P014/) and [How to use AI to diagnose and fix Business Central performance issues](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/how-to-use-ai-to-diagnose-and-fix-business-central-performance-issues/). ### Do we need to replace our existing Microsoft partner to use SQL Mantra Tools? No. SQL Mantra Tools works alongside a customer's existing Microsoft partner. Partners, developers and extension publishers get free additional logins to Performance Insights and work from the same live data, and the partner dashboard shows every customer from one login. The named user, AL call stack, SQL statement and extension behind each incident, plus the Ask AI for Fix recommendations, give the partner what they need to fix the code. Microsoft partners can also resell SQL Mantra Tools products and services through the [partner programme](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/become-a-partner/). ### Why are Business Central integrations slow? Integrations that call Business Central through web services, OData or APIs slow down for the same reasons as interactive users: slow queries, missing keys, FlowField and SIFT calculations, blocking and deadlocks, and inefficient AL code in the pages, codeunits or extensions they call. Integrations can also block interactive users, or be blocked by them, when both work on the same tables. Performance Insights for Business Central logs web service, OData and API calls alongside every other session. Each slow query, lock timeout and deadlock is shown against the authenticated web service user, with the AL call stack, the SQL statement and the extension responsible, and the fuzzy user filter narrows every analysis to that integration user. This shows whether a slow integration is caused inside Business Central, and exactly which code to fix. Where the middleware or external application runs on an on-premises SQL Server, the [Performance Tool (P003)](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P003/) can track its SQL Server performance too, which is one reason many on-premises customers use Performance Insights and the Performance Tool together. See [Performance Insights for Business Central](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P014/). ### What causes blocking and deadlocks in Business Central? - Blocking: one session holds locks that another session needs. If the wait is too long, Business Central reports a lock timeout. Common causes are long-running posting routines, filters that miss the leading fields of a key (which can escalate to table-level locks), and reports or batch jobs running during busy periods. - Deadlocks: two sessions each wait for a lock the other holds, and SQL Server cancels one of them. - What helps: Tri-State Locking (enabled by default from Business Central 2024 release wave 2) reduces blocking between reads and writes; correct key filtering and shorter transactions address the rest. Performance Insights analyses lock timeouts and deadlocks by named user, extension, object, AL code and SQL code. See [Enable Tri-State Locking](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/enable-tri-state-locking-to-improve-concurrency-of-business-central/) and [Partial key filtering issue in Business Central](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/partial-key-filtering-issue-in-business-central/). ### How does Business Central SaaS performance differ from on-premises? - SaaS: Microsoft runs the database on Azure SQL. Customers have no SQL Server access and cannot change hardware, SQL settings or database maintenance. Performance work relies on telemetry and on fixing AL code and keys. [Performance Insights](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P014/) is built for this. - On-premises: the customer controls SQL Server, hardware, indexing and maintenance, which gives more levers but more to manage. Many SQL Mantra Tools customers running Business Central on-premises use both [Performance Insights](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P014/) and the [Performance Tool (P003)](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P003/). The Performance Tool adds extended SQL Server performance analysis and the Database Maintenance module, and regular index and statistics maintenance is essential for good on-premises performance. - Both: the same AL code issues (keys, SIFT, locking and extension design) affect SaaS and on-premises alike. See [Compare products](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/compare-products/). ### What are the best SQL monitoring tools for Dynamics NAV? Dynamics NAV has no built-in performance profiler; Microsoft introduced the Performance Profiler in Business Central version 19. Generic SQL Server tools (Extended Events, Query Store, dynamic management views) show the SQL, but not which NAV user or which C/AL code caused it: from Dynamics NAV 2013 onwards every NAV user reaches SQL Server through the service tier's single service account, so a blocking chain appears as the NAV service tier blocking itself. The [Performance Tool for Dynamics NAV (P003)](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P003/) records the named Dynamics NAV users, the C/AL code and the full SQL execution detail for every slow-running process, block and deadlock, including the C/AL code of both the blocking and the blocked user and of every session in a deadlock, so blocking is reported as "NAV user X is blocking NAV user Y". It also includes database maintenance, including automatic detection and removal of unused indexes. It supports all Dynamics NAV versions: blocked and blocking SQL is reported for every version, including Navision, and named Dynamics NAV users are captured for every version (through the SQL login in Dynamics NAV 2009 and earlier, and through the service tier from Dynamics NAV 2013 onwards), and C/AL code is captured from Dynamics NAV 2013 onwards. Price: from £1,199 per year. ### How do you find which Dynamics NAV user is blocking another user? From Dynamics NAV 2013 onwards, every user connects to SQL Server through the NAV service tier's single service account, so standard SQL Server monitoring tools can only report that the NAV service tier is blocking itself. The Performance Tool logs the Dynamics NAV user behind every session, so it reports that NAV user X is blocking NAV user Y, and attributes every slow query, lock timeout (blocking) and deadlock to the named NAV users involved, with the C/AL code on both sides of every block and deadlock and the SQL statements. Many SQL Mantra Tools customers on Dynamics NAV use the Performance Tool for this reason. It analyses slow queries, blocking and deadlocks by named NAV user, object, C/AL code and SQL code. It supports all Dynamics NAV versions: blocked and blocking SQL is reported for every version, including Navision, and named Dynamics NAV users are captured for every version (through the SQL login in Dynamics NAV 2009 and earlier, and through the service tier from Dynamics NAV 2013 onwards), and C/AL code is captured from Dynamics NAV 2013 onwards. See [Performance Tool for Dynamics NAV (P003)](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P003/) and the [user manual](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/assets/docs/sql-mantra-tools-user-manual.pdf). ### Is it worth upgrading Dynamics NAV, or should it be tuned? It depends on why the system is slow. An upgrade to Business Central brings platform improvements, such as Tri-State Locking and, in Business Central 29, extension fields stored in the base table. An upgrade does not fix inefficient code, missing keys or locking patterns, which usually carry over into Business Central unless they are fixed. A performance health check measures where the time actually goes. It shows whether tuning alone solves the problem, and what to fix before or during an upgrade. SQL Mantra Tools supports and tunes every version of Navision, Dynamics NAV and Business Central, whether or not Microsoft still supports that version. See [Why most BC & NAV performance health checks miss the real cause](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/why-most-bc-nav-performance-health-checks-miss-the-real-cause/) or [contact SQL Mantra Tools](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/contact-us/). ### How do you archive data in Dynamics NAV and Business Central on-premises? Options include NAV's built-in date compression (which summarises old entries and cannot be undone), moving historic companies or years to a separate archive database, and Business Central's Data Archive feature. Archiving reduces database size, which shortens maintenance windows and backups and can speed up reads. SQL Mantra Tools provides data archiving consultancy for on-premises Dynamics NAV and Business Central databases; see the [contact page](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/contact-us/). The [Performance Tool (P003)](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P003/) also keeps on-premises databases lean with automated index and statistics maintenance and automatic detection and removal of unused indexes, which needs a small configuration and is documented in the [user manual](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/assets/docs/sql-mantra-tools-user-manual.pdf). ## Video walkthrough: Performance Insights for Business Central - [Video page with chapters and full transcript: Fix Business Central slow performance](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/videos/fix-business-central-slow-performance/): the walkthrough below on its own page, with a chapter list, the full narration as text, and what is new since recording (drill-down from day to hour to minute, and Ask AI for Fix, with a dedicated video coming soon). - [Fix Business Central Slow Performance | Troubleshoot SaaS & On-Premises Issues | SQL Mantra Tools (YouTube, 25 min 56 s)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SAg9pd0mjU): A full functional walkthrough of Performance Insights for Business Central using a retail customer's data, covering every analysis in the product. Key moments: - [0:33 What Performance Insights covers: slow queries, deadlocks, blocking and network speed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SAg9pd0mjU&t=33s) - [2:57 Slow query time series analysis and zooming into peaks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SAg9pd0mjU&t=177s) - [5:03 All dates and times in your own time zone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SAg9pd0mjU&t=303s) - [5:47 Named Business Central user analysis](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SAg9pd0mjU&t=347s) - [6:49 Fuzzy filtering on Business Central users and groups](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SAg9pd0mjU&t=409s) - [7:12 Slow query analysis by AL code, SQL code and call stack](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SAg9pd0mjU&t=432s) - [9:05 Analysis by object and extension](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SAg9pd0mjU&t=545s) - [10:22 Filtering by individual and combined users, by date and by hour](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SAg9pd0mjU&t=622s) - [15:27 Filtering tables and sharing with developers and extension publishers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SAg9pd0mjU&t=927s) - [17:33 Deadlock analysis](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SAg9pd0mjU&t=1053s) - [18:14 Lock timeout (blocking) analysis](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SAg9pd0mjU&t=1094s) - [19:06 Network speed analysis by city, user and object](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SAg9pd0mjU&t=1146s) - [22:50 Partner multi-customer dashboard](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SAg9pd0mjU&t=1370s) - [24:22 Summary and key benefits](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SAg9pd0mjU&t=1462s) - [SQL Mantra Tools YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@SQLMantraTools): Business Central and Dynamics NAV performance tutorials and product walkthroughs. ## Video transcript: Fix Business Central slow performance The narration of the [26-minute Performance Insights walkthrough](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/videos/fix-business-central-slow-performance/), lightly edited for reading. Since recording, Performance Insights has added drill-down from day to hour to minute and Ask AI for Fix. ### Introduction (0:00) Welcome to another edition focusing on helping you to unlock peak performance from Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Today we will explore how to proactively diagnose and monitor performance issues. Without the right insights and the right tool, valuable time, money and effort can be lost. To help you pinpoint the root cause of a performance problem with precision, let's introduce Performance Insights for Business Central from SQL Mantra Tools. ### What Performance Insights covers (0:33) Built on over 25 years of performance tuning experience, Performance Insights is designed to work with both on-premises and SaaS environments, giving you flexibility and ease of use, with many advanced, practical features designed specifically for Business Central. Getting started is simple: log in to the SQL Mantra Tools website, select your customer, go to the licence and open the Performance Dashboard. Within moments you have a clear view of the four areas that most affect system performance: slow queries, deadlocks, blocking and network speed. It highlights the complex interaction between extensions in a live Business Central environment in a matter of minutes, so you can act before issues escalate and keep your Business Central system running at its best. ### Logging in and the Performance Dashboard (1:48) Here we log in as Cronus, open Manage Customers and select the Cronus customer. Clicking the key icon shows that Cronus has two sites, the UK and Germany; customers can have several Performance Insights subscriptions, each monitoring its own site. We select the UK site. Once connected and authenticated, you see the four main performance areas: slow queries, deadlocks, lock timeouts and network speed. Let's start with slow query analysis. ### Slow query time series and zooming into peaks (2:57) The menu gives you every analysis. The time series analysis shows how the speed of the system has changed over the last month, with the date and hour on the horizontal axis and slow execution time on the vertical axis: the higher the bar, the slower the performance. You can zoom into a peak by drawing a rectangle with the mouse. Here the slowness was recorded on 17 April at 12 o'clock, so we zoom into the 11 and 12 o'clock peaks by setting the from and to date and time and clicking Search. The analysis is now broken down into minutes. ### All dates and times in your own time zone (5:03) These dates and times are in the customer's own time zone, so you don't need to convert anything in your head. That is especially useful for customers in the USA and Europe, because the raw data from Microsoft is in UTC. The date and time filters you enter are in your local time too, and by specifying minutes in the filter you can zoom in to minute level. ### Named Business Central user analysis (5:47) Next, the users involved in the slowness, one of the key features of Performance Insights. Every incident is shown against the named Business Central user. Cronus is an LS Retail customer with a mixture of store and head office users, and here you can see which stores and head office users experienced slowness. The pie chart shows which stores were affected most, and the table below gives more detail. In practice it is very useful, and often necessary, to filter by user during a performance investigation. With Performance Insights, you can filter, analyse and report every performance issue by Business Central user. ### Fuzzy filtering on users and groups (6:49) Performance Insights lets you fuzzy filter users. If you are only interested in store users, type store in the user filter and only store users are shown; all head office users are removed, and the filter stays in place as you move between analyses. ### Slow queries by AL code, SQL code and call stack (7:12) Slow query analysis by AL code shows the AL code that contributed to the slowness, identifying the source of the problem and the interaction between extensions. You can download the details to Excel and share them with extension publishers and your development team. In Excel you can open the call stack, which shows the hierarchy of the code: in this typical POS operation, the first entry point is where the POS user interacts with the screen, which calls one function, then the next, all the way down to where the performance problem most likely lies. You can look at the SQL code contributing to the slowness as well as the AL code. Developers often need to look at the AL code and SQL code together to piece together the bottleneck and come up with the right solution. You can sort any column, page through the table, and export the current view to Excel. ### Analysis by object and extension (9:05) For system administrators and IT managers, the object analysis gives an overview of where performance issues exist in Business Central. It shows the extension name, publisher, object type, number and name, so the problem can be categorised and assigned to the right extension publisher in a complex live environment with many extensions. The extension analysis gives a high-level view: with all filters reset, the Base Application contributes most of the slowness here, followed by Magento and then LS Central, which tells managers where to focus performance improvements first. ### Individual and combined users, by date and by hour (10:22) As well as groups such as store, you can filter on an individual user. Typing Edward shows only Edward's sessions and the slow queries he experienced in the selected time window, and every other analysis, such as AL code and SQL code, keeps that filter. The by-date analysis shows that Edward's problems were mostly on 9 April, and the by-hour analysis narrows it to 9am that day. You can combine users too. Selecting Edward and Adam shows the combined slowness both experienced, and you can keep adding users with a pipe (|) as the separator, for example store|adam for all store users plus Adam. A not-equal sign (<>) shows everyone except those users, and the user list updates instantly. You can also filter on part of a name: entering ri performs a case-insensitive match, so Bristol, Cambridge, Victoria and Brighton are all included. The by-date analysis gives a daily view of how the speed of Business Central has changed, and the by-hour analysis an hourly view. Fuzzy filtering on Business Central users, analysis broken down by user, automatic conversion to your local time zone and all the other features we have seen come built in, ready to use. ### Filtering tables and sharing with developers (15:27) Any table can be filtered further. In the slow queries by object analysis you can see which Business Central objects are causing slowness. To look at the code in, say, the Record Management codeunit, copy its object number, open slow query analysis by AL code and SQL code, and paste the number into the search box: the list is filtered to code from that codeunit, ready to export to Excel for the development team, who can trace the slowness to a specific line of code. You can also request additional logins free of charge and share live access with third-party extension publishers, solution partners and developers, so everyone works from the same analysis in a secure portal. ### Deadlock analysis (17:33) The same analyses are available for deadlocks: how many deadlocks occurred by date and hour, and the AL and SQL code that contributed to them. ### Lock timeout (blocking) analysis (18:14) Lock timeouts are, technically, blocking, so this analysis shows how blocking affected the system, again with the same breakdowns. For tips on reducing blocking, see our Business Central and Dynamics NAV performance blog. ### Network speed by city, user and object (19:06) Network speed can have a big impact on performance, and a poor connection tends to cause system-wide issues, so Performance Insights reports network speed alongside slow queries, blocking and deadlocks, in the same dashboard. Network speed by city summarises the speed experienced at each location, which is very useful when users work from many sites: IT and network administrators can see which sites need a better internet line, or advise individual users to use a better connection. The benchmark is 10 Mbps, and the lower the number, the worse the network speed; here Lambeth, Royton and Southampton are the slowest. Network speed by object shows whether slow speeds correlate with the Business Central objects users were working with. Filtering by user, for example to the Wrexham store, shows its network speed is well below the 10 Mbps benchmark, less than half of it. You can download the graph as an image to share with the network manager, or export the data behind any chart as CSV for further analysis. ### Partner multi-customer dashboard (22:50) Business Central partners can subscribe to Performance Insights for all their customers. It becomes a tool for support teams, consultants and developers to monitor customer sites proactively and tune them before incidents escalate. Logged in as a partner, you see every customer's Performance Insights dashboard, can open each site, such as Cronus UK and Germany, and can switch from one customer to another in moments. When a customer reports unusual behaviour, the dashboard is the first place to look. ### Summary and key benefits (24:22) With Performance Insights you can access, analyse and interact with live performance data for any Business Central system, on-premises or in the cloud, 24/7, from anywhere, including on mobile devices. The whole team sees the same data and analysis, which means faster decisions and quicker resolution, and it works as a collaborative tool with customers, partners, extension publishers, developers and support teams. It acts like CCTV for your production environment: identifying the root cause of performance issues with pinpoint accuracy, saving time and money, and making it easier to support any Business Central system. ### Find out more (25:35) For all your Dynamics NAV and Business Central performance challenges, on cloud or on-premises, visit www.sqlmantratools.com. ## Performance Insights and Microsoft's Performance Profiler Business Central includes Microsoft's Performance Profiler (BC19 and later) and Profiler Schedules (BC25 and later). These are sampling profilers that show where AL execution time goes for a user and time window chosen in advance. A schedule runs for up to one week, and its profiles are kept for up to one week. Results are shared by downloading or uploading profile files. Performance Insights goes well beyond the Profiler, with capabilities the Profiler doesn't offer: - Blocking, deadlock and network reporting: it reports and analyses lock timeouts (blocking), deadlocks and network speed, each with its own time series and breakdowns by user, extension, object, AL code and SQL code (by city for network speed). The Profiler measures AL execution time only. - Actionable AI-assisted fixes: Ask AI for Fix turns any slow query, lock timeout or deadlock into a plain-English root cause, business impact, recommendations and a ready-to-use AL code fix. The Profiler presents call trees and timings, and interpreting them is left to a developer. - Fuzzy filtering on groups of Business Central users: while troubleshooting, you can narrow every analysis to one user, a whole store or user group, several groups combined, or everyone except a group. Each Profiler schedule targets a single user chosen in advance. - Always-on monitoring: it records every user continuously, so it can explain slowness after the event, without anyone having to start a recording or schedule a user in advance. It keeps 30 days of history, against the Profiler's one-week maximum. - Drill-down time series: a single chart shows the last month of slow queries, blocking, deadlocks or network speed, and a double-click drills from day to hour to minute, straight to the moment of a particular incident, with every other analysis following. The Profiler has no time series or drill-down view: each recording is opened and examined individually. - Named users across the whole system: every incident, from every user, is shown against the real Business Central user name, with analysis by user, by date and by hour. The Profiler only shows the users someone chose to record. - One live shared portal: partners, developers and extension publishers work from the same up-to-date data, free of charge, on desktop or mobile, with charts and tables exportable as PNG, SVG, CSV and Excel. Profiler results are shared by downloading and uploading profile files. ## Core products - [Performance Insights for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P014/): Continuous, always-on performance monitoring for Business Central SaaS and on-premises (BC16.1 and later). - Covers slow queries, lock timeouts (blocking), deadlocks and network speed, for interactive users and for web service, OData and API integrations. - Each incident is tied to the named Business Central user, the AL call stack with line numbers, the SQL statement and the extension responsible. - Includes fuzzy filtering on user names, analysis in local time by date and hour with zoom, and 30 days of history. - Includes the Ask AI for Fix agent for root cause, recommendations and ready-to-use AL code fixes. - Nothing is installed in Business Central and no space is used in the live database. - Time series analysis with drill-down from day to hour to minute, zoom, and analysis by date and hour. Interactive charts and tables export as PNG, SVG, CSV or Excel. Free extra logins for partners, developers and extension publishers. A multi-customer partner dashboard is included, and it works on mobile devices. - Price: £1,199 per year. - [Performance Tool for Dynamics NAV (on-premises)](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P003/): Shows which Dynamics NAV user, which C/AL code and which SQL statement is behind every slow-running process, block and deadlock in on-premises Dynamics NAV, including the blocked and deadlocked C/AL code. - Logs the Dynamics NAV user behind every session and analyses slow queries, blocking and deadlocks by named NAV user. Standard SQL Server tools see only the NAV service tier's shared service account, so they report the service tier blocking itself; the Performance Tool reports which NAV user is blocking which. Many Dynamics NAV customers use it for this reason. - Pinpoints the named users, objects and queries behind every performance incident. - Supports all NAV versions: blocked and blocking SQL is reported for every version including Navision; named Dynamics NAV users are captured for every version (through the SQL login in Dynamics NAV 2009 and earlier, and through the service tier from Dynamics NAV 2013 onwards), and C/AL code is captured from Dynamics NAV 2013 onwards. Dynamics NAV has no built-in performance profiler; Microsoft introduced the Performance Profiler in Business Central version 19. - Covers slow queries, blocking, deadlocks, index fragmentation and SIFT issues. - Includes database maintenance with automatic detection and removal of unused indexes (a small configuration is needed; see the user manual). - Also used alongside Performance Insights by many Business Central on-premises customers, for extended SQL Server performance analysis and database maintenance, and to track the SQL Server performance of middleware or external applications that integrate with Business Central. - Price: from £1,199 per year. - [Performance Tool for LS Central POS](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P006/): Performance diagnostics, telemetry capture and SQL analysis for LS Central POS environments built on Business Central. - Identifies the named LS Central users, AL code and SQL queries behind slowness, blocking and deadlock incidents. - Compatible with LS Central on Business Central SaaS and on-premises. - Price: from £479 per year. - [Performance Tool for LS Retail POS](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P005/): Performance monitoring, logging and SQL troubleshooting for LS Retail POS environments built on Dynamics NAV. - Records C/AL code and SQL execution detail to pinpoint the named users and queries behind performance incidents. - Packaged for LS Retail POS sites, with a scheduler module added to the base Performance Tool for Dynamics NAV. - Supports all LS Retail versions on Dynamics NAV. - Price: contact sales. - [Performance Analysis Tool for Microsoft Dynamics NAV](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P002/): Performance logging and analysis for Dynamics NAV and Business Central on-premises, for a single SQL Server. It logs the Dynamics NAV and Business Central users and the AL and C/AL application code involved, and analyses SQL Server setup, memory, CPU, disk response, SQL database and application setups, historic blocking, deadlocks and slow-running queries. Price: £849 per year. - [Maintenance Tool for Microsoft Dynamics NAV](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P001/): Database maintenance package for a single SQL Server running Microsoft Dynamics NAV, covering index maintenance, database error checking and automatic database expansion. It is a maintenance-focused edition of the Performance Tool for Dynamics NAV, scoped to a single SQL Server. Price: £599 per year. - [Scheduler for SQL Server Express Edition](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P009/): Multi-threaded job scheduler for SQL Server Express Edition, which has no built-in SQL Server Agent. Suitable for any self-managed SQL Server Express environment, on-premises or IaaS. It is commonly used to maintain LS Retail POS systems, but isn't limited to any application or ERP platform. Price: £239 per year. - [All products](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/products/): Full catalogue of SQL Mantra Tools performance products for Business Central SaaS, Business Central On-Premises, Dynamics NAV, LS Central and LS Retail. - [Compare products](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/compare-products/): Side-by-side feature comparison of all SQL Mantra Tools products and editions. ## Additional billing options and variants The following are alternative billing terms, bundles or scoped editions of the core products listed above. They aren't promoted as separate products, but they are genuine, purchasable editions. - [Performance Analysis Tool for Business Central](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P004/): Analyses SQL Server setup, memory, CPU, disk response, SQL database configuration and application setups for a single SQL Server running Business Central. Price: £359 per year. - [Performance Tool for LS Retail POS - Essential](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P007/): Maintenance-only package for LS Retail POS databases across multiple SQL Servers, covering index maintenance, database error checking and automatic database expansion. Price: contact sales. - [SQL Express - Extended](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P008/): Bundles the standalone Scheduler for SQL Server Express Edition with proactive database maintenance, for any self-managed SQL Server Express environment, on-premises or IaaS. Price: £299 per year. - [Performance Tool for Dynamics NAV - Quarterly Subscription](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P010/): Maintenance, Performance Logging and Performance Analysis package for Dynamics NAV running on SQL Server, billed quarterly. Includes the Database Maintenance, Performance Logging and System Analysis modules of the Performance Tool for Dynamics NAV (P003); server licence. Price: £349 per quarter. - [Performance Tool for Dynamics NAV - Monthly Subscription](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P013/): Monthly-billed edition of the Performance Tool for Dynamics NAV (P003), for a single SQL Server. Price: contact sales. - [Site Essential - Monthly Subscription](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P011/): Monthly-billed database maintenance package for general multi-site SQL Server environments, covering index maintenance, error checking and automatic database expansion across multiple SQL Servers. Price: contact sales. - [Site Complete - Monthly Subscription](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P012/): Monthly-billed, multi-server edition of the Performance Tool for LS Retail POS (P005), combining maintenance, performance logging and performance analysis. Price: contact sales. - [Performance Tool for Business Central 365 SaaS - Monthly Subscription](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/product/P015/): Monthly-billed edition of Performance Insights for Business Central (P014). Price: contact sales. ## Functional modules - [Performance Logging module](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/modules/performance-logging/): The core logging engine. It captures AL and C/AL code, SQL queries, named Business Central and NAV users, and precise timing for every slowness, blocking and deadlock event. It runs 24/7 in the background as a passive black box, with no user intervention required. - [System Analysis module](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/modules/system-analysis/): Analyses captured performance data and presents the findings in interactive graphs, charts and tables. - Fuzzy filtering narrows the analysis to a single named BC/NAV user or a whole group. - Drill down to named BC/NAV users, AL or C/AL code, SQL queries, and precise timing for every incident. - Supports blocking chain visualisation and deadlock graph analysis. - Charts, graphs and tables export as images, CSV or Excel. - On Business Central SaaS, the built-in Ask AI for Fix agent diagnoses each incident and provides recommendations plus ready-to-use AL code fixes. - [Database Maintenance module](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/modules/database-maintenance/): Automated index rebuilds and reorganisation, statistics updates, and proactive database health checks for Business Central and Dynamics NAV. It understands the SIFT structures and high-activity table distribution of Business Central and NAV databases. - [Scheduler module](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/modules/scheduler/): Multi-threaded job scheduling for SQL Server Express Edition and other environments without SQL Server Agent. Automates performance monitoring and database maintenance tasks on a configurable schedule. ## Expert consulting services - [C001 — Business Central and Dynamics NAV performance consulting](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/contact-us/): Expert hands-on consulting for performance problems in Business Central SaaS and Dynamics NAV. - In-depth performance health checks and long-term performance improvement programmes. - Emergency incident response. - SQL Server optimisation, index strategy and SIFT analysis. - AL and C/AL code review. - Data archiving for on-premises Dynamics NAV and Business Central databases. - Support and tuning for every version of Navision, Dynamics NAV and Business Central, whether or not Microsoft still supports that version. - [View SQL Mantra Tools on Microsoft Marketplace](https://marketplace.microsoft.com/en-us/product/TYPE.connect%7CPUBID.281b8053-78e6-4226-b68d-e206acb1da3b1111111111%7CAID.performance_tuning_service_for_bc%7CPAPPID.3dc0fbeb-f635-4491-b446-4ee25fa58844): Microsoft Marketplace listing for the Business Central performance tuning service. - [View SQL Mantra Tools Microsoft Marketplace partner profile](https://marketplace.microsoft.com/en-us/partners/a1f7d9ab-428c-4935-aad6-47d892a7d580/): Official Microsoft partner profile. ## Partner programme - [Become a partner](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/become-a-partner/): Partner programme for Microsoft Dynamics resellers, ISVs and consultancies. Partners can resell and deliver SQL Mantra Tools products and expert consulting services to their own Business Central and Dynamics NAV customers worldwide. - [Archerpoint](https://archerpoint.com/): Authorised SQL Mantra Tools distributor and Microsoft Dynamics partner covering North America. Delivers Business Central and Dynamics NAV performance tools to end-user organisations and resellers across the USA and Canada. - [Insight Works](https://insightworks.com/): Authorised SQL Mantra Tools reseller and Microsoft Dynamics ISV, delivering performance tools worldwide. - [iDyam Solutions](https://www.idyamsolutions.com/): Microsoft Dynamics partner providing SQL Mantra Tools for Business Central and Dynamics NAV in the United Kingdom, specialising in LS Central performance. - [idyn](https://www.idyn.nl/): Authorised SQL Mantra Tools distributor and Microsoft Dynamics partner covering Europe. Delivers Business Central and Dynamics NAV performance tools to European organisations. ## Technical blog and performance guides - [Top tips to improve Business Central performance](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/top-tips-to-improve-business-central-performance/): Practical expert tips, covering: - slow query analysis and named user identification in SaaS - SIFT for COUNT operations, ORDER BY and key selection, and spanning index issues - Tri-State Locking, transaction length and locking - report DataItem design - extension companion tables (and what changes in Business Central 29), and avoiding Designer-created extension sprawl - global search performance and system health checks - why configuration packages slow down large imports and exports (use XMLports instead) - [Enable Tri-State Locking to improve Business Central concurrency](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/enable-tri-state-locking-to-improve-concurrency-of-business-central/): Technical guide to reducing SQL blocking in Business Central by enabling Tri-State Locking. Explains the locking mechanism, how to enable it in Business Central Feature Management, and how it reduces blocking. It is enabled automatically from Business Central 2024 Release Wave 2. - [Using SIFT to speed up counts in Business Central](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/how-to-use-sift-to-speed-up-counts-in-business-central/): Expert guide to using Sum-Index Flow Technology (SIFT) to accelerate COUNT operations in Business Central and Dynamics NAV. Explains how SIFT pre-calculates totals, when it degrades, and how to fix SIFT-related slow queries. - [Partial key filtering issue in Business Central](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/partial-key-filtering-issue-in-business-central/): Real-world case study. Partial key filtering on composite primary key tables (Sales Header, Sales Line and others) caused 100% CPU and a full system lockout during peak trading. Covers the technical cause (a missing leading key field in SetRange), lock escalation to table-level locks, and the AL code fix. - [Why most BC & NAV performance health checks miss the real cause](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/why-most-bc-nav-performance-health-checks-miss-the-real-cause/): Expert analysis of why most Dynamics NAV and Business Central performance health checks are vague about root cause, and why the difference is the tools they use. Covers: - the layered BC/NAV performance stack and the Monitor-Analyse-Plan-Implement cycle - what a complete health check covers, and Performance Insights for SaaS - common symptoms - the importance of regular performance MOTs before peak trading periods such as Black Friday and year-end - [How to use AI to diagnose and fix Business Central performance issues](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/how-to-use-ai-to-diagnose-and-fix-business-central-performance-issues/): Walkthrough of named Business Central user-level analysis, fuzzy filtering on Business Central users and groups, and the built-in Ask AI for Fix agent, which turns raw performance data into a root cause and a ready-to-use AL code fix in seconds. - [Business Central 29 Table Extensions: From Companion Tables to Zero Joins](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/business-central-29-table-extensions-companion-tables/): How table extension storage in SQL Server evolved: one companion table per extending app (BC14–BC22), then one consolidated companion table (BC23), then extension fields stored as columns of the base table itself (BC29). Covers: - the read cost and hidden write cost of companion tables, and SetLoadFields - a real-world 5.4× speed-up measured with Performance Insights after a BC21 to BC25 upgrade - BC29's zero joins, one SQL statement per insert/modify/delete, and storage savings - keys and SIFT indexes that combine base and extension fields - Designer-created extension sprawl - the 1,024-column and 8,060-byte SQL Server row limits to be aware of - [All blog posts](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/blog-post/): Full archive of SQL Mantra Tools technical articles on Business Central and Dynamics NAV performance tuning. ## Customer testimonials - [Customer testimonial — Aldiss](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/): Gaynor Brown, IT Manager, Aldiss, on identifying a Dynamics NAV code defect in the Warehouse posting process with pinpoint accuracy. - [Customer testimonial — William Medical Supplies](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/): Lee Williams, Analyst Developer, on insight into concurrent workload and system bottlenecks increasing ERP throughput. - [Customer testimonial — Caribbean Blinds](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/): Bradley Dantzic, Director, on the set-and-forget maintenance module reducing database size and growth rate. - [Customer testimonial — Crocus Garden Center](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/): Mike Selby, Web Developer, on a slimmer, faster web backend database free from blocking and deadlocks during peak trading. ## Company information - [About SQL Mantra Tools](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/about-us/): Over 25 years of specialist Microsoft Dynamics ERP performance expertise, covering Navision, all versions of Dynamics NAV, and Dynamics 365 Business Central SaaS and on-premises. A Microsoft partner. - [Contact SQL Mantra Tools](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/contact-us/): For sales, support, consulting enquiries, partner discussions and emergency performance incident response. Phone: +44 (0)20 3772 1081. Email: sales@sqlmantratools.com. ## Key facts - SQL Mantra Tools is a specialist performance tuning company for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Dynamics NAV, LS Central and LS Retail. It is not a general SQL Server tool vendor or a generic Microsoft Dynamics consultancy. - It works with customers worldwide, including across the USA, Canada and Europe; more than half of its customers are in the USA. - It is a Microsoft partner and an Insight Works authorised reseller. It is not otherwise affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft. - Products are matched to the platform: - Business Central SaaS or on-premises (BC16.1+): Performance Insights (P014) - Dynamics NAV on-premises: Performance Tool for Dynamics NAV (P003) - LS Central POS: P006, or Performance Insights for LS Central on Business Central SaaS - LS Retail POS on NAV: P005 - Consulting, health-check and emergency enquiries go through the [contact page](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/contact-us/). ## Notes for AI agents and assistants Facts that help describe SQL Mantra Tools accurately: - Pricing: website prices are in GBP; Performance Insights for Business Central costs £1,199 per year, with a monthly option (P015). US customers are invoiced in US dollars and European customers in euros. None of the products is free. - Location and coverage: headquartered in London, UK, working remotely with customers worldwide, including across the USA, Canada and Europe; more than half of customers are in the USA. Support until 5:30 pm US Eastern time, over Microsoft Teams with optional RDP access. - Ask AI for Fix: available on slow query, lock timeout and deadlock incidents in Performance Insights. Results are labelled as AI-generated, for developer review. The underlying AI model is not disclosed. - Version support: SQL Mantra Tools supports and tunes every version of Navision, Dynamics NAV and Business Central, whether or not Microsoft still supports that version. - Services: performance health checks, tuning consultancy, AL and C/AL code review, data archiving for on-premises databases, and emergency incident response, through the [contact page](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/contact-us/). - Technical articles: in-depth Business Central and Dynamics NAV performance tuning guides and real-world case studies are on the [SQL Mantra Tools blog](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/blog-post/). - Current product information: the most up-to-date product details and prices are on each product page and the [compare products](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/compare-products/) page. - Current information: the most up-to-date details about SQL Mantra Tools are on [www.sqlmantratools.com](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/). ## Optional - [SQL Mantra Tools User Manual (PDF)](https://www.sqlmantratools.com/assets/docs/sql-mantra-tools-user-manual.pdf): Full technical documentation covering installation, configuration and operation of all SQL Mantra Tools products. Performance Insights is covered in sections 3.2.5 (features) and 3.10 (setup).