0

I have a .NET web application running on a server that is suffering and eventually failing under load. Is there any kind of profiler I can run without having access to the code?

Improve this question
0

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
2

You can use profilers like Ants profiler or JetBrains dotTrace, or even the built in profiler in Visual Studio premium.

Both Ants and dotTrace have time limited evaluation versions so you can easily try them out for a while.

The profiler can run without source code or debug symbols, but without at least debug symbols (*.pdb) you might have a hard time to interpret the result.

You will also have a hard to fix any problems if you don't have any source code. You could in theory disassemble the code with ildasm.exe, fix the bug and then reassemble the code with ilasm.exe, but that is not as easy as fix it in the code.

Improve this answer
Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Comment

Thanks, it looks like Ants will fit the job nicely and is just what I'm after.
-1

If there's a database involved, that's usually your best chance for improvements. This is especially true if you don't have any code - you can tweak database indexes and sometimes get huge gains without ever seeing the code.

Improve this answer

9 Comments

I can't help you find a profiler. But I won't remove the answer, and here's why. You have a problem - you have a slow application. Asking for a profiler narrows your options. Even if you're investigating the database separately or have the option eliminated for other reasons, this answer has value - value for others with a similar problem, and value for you as bait for others who are just thinking about solving the real problem.
No, I didn't miss it. I just don't have a ready answer for that part of the larger problem. Since you don't address this obvious best solution to the problem in your question, it's worth posting the suggestion as answer, if nothing else for the reason stated above. I'm also a little concerned that you won't at least consider or respond to the suggestion, as this really is your likely best route.
I have an answer to your problem -- and a good one at that. One that's very likely more worth your time than the one you asked for.
My position is that you still fail to see your real problem. Your problem is not that you can't find a profiler. That's the question you posed, but it's only one aspect of the full problem. The actual problem is that you have a slow web app, and that's a larger issue than just looking for a profiler. Limiting yourself to looking for a code profiler hurts your ability to solve the real underlying problem, especially because of code profile won't be able to look into any database issues, which almost always have more impact.
You have completely missed the point and are wrong on two counts. Firstly, I don't have a slow app, I have an app that fails under load (read the question not what you think I am asking). Secondly, I am after a way of profiling assemblies on a web server when I do not have the code. Your focus immediately went to databases, but for all you know, I have no database in my solution. There are heaps of generic performance questions on SO and this is not one of them. What's your problem? Realise your failing on this occasion and learn from it; answer what is being asked not what you want to answer.
|

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Start asking to get answers

Find the answer to your question by asking.

Ask question

Explore related questions

See similar questions with these tags.