erikdarlingdata · erikdarlingdata · Apr 15, 2026 · Apr 15, 2026 · Apr 15, 2026 · Apr 15, 2026
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,92 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [2.9.0] - TBD
+
+### Important
+
+- **Breaking change to `config.data_retention`** — the `@truncate_all` parameter has been removed. Pass `@retention_days = 0` for the same behavior. `@retention_days = NULL` (default) respects per-collector retention from `config.collection_schedule` with a 30-day fallback for unscheduled tables; `@retention_days = N > 0` overrides every table to N days. Any existing Agent jobs or scripts calling `data_retention @truncate_all = 1` need to be updated ([#900])
+- **New `config.collector_database_exclusions` table** for per-database collector exclusions. Eight per-database collectors filter against this table; system databases remain hard-skipped by the collectors themselves. Existing installs get the table on the next upgrade — `install/01_install_database.sql` and `config.ensure_config_tables` both create it under an `IF OBJECT_ID … IS NULL` guard ([#887])
+
+### Added
+
+- **Per-database collector exclusions** — exclude noisy or unimportant databases from per-database collectors. Dashboard side adds `config.collector_database_exclusions` and filters 8 collectors (`query_stats`, `query_store`, `procedure_stats`, `file_io_stats`, `waiting_tasks`, `database_configuration`, `database_size_stats`, `server_properties`). Lite side adds an `ExcludedDatabases` list per server in `servers.json` and filters 9 collectors ([#887])
+- **`Off` collection preset** — `EXECUTE config.apply_collection_preset @preset_name = N'Off'` disables every collector in one call. Pair with a second Agent job that applies a non-`Off` preset at the start of your active window for overnight / quiet-hours scoping. Non-`Off` presets now also set `enabled = 1` across the board so the switch from `Off → Balanced` reliably resumes collection ([#888])
+- **Purge Now action** in Manage Servers — confirm dialog with a mode picker (Use configured / 1 / 3 / 7 / Custom / All) drives `config.data_retention`; right-click menu on the Manage Servers grid mirrors every per-row action (Edit, Toggle Favorite, Check Server Version, Purge Now, Remove) ([#900])
+- **Total non-idle CPU on Lite Overview** — headline value shows total CPU with the SQL-only value alongside (e.g. `64% (SQL 60%)`); new `CpuAlertMode` dropdown in Settings → Alerts (Total / SqlOnly) drives both the alert evaluator and headline color; tray notifications and email alerts label the value as "Total CPU" or "SQL CPU" ([#899])
+- **Resume gap detection** — `query_stats`, `procedure_stats`, and `query_store` collectors skip the historical sweep on first run after an Off preset, Agent stoppage, or server reboot. When the last successful run is older than 5× the configured `frequency_minutes` (floored at 30 minutes), the cutoff clamps to `SYSDATETIME()` so only forward-going data is collected on resume — preventing the tempdb blowout that hit the original reporter ([#892])
+- **Right-click View Plan** on Dashboard Blocked Process Reports (View Blocked Plan + View Blocking Plan), Dashboard Deadlocks, and Lite Deadlocks grids. Plan lookup hits `sys.dm_exec_query_stats` + `sys.dm_exec_text_query_plan` on the monitored server, falling back to `executionStack/frame` entries when the process-level `sql_handle` is empty or evicted ([#880])
+- **Open Log Folder** sidebar button in Lite — opens `%LocalAppData%\PerformanceMonitorLite\logs\` in Explorer for grabbing historical logs to attach to bug reports. Sits below View Log, which retains its existing behavior of opening today's log file ([#873])
+- **Installed Version column** in the Manage Servers grid for both Dashboard and Lite. Dashboard shows the PerformanceMonitor database version on each server (probed in parallel via `GetInstalledVersionAsync`, with `Not installed` / `Unavailable` fallbacks). Lite shows the running app's own version on every row, mirroring Full's column header for consistency.
+- **Lite-style server card indicators in Full** — back-ported the Ellipse-with-DataTriggers status dot (Online/Offline/Warning/Unknown) and the right-aligned favorite star from Lite to the Full Dashboard's server list, matching Lite's visual treatment.
+- **Architecture overview** at `docs/how-collection-works.md` covering the minute loop, dispatcher, collector shape, `config.collection_schedule`, retention, and the Dashboard read path
+
+### Changed
+
+- **PlanIconMapper synced** with PerformanceStudio v1.9.0 improvements — columnstore storage type on scan/delete/insert/update/merge operators routes to `columnstore_index_*` icons (covers CCI and NCCI); `Parallelism` operator subtypes (Repartition Streams, Distribute Streams, Gather Streams) get their own icons
+- **`Microsoft.Data.SqlClient` 6.1.4 → 7.0.1** — major-version bump. Azure/Entra dependencies were split out of the core package in 7.0; `Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.Extensions.Azure 1.0.0` added to Dashboard, Lite, and Installer.Core for `ActiveDirectoryInteractive` connections
+- **`ModelContextProtocol` 0.7.0-preview.1 → 1.2.0** — off the preview tag and onto stable 1.x in Dashboard and Lite
+- **`DuckDB.NET` 1.5.0 → 1.5.2** in Lite — fixes unbounded row group growth on indexed tables under repeated load+insert cycles, memory leaks and race conditions in prepared statements, WAL checkpoint marking, and Windows UTF-8/UTF-16 handling
+- **`Microsoft.Extensions.*` 10.0.5 → 10.0.7**, **`System.Text.Json` 10.0.5 → 10.0.7**, **`ScottPlot.WPF` 5.1.57 → 5.1.58** — patch-level bumps with no expected behavioral change
+- **Theme polish** on grids and plan viewer in Dashboard and Lite — thanks [@ClaudioESSilva](https://github.com/ClaudioESSilva) ([#889])
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **Install loop timeout** raised from 5 minutes to 1 hour. `install/98_validate_installation.sql` runs every enabled collector with `@debug = 1` in a single batch; on large databases (reporter had 7.2M rows in `collect.query_stats`, 4.4M in `collect.query_store_data`) this took ~9 minutes and was blowing the 5-minute timeout, failing the install or upgrade ([#884])
+
+[#873]: https://github.com/erikdarlingdata/PerformanceMonitor/issues/873
+[#880]: https://github.com/erikdarlingdata/PerformanceMonitor/issues/880
+[#884]: https://github.com/erikdarlingdata/PerformanceMonitor/issues/884
+[#887]: https://github.com/erikdarlingdata/PerformanceMonitor/issues/887
+[#888]: https://github.com/erikdarlingdata/PerformanceMonitor/issues/888
+[#889]: https://github.com/erikdarlingdata/PerformanceMonitor/issues/889
+[#892]: https://github.com/erikdarlingdata/PerformanceMonitor/issues/892
+[#899]: https://github.com/erikdarlingdata/PerformanceMonitor/issues/899
+[#900]: https://github.com/erikdarlingdata/PerformanceMonitor/issues/900
+
+## [2.8.0] - 2026-04-22
+
+### Important
+
+- **New nonclustered indexes** on `collect.query_stats`, `collect.procedure_stats`, and `collect.query_store_data` to eliminate Eager Index Spools in Dashboard grid queries. On large installations these indexes may take several minutes to build; the upgrade script uses `ONLINE = ON` on Enterprise/Developer/Azure editions and falls back to offline on Standard/Web ([#835])
+
+### Added
+
+- **Memory Pressure Events in Lite** — the collector, chart, and `get_memory_pressure_events` MCP tool previously only in the Full Edition are now available in Lite ([#865])
+- **Grid auto-scrolling** in Lite and Dashboard ([#843]) — thanks [@ClaudioESSilva](https://github.com/ClaudioESSilva)
+
+### Changed
+
+- **PlanAnalyzer and BenefitScorer** synced with PerformanceStudio's Apr 9–16 improvements
+- **Query/Procedure/Query Store stats** refactored to a phased DECOMPRESS approach; removed unhelpful `WAITFOR DECOMPRESS` filters
+- **Query/Procedure/Query Store grids** capped to TOP 500 to prevent UI freezes on large datasets
+- **Server tabs lazy-load** — only the visible server tab loads on startup; remaining tabs load on first visit
+- **Webhook URLs (Dashboard)** encrypted with DPAPI via Windows Credential Manager — Lite webhook URLs remain in plaintext settings for now
+- **DuckDB queries hardened** — parameterized values, escaped paths, fixed `IsArchiving` race
+- **Lite chart axes and sub-tab styling** polished, then ported to Dashboard
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **Memory Pressure Events chart filter** was dropping valid rows; added MCP interpretation guidance ([#865])
+- **FinOps recommendation severity sort order** in Lite and Dashboard ([#872])
+- **Overview crosshair** disappearing after tab switches or layout passes
+- **Blocked process report plan lookup** returning the wrong plan ([#867])
+- **FinOps TDE recommendation** flagging Standard edition on SQL Server 2019+ where TDE is free ([#854])
+- **Azure SQL DB collector** falls back to single-database mode when `master` is inaccessible ([#857])
+- **Azure SQL DB query snapshots** scoped to the current database ([#857])
+- **Azure SQL DB query snapshot prefilter** — request set is narrowed into `#temp` before joining DMVs to avoid Azure-specific execution plan issues ([#857])
+- **Azure SQL DB live query plans** — now skipped gracefully instead of erroring ([#857])
+- **Azure SQL DB memory_stats collector** — dropped `sys.dm_os_schedulers` which is blocked on elastic-pool contained users regardless of DB-scoped grants ([#857])
+- **Non-transient permission denials** now stop collector retries instead of looping forever ([#857])
+
+[#835]: https://github.com/erikdarlingdata/PerformanceMonitor/issues/835
+[#843]: https://github.com/erikdarlingdata/PerformanceMonitor/issues/843
+[#854]: https://github.com/erikdarlingdata/PerformanceMonitor/issues/854
+[#857]: https://github.com/erikdarlingdata/PerformanceMonitor/issues/857
+[#865]: https://github.com/erikdarlingdata/PerformanceMonitor/issues/865
+[#867]: https://github.com/erikdarlingdata/PerformanceMonitor/issues/867
+[#872]: https://github.com/erikdarlingdata/PerformanceMonitor/issues/872
+
 ## [2.7.0] - 2026-04-13
 
 ### Added

diff --git a/Dashboard/Analysis/SqlServerBaselineProvider.cs b/Dashboard/Analysis/SqlServerBaselineProvider.cs
@@ -463,7 +463,7 @@ private static double PoolVariance(List<BaselineBucket> buckets, double grandMea
         return totalSumSq / (totalSamples - 1);
     }
 
-    private class CachedBaseline
+    private sealed class CachedBaseline
     {
         public DateTime ComputedAt { get; init; }
         public DateTime RealTime { get; init; }

diff --git a/Dashboard/Controls/ConfigChangesContent.xaml b/Dashboard/Controls/ConfigChangesContent.xaml
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
             <MenuItem Header="Export to CSV..." Click="ExportToCsv_Click"/>
         </ContextMenu>
     </UserControl.Resources>
-    <TabControl>
+    <TabControl ItemContainerStyle="{DynamicResource SubTabItemStyle}">
         <!-- Server Configuration Changes Sub-Tab -->
         <TabItem Header="Server Config Changes">
             <Grid>

diff --git a/Dashboard/Controls/CorrelatedTimelineLanesControl.xaml.cs b/Dashboard/Controls/CorrelatedTimelineLanesControl.xaml.cs
@@ -31,7 +31,12 @@ public partial class CorrelatedTimelineLanesControl : UserControl
     public CorrelatedTimelineLanesControl()
     {
         InitializeComponent();
-        Unloaded += (_, _) => _crosshairManager?.Dispose();
+        /* No Unloaded → Dispose() handler: WPF fires Unloaded for transient
+           reasons (tab virtualization, layout rebuilds) and Dispose() clears
+           the crosshair manager's lane list, permanently breaking the crosshair
+           until the ServerTab is rebuilt. The manager holds only managed state
+           (a Popup + lane references) — letting GC clean it up with the control
+           is fine. */
     }
 
     /// <summary>
@@ -69,6 +74,9 @@ public async Task RefreshAsync(int hoursBack, DateTime? fromDate, DateTime? toDa
 
         _crosshairManager?.PrepareForRefresh();
 
+        try
+        {
+
         var cpuTask = _dataService.GetCpuUtilizationAsync(hoursBack, fromDate, toDate);
         var waitTask = _dataService.GetTotalWaitStatsTrendAsync(hoursBack, fromDate, toDate);
         var blockingTask = _dataService.GetBlockedSessionTrendAsync(hoursBack, fromDate, toDate);
@@ -225,8 +233,18 @@ public async Task RefreshAsync(int hoursBack, DateTime? fromDate, DateTime? toDa
             _crosshairManager?.SetComparisonLabel(ComparisonLabel(comparisonRange.Value, fromDate, hoursBack));
         }
 
+        /* VLines must be re-attached before SyncXAxes so they're part of
+           the render set when the chart refreshes. */
         _crosshairManager?.ReattachVLines();
         SyncXAxes(hoursBack, fromDate, toDate);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            /* Safety net: if something threw between PrepareForRefresh() and the
+               ReattachVLines() call above, VLines are still null. EnsureVLinesAttached
+               creates them only for lanes where VLine is null, so it's idempotent. */
+            _crosshairManager?.EnsureVLinesAttached();
+        }
     }
 
     /// <summary>
@@ -320,7 +338,7 @@ private void UpdateBlockingLane(List<(double Time, double Value)> blockingData,
             }
         }
 
-        BlockingChart.Plot.Axes.DateTimeTicksBottom();
+        BlockingChart.Plot.Axes.DateTimeTicksBottomDateChange();
         BlockingChart.Plot.Axes.Bottom.TickLabelStyle.IsVisible = false;
         TabHelpers.ReapplyAxisColors(BlockingChart);
 
@@ -394,7 +412,7 @@ private void UpdateLane(ScottPlot.WPF.WpfPlot chart, string title,
 
         _crosshairManager?.SetLaneData(chart, times, values);
 
-        chart.Plot.Axes.DateTimeTicksBottom();
+        chart.Plot.Axes.DateTimeTicksBottomDateChange();
         if (chart != FileIoChart)
             chart.Plot.Axes.Bottom.TickLabelStyle.IsVisible = false;
 

diff --git a/Dashboard/Controls/CurrentConfigContent.xaml b/Dashboard/Controls/CurrentConfigContent.xaml
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
             <MenuItem Header="Export to CSV..." Click="ExportToCsv_Click"/>
         </ContextMenu>
     </UserControl.Resources>
-    <TabControl>
+    <TabControl ItemContainerStyle="{DynamicResource SubTabItemStyle}">
         <!-- Current Server Configuration Sub-Tab -->
         <TabItem Header="Server Configuration">
             <Grid>

diff --git a/Dashboard/Controls/FinOpsContent.xaml b/Dashboard/Controls/FinOpsContent.xaml
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@
                       SelectionChanged="ServerSelector_SelectionChanged"/>
         </StackPanel>
 
-        <TabControl Grid.Row="1" Background="Transparent" BorderThickness="0">
+        <TabControl Grid.Row="1" Background="Transparent" BorderThickness="0" ItemContainerStyle="{DynamicResource SubTabItemStyle}">
 
         <!-- Recommendations Sub-Tab -->
         <TabItem Header="Recommendations">
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@
                                 </StackPanel>
                             </DataGridTextColumn.Header>
                         </DataGridTextColumn>
-                        <DataGridTextColumn Binding="{Binding Severity}" MinWidth="80" Width="Auto">
+                        <DataGridTextColumn Binding="{Binding Severity}" SortMemberPath="SeveritySort" MinWidth="80" Width="Auto">
                             <DataGridTextColumn.Header>
                                 <StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">
                                     <Button Style="{DynamicResource ColumnFilterButtonStyle}" Tag="Severity" Click="FinOpsFilter_Click" Margin="0,0,4,0"/>
@@ -111,6 +111,9 @@
                                         <DataTrigger Binding="{Binding Severity}" Value="Low">
                                             <Setter Property="Foreground" Value="#27AE60"/>
                                         </DataTrigger>
+                                        <DataTrigger Binding="{Binding IsSelected, RelativeSource={RelativeSource AncestorType=DataGridRow, AncestorLevel=1}, FallbackValue=False}" Value="True">
+                                            <Setter Property="Foreground" Value="{DynamicResource GridSelectionForegroundBrush}"/>
+                                        </DataTrigger>
                                     </Style.Triggers>
                                 </Style>
                             </DataGridTextColumn.ElementStyle>
@@ -416,6 +419,9 @@
                                                 <Setter Property="Foreground" Value="#E74C3C"/>
                                                 <Setter Property="FontWeight" Value="SemiBold"/>
                                             </DataTrigger>
+                                            <DataTrigger Binding="{Binding IsSelected, RelativeSource={RelativeSource AncestorType=DataGridRow, AncestorLevel=1}, FallbackValue=False}" Value="True">
+                                                <Setter Property="Foreground" Value="{DynamicResource GridSelectionForegroundBrush}"/>
+                                            </DataTrigger>
                                         </Style.Triggers>
                                     </Style>
                                 </DataGridTextColumn.ElementStyle>

diff --git a/Dashboard/Controls/MemoryContent.xaml b/Dashboard/Controls/MemoryContent.xaml
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
         </ResourceDictionary>
     </UserControl.Resources>
 
-    <TabControl x:Name="SubTabControl" TabStripPlacement="Top" Margin="0,5,0,0">
+    <TabControl x:Name="SubTabControl" TabStripPlacement="Top" Margin="0,5,0,0" ItemContainerStyle="{DynamicResource SubTabItemStyle}">
         <!-- Memory Overview Sub-Tab -->
         <TabItem Header="Memory Overview">
             <!-- Chart + Summary Panel (grid removed) -->