Add CDC capture exclusion to long-running query alerts (#1096)

The long-running-query alert flags any live request whose
total_elapsed_time exceeds the threshold. CDC capture runs as a
continuous SQL Agent session (EXEC sys.sp_MScdc_capture_job ->
sys.sp_cdc_scan), so it permanently trips the alert and none of the
four existing wait_type-based exclusions catch it.

Add a fifth toggle, LongRunningQueryExcludeCdc (default on), consistent
with the existing exclusion checkboxes. It filters on request text
(sp_MScdc_capture_job / sp_cdc_scan) rather than program_name so it
stays CDC-specific and does not hide unrelated Agent jobs. The predicate
is NULL-safe so encrypted-module queries (NULL sql text) remain visible.

Reported in discussion #1090.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: erikdarlingdata

Dashboard/MainWindow.xaml.cs

@@ -1454,7 +1454,7 @@ private async Task CheckAllServerAlertsAsync()
                     var connectionString = server.GetConnectionString(_credentialService);
                     var databaseService = new DatabaseService(connectionString);
                     var connStatus = _serverManager.GetConnectionStatus(server.Id);
-                    var health = await databaseService.GetAlertHealthAsync(connStatus.SqlEngineEdition, prefs.LongRunningQueryThresholdMinutes, prefs.LongRunningJobMultiplier, prefs.LongRunningQueryMaxResults, prefs.LongRunningQueryExcludeSpServerDiagnostics, prefs.LongRunningQueryExcludeWaitFor, prefs.LongRunningQueryExcludeBackups, prefs.LongRunningQueryExcludeMiscWaits, prefs.AlertExcludedDatabases);
+                    var health = await databaseService.GetAlertHealthAsync(connStatus.SqlEngineEdition, prefs.LongRunningQueryThresholdMinutes, prefs.LongRunningJobMultiplier, prefs.LongRunningQueryMaxResults, prefs.LongRunningQueryExcludeSpServerDiagnostics, prefs.LongRunningQueryExcludeWaitFor, prefs.LongRunningQueryExcludeBackups, prefs.LongRunningQueryExcludeMiscWaits, prefs.LongRunningQueryExcludeCdc, prefs.AlertExcludedDatabases);
 
                     if (health.IsOnline)
                     {

Dashboard/Models/UserPreferences.cs

@@ -102,6 +102,7 @@ public class UserPreferences
         public bool LongRunningQueryExcludeWaitFor { get; set; } = true;
         public bool LongRunningQueryExcludeBackups { get; set; } = true;
         public bool LongRunningQueryExcludeMiscWaits { get; set; } = true;
+        public bool LongRunningQueryExcludeCdc { get; set; } = true; // Exclude CDC capture jobs (sp_MScdc_capture_job / sp_cdc_scan)
         public bool NotifyOnTempDbSpace { get; set; } = true;
         public int TempDbSpaceThresholdPercent { get; set; } = 80; // Alert when TempDB used > X%
         public bool NotifyOnLongRunningJobs { get; set; } = true;

Dashboard/Services/DatabaseService.NocHealth.cs

@@ -131,6 +131,7 @@ public async Task<AlertHealthResult> GetAlertHealthAsync(
             bool excludeWaitFor = true,
             bool excludeBackups = true,
             bool excludeMiscWaits = true,
+            bool excludeCdc = true,
             IReadOnlyList<string>? excludedDatabases = null)
         {
             var result = new AlertHealthResult();
@@ -149,7 +150,7 @@ public async Task<AlertHealthResult> GetAlertHealthAsync(
                     ? GetFilteredDeadlockCountAsync(connection, excludedDatabases)
                     : null;
                 var poisonWaitTask = GetPoisonWaitDeltasAsync(connection);
-                var longRunningTask = GetLongRunningQueriesAsync(connection, longRunningQueryThresholdMinutes, longRunningQueryMaxResults, excludeSpServerDiagnostics, excludeWaitFor, excludeBackups, excludeMiscWaits);
+                var longRunningTask = GetLongRunningQueriesAsync(connection, longRunningQueryThresholdMinutes, longRunningQueryMaxResults, excludeSpServerDiagnostics, excludeWaitFor, excludeBackups, excludeMiscWaits, excludeCdc);
                 var tempDbTask = GetTempDbSpaceAsync(connection);
                 var anomalousJobTask = GetAnomalousJobsAsync(connection, longRunningJobMultiplier);
                 var missingCaptureTask = GetMissingCaptureSessionsAsync(connection);
@@ -751,7 +752,8 @@ private async Task<List<LongRunningQueryInfo>> GetLongRunningQueriesAsync(
             bool excludeSpServerDiagnostics = true,
             bool excludeWaitFor = true,
             bool excludeBackups = true,
-            bool excludeMiscWaits = true)
+            bool excludeMiscWaits = true,
+            bool excludeCdc = true)
         {
             maxResults = Math.Clamp(maxResults, 1, 1000);
 
@@ -763,6 +765,12 @@ private async Task<List<LongRunningQueryInfo>> GetLongRunningQueriesAsync(
                 ? "AND r.wait_type NOT IN (N'BACKUPTHREAD', N'BACKUPIO')" : "";
             string miscWaitsFilter = excludeMiscWaits
                 ? "AND r.wait_type NOT IN (N'XE_LIVE_TARGET_TVF')" : "";
+            // CDC capture runs continuously as a SQL Agent job (EXEC sys.sp_MScdc_capture_job -> sys.sp_cdc_scan),
+            // so it permanently exceeds the duration threshold. Filter on request text, not program_name, to stay
+            // CDC-specific and avoid hiding unrelated Agent jobs (ETL, index maintenance). Keep NULL text (encrypted
+            // modules) visible -- only drop rows we can positively identify as CDC.
+            string cdcFilter = excludeCdc
+                ? "AND (t.text IS NULL OR (t.text NOT LIKE N'%sp_MScdc_capture_job%' AND t.text NOT LIKE N'%sp_cdc_scan%'))" : "";
 
             string query = @$"SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL READ UNCOMMITTED;
 
@@ -787,6 +795,7 @@ CROSS APPLY sys.dm_exec_sql_text(r.sql_handle) AS t
                     {waitForFilter}
                     {backupsFilter}
                     {miscWaitsFilter}
+                    {cdcFilter}
                 ORDER BY r.total_elapsed_time DESC
                 OPTION(MAXDOP 1, RECOMPILE);";
 

Dashboard/SettingsWindow.xaml

@@ -246,6 +246,9 @@
                                       Margin="0,0,0,4"/>
                             <CheckBox x:Name="LrqExcludeMiscWaitsCheckBox"
                                       Content="Exclude miscellaneous waits (XE_LIVE_TARGET_TVF)"
+                                      Margin="0,0,0,4"/>
+                            <CheckBox x:Name="LrqExcludeCdcCheckBox"
+                                      Content="Exclude CDC capture jobs (sp_MScdc_capture_job, sp_cdc_scan)"
                                       Margin="0,0,0,0"/>
                             <StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal" Margin="0,8,0,0">
                                 <CheckBox x:Name="NotifyOnTempDbSpaceCheckBox"

Dashboard/SettingsWindow.xaml.cs

@@ -186,6 +186,7 @@ private void LoadSettings()
             LrqExcludeWaitForCheckBox.IsChecked = prefs.LongRunningQueryExcludeWaitFor;
             LrqExcludeBackupsCheckBox.IsChecked = prefs.LongRunningQueryExcludeBackups;
             LrqExcludeMiscWaitsCheckBox.IsChecked = prefs.LongRunningQueryExcludeMiscWaits;
+            LrqExcludeCdcCheckBox.IsChecked = prefs.LongRunningQueryExcludeCdc;
             AlertExcludedDatabasesTextBox.Text = string.Join(", ", prefs.AlertExcludedDatabases);
             NotifyOnTempDbSpaceCheckBox.IsChecked = prefs.NotifyOnTempDbSpace;
             TempDbSpaceThresholdTextBox.Text = prefs.TempDbSpaceThresholdPercent.ToString(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
@@ -683,6 +684,7 @@ private async void OkButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
             prefs.LongRunningQueryExcludeWaitFor = LrqExcludeWaitForCheckBox.IsChecked == true;
             prefs.LongRunningQueryExcludeBackups = LrqExcludeBackupsCheckBox.IsChecked == true;
             prefs.LongRunningQueryExcludeMiscWaits = LrqExcludeMiscWaitsCheckBox.IsChecked == true;
+            prefs.LongRunningQueryExcludeCdc = LrqExcludeCdcCheckBox.IsChecked == true;
             prefs.AlertExcludedDatabases = AlertExcludedDatabasesTextBox.Text
                 .Split(',')
                 .Select(s => s.Trim())