Analyse Query with Database Engine Advisor – Failed to connect to an IPC Port

Using the Database Engine Advisor to analyse a SQL query can give you an insight into where to look for problems with performance. Recently I have a problem opening the advisor from a query window recieving an error: “Failed to connect to an IPC Port: The system cannot find the file specified”.

The problem was caused by a previous use of the system that had not been shutdown cleanly. The simplest way to resolve this problem is to open the windows task manager and end the process for DTAShell.exe.