How to parse sys.fn_xe_file_target_read_file faster

Question: I've captured extended events messages into an xel file, and trying to read from the file with this query using the Extended Events function sys.fn_xe_file_target_read_file. I've discovered it parses the file very slowly. Is there a way of speeding up the parsing performance? SELECT [XML Data], [XML Data].value('(/event[@name=''error_reported'']/@timestamp)[1]','DATETIME') AS [Timestamp], [XML Data].value('(/event/action[@name=''database_name'']/value)[1]','varchar(max)') AS [Database], [XML Data].value('(/event/data[@name=''message'']/value)[1]','varchar(max)') AS [Message], [XML Data].value('(/event/action[@name=''sql_text'']/value)[1]','varchar(max)') AS [Statement] FROM (SELECT OBJECT_NAME AS [Event], CONVERT(XML, event_data) AS [XML Data] FROM sys.fn_xe_file_target_read_file ('C:\tmp\CaptureErrors_0_1.xel',NULL,NULL,NULL)) as FailedQueries Answer: My recommendation is to dump the data into either a temp table or permanent table. Once you've dumped the data ,... Read more →