Randy starts a multiple part series on tuning queries. We've asked Randy to really start from scratch and walk through the process. This week he takes a look at viewing query plans in Query Analyzer.
2019-11-08 (first published: 2003-08-19)
26,251 reads
Building high performance applications with SQL Server can be a challenge if you do not understand how the query processor works and how the server uses indexes. SQL Server expert Randy Dyess brings a look at how bookmark lookups are used when satisfying a query and how this can impact the performance of your query.
2008-07-18 (first published: 2005-05-30)
38,967 reads
In this article Randy Dyness shows you how to avoid temp tables whenever to maximize the performance of your queries.
2008-05-30 (first published: 2002-04-09)
69,951 reads
Did you know that you can obtain the execution plans for your SQL Server 2000 queries using Profiler? It is an interesting concept, especially when you need to troubleshoot the queries on a system that you did not develop and cannot obtain source code for. SQL Server guru andy Dyess brings us the technique you can use to find those queries and execution plans.
2005-04-18
16,790 reads
Understanding the different types of joins used by the optimizer will help developers and DBAs understand how the optimizer is routing their queries. Developers often create queries without knowing that it would only take a few tweaks to produce an execution plan that utilizes one optimizer join method over another. These small tweaks can have dramatic effects on the optimization of the query and the ultimate satisfaction of the query by the end-users.
2005-02-09
22,549 reads
Some good info on password changes in Yukon (SQL 2005). Based on the beta, but worth taking a look at.
2004-03-19
8,933 reads
Randy says that the biggest reason we have so many injection vulnerabilities is that all the asp books use inline sql for their examples! We STILL encounter developers who don't understand injection. Read and pass on to your dev team.
2004-02-24
15,792 reads
We've had a good run of jobs about job management lately, Randy sent us another one that looks at the job of job management and shows us how he tackled the problem.
2003-04-02
24,108 reads
This article explains how to use a simple batch file and script file to manage multiple databases on multiple servers.
2002-10-24
10,015 reads
This article briefly discusses SQL Server's data and procedure cache and shows you the common Transact-SQL statements/command and system tables that you can use to interact with the cache through Transact-SQL.
2002-08-15
14,222 reads
By Brian Kelley
Yesterday, July 27, 2026, Microsoft announced a new cybersecurity effort called Project Perception. Included...
By Steve Jones
If you’ve wanted a SQL Server MCP server for your databases, it’s available. The...
Introducing azsql-migration-test, a small open-source CLI that validates your Azure SQL Database migrations against...
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Symmetric Key Encryption
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The “Successful Login” Dilemma: Why...
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Building Your Own Software
If I run this statement in SQL Server 2025, how is the password encrypted?
CREATE SYMMETRIC KEY MySymmetricKey WITH ALGORITHM = AES_256, KEY_SOURCE = 'My secret key source passphrase', IDENTITY_VALUE = 'My secret identity value' ENCRYPTION BY PASSWORD = 'S&perS#cretP@ssword7'; GOSee possible answers