• Remove the hint unless there is no other way to get the optimiser to choose the index that you know to be best, you know why the index you're hinting is best, why the optimiser isn't picking it and you will test on a regular basis to ensure it's still the best index.

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
    SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

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