Which SELECT * Is Better?

The short answer is, of course, none of them, but testing is the only way to be sure.
I was asked,...

Changing DB_CHAIN Can Clear the Plan Cache

If you make changes to the settings of a database, it can cause the procedure cache to be cleared. Microsoft...

Comments on Acceptable Behavior

Here’s the situation. We’re absolutely falling down as men and professionals. Ladies, feel free to read on and comment, but...

AlwaysOn Failover Bug

I just found a little bug in AlwaysOn. It’s actually not that big a deal, but it’s interesting. In a...

SQL Server Log Backups

While presenting a session on Common Backup Problems both at SQL Saturday in Orange County and at SQL Connections in...

Execution Plan for a User Defined Function

When you execute a multi-statement user-defined function you may see an execution plan that looks something like this:

It appears as...

TDE and Compression

I knew that enabling TDE would cause the information stored within to, effectively, be randomized, which means it would seriously...

SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn & A Thorough Setup

It’s surprisingly easy to set up the new AlwaysOn features. I’ve done it on VMs running on my laptop, from...

Let’s Talk

I’m travelling to several upcoming events and I’d love to sit down and talk with you. Yes, I get it,...

Avoiding Bad Query Performance

There’s a very old saying, “When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.”
And my evidence today is:

That’s certainly not...