Randy Dyess

I have been working with SQL Server for over 5 years as both a development and production DBA. Before SQL Server I spent time as both a Visual Basic developer and Microsoft Access developer. Numerous projects upsizing Access to SQL Server lead me to become a full-time SQL Server DBA. Currently I have the privilege of working on one of the world's largest SQL Server "read-world" production installations at Verizon Communications for Verizon's billing project. We have 11 main databases totaling over 9 Terabytes of data with the largest single database over 2.2 Terabytes. My current position is as a development DBA, developing
new Transact-SQL code and enhancing existing code. Before working at Verizon, I worked at one of the largest advertising firms in America: Rapp Collins. There I supported up to 60 SQL Server web databases at a time, with some Oracle thrown in, doubling as both a development DBA and production DBA. Clients before Rapp Collins include: Auto One (a leading auto loan lender), Realpage, Inc. (leader in multi-housing management software) and BlueCross BlueShield of Texas (a large insurance company).

You can find out more about me and my works by visiting my website.

SQLServerCentral Article

Bookmark Lookups

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.

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2008-07-18 (first published: )

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SQLServerCentral Article

Obtaining Query Execution Plans Through SQL Profiler Traces

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.

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2005-04-18

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SQLServerCentral Article

Optimizer Join Methods

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.

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2005-02-09

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Question of the Day

The Empty Aggregate

I have this table in a SQL Server 2025 database:

CREATE TABLE [dbo].[CustomerOrder]
(
[OrderID] [int] NULL,
[CustomerID] [int] NULL,
[total] [money] NULL
) ON [PRIMARY]
GO
What is returned from this code? (answers are for the sum and then the count)
SELECT SUM(total) AS sum,
       COUNT(total) AS count
FROM dbo.CustomerOrder;



See possible answers