There are different techniques to optimize the performance of SQL Server queries but wouldn’t it be great if we had some recommendations before we started planning or optimizing queries so that we didn’t have to start from the scratch every time? This is where you can use the Database Engine Tuning Advisor utility to get recommendations based on your workload.
2015-03-05
7,574 reads
Tony Davis answers 10 surprisingly tricky questions about SQL Server Transaction Log.
2015-03-04
9,623 reads
One of the most important SQL Server DBA tasks is checking logical hard drive details such as the total capacity, free disk space, and used space by the SQL Server data and log files. In this tip we look at a method to view this information in a faster and simpler way.
2015-03-03
6,821 reads
How often do you check your query plans to see if they contain any warnings? If you're missing them, it means that you're not getting all those hints about missing indexes, join predicates or statistics. Is the query optimiser trying to tell you about implicit conversions? Dennes shows how to view the warnings in plan cache for a particular database using SQL.
2015-03-02
7,649 reads
The options that you need to select when setting up an Azure Storage service account allow you to specify the durability and high-availability of your data, but they don't provide for data recovery to a point-in-time. In fact, it means that some of the bad things that can happen to data are more efficiently replicated to all copies. Backup is quite a separate issue.
2015-02-27
8,864 reads
Most large organizations have implemented one or more big data applications. As more data accumulates internal users and analysts execute more reports and forecasts, which leads to additional queries and analysis, and more reporting. The cycle continues: data growth leads to better analysis, which generates more reporting. Eventually the big data application swells with so much data and querying that performance suffers.
2015-02-26
11,157 reads
A database must be able to maintain and enforce the business rules and relationships in data in order to maintain the data model. It does this through referential constraints. They aren't complex, but are powerful, especially with the means to attach DRI actions to them. Joe Celko explains all, and pines for the ANSI CREATE ASSERTION statement.
2015-02-25
9,100 reads
PowerShell V2 introduces the "try-catch-finally" statements, similar to those you already use when you write .NET code. "Try-catch-finally" encloses a block of script that is likely to produce errors under specific circumstances and therefore helps you to keep your code organized. This article is a short usage guide for this error handling construct.
2015-02-24
8,518 reads
Performance tuning and optimization definitely have their place in minimizing SQL Server Licensing costs – by helping keep CPU utilization low. But it’s important to remember that the fastest and most efficient query possible is the one that you never execute against your SQL Server. That might sound trite, but it’s at the heart of caching – which is key to helping organizations save significant money on SQL Server licensing costs while simultaneously enabling better application performance and increased scalability.
2015-02-23
8,605 reads
When SQL Server 2014 was released, it included Hekaton, Microsoft’s much talked about memory-optimized engine that brings In-Memory OLTP into play. With memory-optimized tables 30 times faster than disk-based tables, higher performance is promised – but at what cost? Jonathan Watts looks at the features that have improved, and those that need careful consideration.
2015-02-20
10,562 reads
By Brian Kelley
I am guilty as charged. The quote was in reference to how people argue...
By Steve Jones
Learn how to tie a bowline knot. Practice in the dark. With one hand....
By HeyMo0sh
As a DevOps practitioner, I’ve always focused on performance, scalability, and automation. But as...
Hi, I have a SQL Server instance where users connect to via Windows Authentication,...
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I have a query from a former DBA that we run on SQL Server 2025 to check on database metadata. This query references sys.sysaltfiles. I want to refactor this code to be more modern. Which DMV should I reference instead?
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