What MAXDOP Setting Should be Used for SQL Server
I have a busy SQL Server and notice that several queries are running in parallel. I know I can set the max degree of parallelism setting, but what MAXDOP should I use?
2012-11-28
4,230 reads
Additional Articles
Understanding the SQL Server 2012 BI Semantic Model (BISM)
SQL Server 2012 introduced an unified BI Semantic Model (BISM) which is based on some of the existing as well as some new technologies. This model is intended to serve as one model for all end user experiences for reporting, analytics, scorecards, dashboards, etc. In this tip, I will talk in detail about the new BISM, how it differs from earlier the earlier Unified Dimensional Model (UDM) and how BISM lays down a foundation for future.
2012-11-27
3,420 reads
SQL Server Transaction Log Fragmentation: a Primer
Generally, you will have no need to worry about the number of virtual log files in your transaction log. However, if you use the default settings for 'auto-grow', you can end up with such 'fragmentation' in your transaction log as to affect performance noticably. How can this be avoided? How can you tell it's a problem? What do you do about it? Greg explains.
2012-11-23 (first published: 2012-05-01)
7,126 reads
Performance Tuning Re-indexing and Update Statistics – A Case Study
Recently we started experiencing a very strange issue in our production reporting environment where the Re-indexing and Update Statistics operation suddenly began taking more than 2 days to complete and was thus causing blockage in the database which in turn caused impairment in application performance.
2012-11-20
5,852 reads
Create SQL Server Analysis Services Partitions using AMO
When you have SSAS cubes with millions of rows of data, it is very helpful to create partitions. If you have a few cubes you could probably do this manually, but if there are many or if you want to automate this process you should look for smarter solutions such as programming the creation of partitions dynamically.
2012-11-19
2,635 reads
SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn: Multisite Failover Cluster Instance
SQL Server Failover Clustering, which includes support for both local and multisite failover configurations, is part of the SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn implementation suite, designed to provide high availability and disaster recovery for SQL Server. The multisite failover clustering technology has been enhanced significantly in SQL Server 2012. The multisite failover cluster architecture, enhancements in SQL Server 2012 to the technology, and some best practices to help with deployment of the technology are the primary focus of this paper.
2012-11-16
2,732 reads
FileStream and FileTable in SQL Server 2012
SQL Server 2012 enhanced the SQL Server 2008 FileStream data type by introducing FileTable, which lets an application integrate its storage and data management components to allow non-transactional access, and provide integrated SQL Server services. Arshad Ali explains how.
2012-11-15
3,038 reads
Prevent Truncation of Dynamically Generated Results in SQL Server Management Studio
While working with the Results to Text option in SSMS, you may come across a situation where the output from dynamically generated data is truncated. In this article I will guide you on how to fix this issue and print all the text for the Results to Text option.
2012-11-14
2,887 reads
Designing Databases for Rapid Resilience
As the volume of data increases, DBAs need to plan more actively for rapid restores in the event of failure. For this, the intelligent use of filegroups is important, particularly when the Enterprise Edition of SQL Server offers the hope of online restores. How, though, should you arrange your data on the different filegroups? What happenens if the primary filegroup gets corrupted? Why backup and restore indexes?
2012-11-13
2,996 reads
Viewing VMware Counters in PerfMon for SQL Server
I want to ensure that my SQL Server on a VMware Guest OS is getting the resources it should. This would go a long way towards helping isolate the performance problems we're experiencing. However, our system administrators won't give us access to VirtualCenter or any of the tools they use. Is there anything I can do? Check out this tip to learn more.
2012-11-12
3,272 reads
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Question of the Day
UNISTR Escape
In SQL Server 2025, I run this command:
SELECT UNISTR('*3041*308A*304C\3068 and good night', '*') as "A Classic";
What is returned? (assume the database has an appropriate collation)
A: 
B: 
C: 
See possible answers