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...

Meme Monday: Deadlines

Tom LaRock (blog|twitter) has assigned an interesting topic for Meme Monday this month, working with deadlines.
Some people hate deadlines. Some...

Learning, Networking & Wine

Let’s say, you want to spend a couple of days learning about SQL Server. You also want to spend some...

Tech on Tap v1.1 Wrap-up

The first ever Tech on Tap event was held on Saturday, January 27th, 2012 at the Stone Cellar Brewpub in...

Execution Plans, What Do I Look At?

The question came up, what are the top 3-5 things that you look at in a query. I realized then...