Setting the Sample Rate for Auto Stats updates

SQL Server functionality can move on pretty quickly sometimes, and it’s not always all about the big features but the...

Viewing the Statistics Objects Used to Create an Execution Plan

A while ago now I was running some Performance Tuning workshops and was asked how you can find out which Statistics...

SQL Puzzle 3: Knights and Queens

I thought I’d do another chess puzzle this month. This one is a variant on the Eight Queens problem:
SQL Puzzle...

Automatic Sample Sizes for Statistics Updates

I mentioned in my previous post about manually updating statistics that you can specify whether they’re updated using a full...

How to be a bad interviewer

In the monthly SQL blogging party that is T-SQL Tuesday (brainchild of Adam Machanic), Kendra Little has invited us this...

Manually updating Statistics

Even though SQL Server automatically updates statistics in the background for you, you may find there are times when you...

Statistics and the Ascending Key Problem

I’ve mentioned previously how not having up to date statistics can cause problems in query performance. This post looks at...

SQL Server Agent and Daylight Saving time

There was a bit of chat today on the SQL Community slack about UTC and Daylight Saving Time. It reminded...

SQL Puzzle 2: Eight Queens

This puzzle was first proposed in 1848 by a composer of chess puzzles called Max Bezzel and has since spawned...

Think twice before using table variables

T-SQL Tuesday

For T-SQL Tuesday this month Raul Gonzalez has asked us all to blog about lessons learnt the hard way:
http://www.sqldoubleg.com/2017/07/03/tsql2sday-92-lessons-learned-the-hard-way/
My...