When do Distribution Statistics Get Updated?
Statistics objects are important to us for allowing SQL to make good estimates of the row-counts involved in different parts...
2017-07-05
765 reads
Matthew McGiffen DBA
Row-count Estimates when there are no Statistics
I was discussing Cardinality Estimation with a colleague recently and the question came up, what cardinality does SQL Server use...
2019-04-26 (first published: 2017-06-28)
2,868 reads
Statistics and Cardinality Estimation
Cardinality
This is a term originally from Mathematics, generally defined as “The number of objects in a given set or grouping”....
2019-04-26 (first published: 2017-06-20)
5,795 reads
What’s an “Index” and how do they work?
What is an Index?
We often hear indexes explained using the analogy of an index in the back of a book....
2017-06-12
1,574 reads
SQL Puzzle 1: Magic Squares
This is the first in what I hope will be a semi-regular series of recreational puzzles where SQL can be...
2017-06-07
1,550 reads
Working with Data in Always Encrypted
In this post we’re going to create some encrypted columns in a table in a test database and look at...
2017-06-06
10,355 reads
Statistics Parser
In the last post we looked at using the STATISTICS IO and STATISTICS TIME commands to measure query performance.
If you’ve...
2019-04-26 (first published: 2017-05-31)
2,233 reads
Understanding Keys and Certificates with Always Encrypted
Always Encrypted on SQL 2016 is pretty easy to set up. There’s even a single wizard to guide you through...
2019-04-26 (first published: 2017-05-30)
8,367 reads
Tuning Parallelism on SQL Server
Parallelism and MAXDOP
There’s no doubt that parallelism in SQL is a great thing. It enables large queries to share the...
2017-05-26
5,280 reads
Measuring SQL Query Performance
When running workshops on the subject of SQL Query Performance the first question I always ask is how do we measure...
2019-04-26 (first published: 2017-05-24)
35,672 reads
Blogs
Back at Small Data SF in 2025
By Steve Jones
Today I’m in San Francisco at Small Data SF 2025. I went to the...
Check Power BI Bookmarks with Semantic Link Labs
Have you ever added a visual to a Power BI report page and published...
SQL Server Database Migration Pitfalls
SQL Server Database Migration Pitfalls (and How to Fix Them) Database migrations are where great...
Forums
Large posts full of code not allowed anymore?
Several times now, I've seen a post asking for a solution. I've replied, and...
Data > Hype
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Data > Hype
Create and Read the Analysis Services Flight Recorder
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Create and Read the Analysis...
Question of the Day
Slipstream parameters
What parameters are needed to enable a slipstream installation for setup.exe (SQL Server setup)?
See possible answers