Why Blog?
The main reason I started blogging was a community thing. I leeched from the community to get me to where...
2013-09-04
1,014 reads
Simple SQL Server
Query Stats
DBAs rarely use the full potential of sys.dm_exec_query_stats. It’s common to see the queries for looking at the most expensive...
2013-09-04 (first published: 2013-08-27)
3,774 reads
SQL Saturday 250 – Pittsburgh – Advice for My Presentation on Monitoring and Baselines
I’ll be presenting at SQL Saturday 250 in Pittsburgh on Baselining and Monitoring. This is my first public presentation, and...
2013-08-20
780 reads
Fixing Page Life Expectancy (PLE)
What is Page Life Expectancy (PLE), what makes it drop, and how can I manage memory better? Abusing disks slows...
2013-08-20 (first published: 2013-08-19)
4,810 reads
Sys.dm_os_performance_counters Demystified
The dmv sys.dm_os_performance_counters is awesome, if you can understand it. This is how I make it easy to read and...
2013-08-13
2,673 reads
Deadlock – A quick, easy view
Deadlocks are rough to work with. Here are the scripts I use to capture deadlocks, find which ones are reoccurring,...
2013-08-06
2,093 reads
SQL Server Running Slow
A user calls to say the app or server is slow today. Here’s a quick summary of how I get...
2013-06-20
876 reads
Recently Recompiled Resource Hogs
It’s not too uncommon for a query to get a new execution plan that performs a lot worse than it...
2013-06-24 (first published: 2013-06-19)
1,810 reads
Reading Traces
Capturing information is useless unless you know how to use it. Here’s what I use to get the most out...
2013-06-18
1,395 reads
Tracing Introduction
SQL Server tracing is essential for troubleshooting performance issues, yet it can put loads on your server that would cause...
2013-06-16
1,080 reads
Blogs
The flight recorder: Replaying what an AI agent did on my SQL Server
By Arun Sirpal
“What exactly did it do on my server?” is the first question a DBA...
Announcements from the Microsoft Fabric Community Conference — Barcelona 2026
By James Serra
Microsoft shared a broad set of Fabric, Power BI, and SQL updates at FabCon...
Au Revoir for now
By Steve Jones
No, I’m not quitting or retiring. Just going on vacation, but I leave tonight...
Forums
Let's Talk Certifications
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Let's Talk Certifications, which is...
The Hidden Security Risks of Role Combination in SSAS Tabular
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Hidden Security Risks of...
The Empty Aggregate
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Empty Aggregate
Question of the Day
The Empty Aggregate
I have this table in a SQL Server 2025 database:
CREATE TABLE [dbo].[CustomerOrder] ( [OrderID] [int] NULL, [CustomerID] [int] NULL, [total] [money] NULL ) ON [PRIMARY] GOWhat is returned from this code? (answers are for the sum and then the count)
SELECT SUM(total) AS sum,
COUNT(total) AS count
FROM dbo.CustomerOrder;
See possible answers