When Do We Worry About Scalability?

Steve has a few thoughts on the tradeoff between getting work done quickly and producing well performing code.

SQL Local Variables and Performance Issues

In this article, we examine the effect of local variables on T-SQL queries and how these could potentially cause performance issues.

Invisible Downtime

Steve has a few thoughts on invisible downtime, a term he had never heard until recently.

SQL Server Plan Cache Bloat Performance Impacts

Learn about the SQL Server plan cache and how SQL Server caches query plans, and the potential of plan cache bloat which could impact performance.

Option Recompile is a Magic Turbo Button That Actually Works.

Guy Glantser is an Israeli SQL Server guru with a ton of great presentations on YouTube. I’ve had the privilege of hanging out with him in person a bunch of times over the year, and I’ll always get excited to do it again. He’s not just smart, but he’s friendly and funny as hell.

What Happens When Multiple Queries Compile at Once?

An interesting question came in on PollGab. DBAmusing asked: If a query takes 5-7s to calculate the execution plan (then executes <500ms) if multiple SPIDS all submit that query (different param values) when there’s no plan at start, does each SPID calc the execution plan, one after the other after waiting for the prior SPID to finish?

Join Limitations

Join Hints

SQL Server Clustered Index Seek Operation Generates Poor Query Performance

In this article, we look at why a SQL Server clustered index seek operation might not always be the most optimized approach for executing a query.

High Execution Plan Performance Variance