SQL errors and other failures fixed from the trenches

Solve your SQL Server error, problem or installation failure with this advice. Learn how to fix SQL performance errors and suspect data recovery problems.

Speeding up the Performance of Table Counts in SQL Server 2005

This article describes how the Object Catalog Views can be used to determine the number of rows in a table

Read/Write Unit

Performance Implications of Database Snapshots

Books online mentions that performance may be reduced when using database snapshots. I decided to investigate how severe that reduction could be.

Performance tuning through memory and CPU

In this tip, learn how memory allocation and CPU processing impact SQL Server performance and get tips for tuning these areas.

How To Collect Performance Data With TYPEPERF.EXE

One of the things I typically need to do is to collect performance data on the server which includes CPU, memory and disk utilization as well as SQL Server-specific data. What command line tools are available to do this?

Tuning performance via disk arrays and disk

Tuning SQL Server performance means tuning hardware configurations and setup. Learn about configuring disk arrays and SQL disk partitioning alignment.

Simulating memory pressure

Identifying Queries Running Slower Than Normal

The attached article describes a utility that allows you to quickly identify which queries are running slower than expected. Note this article was updated to correct the formatting issues.

Updating through cursors