Get an estimated execution plan for the query. It won't be terribly accurate, but it should give you some information as to why you're seeing things run so incredibly slow.

Seems like overkill.

Generally we approach it this way:

"Here are the top 10 poor performing procedures for database x"

"We have evaluated these procedures and identified possible fixes"

"Performance before the fix looked...

It sounds like you're not exactly working from a good set of SOA standards. By and large, in most cases, you should have one system defined as the absolute authority...

In 2005 use ordered GUID's. They make a huge difference in performance, especially if you have clustered indexes on the GUID. In 2000, you'll have to just deal with the...

Any time you're asked to tune a performance problem but told you can't touch the code (unless it's a third party app), you need to push back. More often than...

How many rows are in the table? I ran into a similar issue and posted it on Microsoft Connect because I thought I had a bug. It has to do...

We have similar problems. We've used two steps to resolve it. First, identify absolute owners of all the data you possibly can. The primary keys generated by those owning systems...

One way that comes to mind is to have a tinyint column that you increment manually as you insert data. Put two constraints on the column, one to make it...

There's a dependency in there somewhere. Why not get a copy of Red Gate's Dependency Checker (or whatever it's called) and run it against the database. It's VERY thorough and...

Sweet. Thanks for posting that Jeff.

One key word stands out in the problem statement, "almost." Variations in the results, even small ones, can result in larger variations in execution times.

However, that's usually when there's problems...

I agree with GSquared. The approach is not worrying about whether or not the partition is justified. They want to partition. Now, do they manage stored procedures in a central...

I generally look to scans & reads as the primary measure of how well a procedure or statement is performing, but when you're in the GUI, looking at the information...

Rog Saber (6/3/2008)

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I have a scales table. Below is an example of data which may be in the table. A truck comes in with a trailer (or 2 trailers). I...

Absolutely. Nothing is perfect. I do love SQL Prompt, but I recognize it's weaknesses. For example, I've had it, out of the blue, chew up all the system resources. It's...