Blogs

How to Quickly Tell if an Execution Plan has Multiple Missing Index Requests

How to Quickly Tell if an Execution Plan has Multiple Missing Index Requests

on March 7, 2017 • 2 min read

Category: index-tuning

Ever see those little green messages at the top of an execution plan?

Those are missing index suggestions.

SQL Server loves to suggest that you consider changing up your index game.

Continue reading

New Course: Tuning Problem Queries in Table Partitioning

New Course: Tuning Problem Queries in Table Partitioning

on March 2, 2017 • 1 min read

As of SQL Server 2016 SP1, you can now use partitioning in Standard, Web, and even Express Edition of SQL Server.

Everything’s gonna be fast! Right?

Well, not quite. But no worries, this course is now free.

Continue reading

WAL: The concept that makes recovery models & backups make sense (Dear SQL DBA Episode 32)

WAL: The concept that makes recovery models & backups make sense (Dear SQL DBA Episode 32)

When you’re a Junior DBA, it’s really hard to take in all the information out there.

Learn about write ahead logging: the concept that can help you make sense of recovery models and backup strategies in SQL Server. This is a foundational concept that helps you understand how SQL Server works.

Continue reading

DBCC CLONEDATABASE Does NOT Clone Index Usage Statistics

DBCC CLONEDATABASE Does NOT Clone Index Usage Statistics

By Kendra Little on February 28, 2017 • 2 min read

The word ‘statistics’ is awfully confusing in SQL Server

It can mean “statistics” themselves – little objects that describe the distribution of data in columns or indexes to help the optimizer.

Or it can mean “usage statistics” -  dynamic management views that let you see how many times an index has been used or requested, how many times a query has been run, that kind of thing.

Continue reading

The BabbyNames Sample Database - Now on GitHub

The BabbyNames Sample Database - Now on GitHub

on February 28, 2017 • 2 min read

1960 was the most popular year to name your baby ‘Dino’, with 386 Dinos born.

Continue reading

Will the Cloud Eat My DBA Job? (Dear SQL DBA Episode 31)

Will the Cloud Eat My DBA Job? (Dear SQL DBA Episode 31)

on February 23, 2017 • 8 min read

Will cloud services render DBAs obsolete? Does the cloud mean that developers will use less of SQL Server? In this post I talk about the future of database administration and give tips on strategizing your career.

Continue reading

Understanding avg_total_user_cost and avg_user_impact in Missing Index Requests

Understanding avg_total_user_cost and avg_user_impact in Missing Index Requests

on February 22, 2017 • 4 min read

The hardest thing about looking at index requests in SQL Server is understanding what the column names mean.

Continue reading