Recompile hints have been tough to love in SQL Server for a long time. Sometimes it’s very tempting to use these hints to tell the optimizer to generate a fresh execution plan for a query, but there can be downsides.
Working with table partitioning can be puzzling. Table partitioning isn’t always a slam dunk for performance: heavy testing is needed. But even getting started with the testing can be a bit tricky!
Here’s a (relatively) simple example that walks you through setting up a partitioned table, running a query, and checking if it was able to get partition elimination.
One perk to filtered indexes that may not be obvious at first is that you get an extra “dimension”– almost an extra kind of key column. This can be useful for some queries that can be tricky to index.
You know what’s crazy?
A comprehensive, technical, well thought-out, and ENJOYABLE document. One written with the occasional interesting diagram and a reasonable use of acronyms, with effective tables and practical advice. A document that’s written for a human being which has helpful links to supporting documentation, but still makes you think.
Today, more blog from SQLSkills Immersion Training on Internals and Performance in Dallas, TX. For more about the training, see my prior post.
This week I’m one lucky duck: I’m thrilled to be at SQLSkills Immersion Training on Internals and Performance in Dallas, TX.
Warning: The DROPCLEANBUFFERS command referenced in this post is appropriate for test systems only and impacts the entire SQL Instance. If you are new to SQL Server, please use this commands with care, and be careful to read the linked Books Online documentation. Happy testing!
Copyright (c) 2025, Catalyze SQL, LLC; all rights reserved. Opinions expressed on this site are solely those of Kendra Little of Catalyze SQL, LLC. Content policy: Short excerpts of blog posts (3 sentences) may be republished, but longer excerpts and artwork cannot be shared without explicit permission.