Category Archive

Databases

SQL Server error log with highlighted error lines under a magnifying glass next to a database

SQL Server Error Log: Where to Find It, How to Read It and What to Watch For

Where the SQL Server error log lives, how to read and search it with SSMS and T-SQL, which messages need...

Database with a stopwatch, a filtering funnel and a magnifying glass representing SQL Server Extended Events

SQL Server Extended Events: A Practical Guide to Sessions, Targets and Analysis

How Extended Events works, how session settings affect performance, which target to use when, and ready-to-use sessions for long-running queries,...

Function block with inputs and one output and a gear, representing SQL Server user-defined functions and their performance

SQL Server User-Defined Functions: Scalar vs Table-Valued, Inlining and Performance

The three types of SQL Server user-defined functions, why scalar UDFs slow queries down, what scalar UDF inlining changes, how...

B-tree diagram with a magnifier over one leaf block next to a database, representing SQL Server index design

SQL Server Indexes: Types, Design Rules, Missing and Unused Indexes, and Maintenance

How SQL Server indexes work, which type to use when, how to choose clustered keys and design nonclustered indexes, why...

Standalone server not connected to a directory, with a certificate card, representing SQL Server without Active Directory

Installing SQL Server Without Active Directory: Authentication, Security and Workgroup Availability Groups

How to install and secure SQL Server on a workgroup server: virtual service accounts, Mixed Mode, encryption, no Kerberos, hardening...

Clock, job cards and an envelope, representing SQL Server Agent job scheduling and notifications

SQL Server Agent Best Practices: Job Owners, Notifications, History and Scheduling

Practices that make SQL Server Agent reliable: non-personal job owners, failure notifications and the fail-safe operator, job history retention, overlapping...

Database with a timeline of stored query cards, representing SQL Server Query Store

SQL Server Query Store: How to Enable It, Which Settings to Use and How to Fix Plan Regressions

How to enable SQL Server Query Store with production settings, catch it falling into READ_ONLY, find plan regressions, force a...

Memory module cluttered with small cards next to a neat stack, representing plan cache bloat and optimize for ad hoc workloads

Optimize for Ad Hoc Workloads: How to Stop Plan Cache Bloat in SQL Server

How to measure single-use plan bloat in the SQL Server plan cache, what optimize for ad hoc workloads does, when...

February 9, 2022

Control panel with toggle switches, one set differently, representing SQL Server SET options on objects

SQL Server Objects Created with the Wrong SET Options: Msg 1934, Filtered Indexes and ARITHABORT

Why procedures created with QUOTED_IDENTIFIER or ANSI_NULLS off break filtered indexes and indexed views with Msg 1934, how to find...

February 2, 2022

Oversized SQL Server transaction log made of many virtual log files overflowing next to a small database, with a warning gauge

SQL Server Transaction Log Too Big? Causes, Diagnosis and Safe Fixes

Why a SQL Server transaction log grows out of control, how to diagnose the real reason with log_reuse_wait_desc, and how...

January 19, 2022

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