Browse the archive
Changing a column from int to bigint has gotten a lot easier since I started working on SQL Server back at the turn of the century. SQL Server 2016 introduced the ability to do ALTER TABLE...ALTER COLUMN as an online operation using the WITH (ONLINE=ON) …
Continue readingQuestion For example, if I hit the sys dynamic views to select a specific query plan, am I able to insert that query plan into another database's plan cache, that runs the same exact query? (I know the query is hashed and compared to determine when to …
Continue readingYesterday, I talked about batching deletes, and the day before I talked about how much I like to delete data, and why it's necessary to do it, despite being a data pack rat. Today, let's look at just one scenario, and how I like to handle it. In my experience, …
Continue readingDBAs & Data professionals tend to be digital packrats. My personal Google Drive is filled with random files that I refused to part with--even though it's of questionable value. I lament that I do not have a copy of every paper I typed in high school or …
Continue readingOn August 28, 2018 at 2PM EDT, I’ll be joining Melissa Connors (blog|twitter), Kevin Kline (blog|twitter), and Rob Sewell (blog|twitter) for a webinar on advanced SQL Server features. The webinar centers around a real-life case study of technology SentryOne …
Continue readingI was recently doing a training session when a developer commented that it was OK to run an expensive query twice because on the second execution, SQL Server would use the "results cache" and be "practically free". It's not the first time I've heard someone …
Continue readingI was recently asked: For testing, I need to generate artificial CPU load on the server, outside of SQL Server. Do you have any ideas? Maybe something with PowerShell? I quickly replied: Heck yea, PowerShell can do that. I mean, I knew PowerShell could do it. …
Continue readingA practical approach to monitoring SQL Server blocking and alerting when it becomes disruptive.
Continue readingQuestion I'm noticing this wait stat on my Azure SQL database, and I've never seen it before. I've tried Googling this wait stat but haven't been able to come up with any good information on what this is, although I saw a couple mentions of it possibly being …
Continue readingIn this post, I walk through identifying and fixing a serious performance issue with a multi-statement TVF in Dynamics CRM.
Continue reading
