Featured Article(s) Understanding the ORDER BY clause The ORDER BY clause acts differently in logical query processing. The article explains such behaviors of ORDER BY with the aid of query execution plans. Asking the Right Questions I wrote last week about asking the right questions and, specifically, at the right time. The original point was centered around gathering statistics at […]

Featured Article(s) SQL Statement Runtime in MS The following stored procedure usp_CalcMsExecTime gets a string varchar(4000) of a SQL statement and calculates the time (in Miliseconds)it took to execute. Additional Thoughts on Tuning I can’t tell how many times I’ve had this conversation: Me: "When do you want to capture the load on SQL Server so we can see what’s […]

Featured Article(s) Freespace – A DBA’s Favorite View One of a DBA’s main worries is the amount of freespace in a tablespace. This article will present a view that I use on a daily basis to monitor tablespace freespace. This view is one of my most frequently used tools and has help keep me out of trouble. Tuning, Troubleshooting – […]

Featured Article(s) Tips for using SQL Server 2005 Query Hints (Part 1) Here are some helpful tips to optimize your SQL Server 2005 queries by using hints. Query Optimization Tips Yesterday I wrote about a quick approach to figuring out which of a few different ways is the best query to run. I ran across a great article from Pinal […]

Featured Article(s) Business Continuity planning for SQL Server Business Continuity planning for SQL server. Find out tips and an approach to your planning. SQL Server Execution Plan and Tuning When was the last time you reviewed the execution plan for your popular queries in the system? This seems like one of the tools that gets attention when there are problems, […]

Independent SQL Server Help Or, at least help with your independent support of SQL Server. I asked about whether you thought this might be a good idea last week. Specifically, we’re considering a series about helping run a consulting business – either administrative or development – and the thought was to have information on common business issues that come up […]

Featured Article(s) Doing More with Less Money on Your Disks I just received an email not too long ago where a DBA was being forced into a situation where he was going to have to order equipment to upgrade his SQL Server but with the kind of budget is used to buy a couple of desktops. Converting from DTS to […]

Featured Article(s) Introduction to Windows Presentation Foundation With strong emphasis on declarative programming, Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) formerly code named "Avalon", stands out as one of the most widely popular components added to the new versions of Microsoft .NET Framework for designing and developing applications visually stunning and rich user interfaces. This is the first in the series of articles […]

Featured Article(s) Tips for using SQL Server 2005 Database Console Commands (Part 3) In this article, Alexander Chigrik shows how you can optimize SQL Server 2005 performance by using database console commands. Cool Contest Have you seen this? They’re holding a contest looking for the biggest, baddest DTS package – and they even have a prize every month. Pretty cool. […]

Featured Article(s) Some simple T-SQL programming benefits of SQL 2008 The following article list some simple but very useful benefits for upgrading to SQL 2008 that makes T-SQL use easier. Its a good practice to use these new T-SQL enhancements. Working with Idera, SQL Sentry and Others? We need your feedback! We’re working with VendorRate to produce community-oriented and provided […]