Editorials

A Little Normalization Goes a Long Way


Webcast:
Using Log Shipping for High Availability
Log Shipping has been around in one form or another since SQL Server 2000 and many “homegrown†and third-party solutions have recently become available. This session will cover all you need to know about log shipping to use it effectively for high availability. We will look at set up, maintenance, monitoring, and failover. In addition, we will look at other SQL Server objects that you need to account for when using Log Shipping for HA. This session is for beginning to advanced SQL Server DBAs with little or no Log Shipping experience. Presented by: Eric Johnson

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> Live date: 7/14/2010 at 12:00 Pacific

A Little Normalization Goes a Long Way

I recently came across a need for normalization from a different perspective than I ever experienced in the past. A specific table was performing poorly for Insert, Update and Select queries. A savvy developer started looking to make sure there were adequate indexes for the queries. He quickly found that there weren’t any indexes for queries that were run consistently. Someone had deleted indexes that were used for retrieval because it was slowing down inserts and updates. A battle ensued…

The problem escalated to where it required my attention. The issue was that the table in question was not normalized. They had multiple columns that related to the state of the record at different stages of processing. Each new stage of processing that was introduced required a new column. And, of course, if you wanted to search for records based on a specific state you had to look at that field, resulting in new indexes for each new state column added to the table.

How simple it was to create a state table with multiple state records for each row. The customer was pleased because it performed well for everyone, and it was extensible. Additionally, they added a time stamp into the state table so now they could see when the record changed states as well.

Drop me a note and let me hear about how you find opportunities to tune your schema. Send your replies to btaylor@sswug.org.

Cheers,

Ben

Upcoming Workshop: SQL Server 2008 Indexes – Internals and Best Practices

July 23, 2010

Presented by Microsoft MVP Kalen Delaney

If you’ve been around Microsoft SQL Server for even a short time you will quickly recognize Kalen as an expert in SQL Server and how to make it sing. In this virtual workshop you will "learn about basic index structures, tools for exploring those structures, index design considerations and best practice guidelines." The last few weeks our discussions have centered a lot on indexing, and demonstrate the value of an opportunity such as this. You can go to www.vconferenceonline.com/shows/workshops/indexing.asp for more info or to register.

This is a Deep-Dive, Advanced Workshop
On-demand viewing available for one week and it includes a certificate on successful completion of the post-course quiz.

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