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 a time when the system is being used as it really is used – not some lull time or when unusual or atypical things are happening. David wrote in with further thoughts about this – thought I’d share them here:
"The first question of your conversation is:
Me: "When do you want to capture the load on SQL Server so we can see what’s happening, tune the system, etc.?" Me: "When do you want to capture the load on SQL Server so we can see what’s happening, tune the system, etc.?"
Perhaps better starting questions might be:
Me: “When do you find the data entry system slowing down or locking up? Is there any pattern to it? Any particular times of day? Any particular day of the week or day of the month? What else is going on then?”
When you get the answer to this, you know when to investigate and get data.
I’m reminded of a conference I attended where the ballroom where we met was way too cold. The person who was communicating with the hotel kept telling them, “Turn down the air conditioning.” But it kept getting even colder as the day went on.
Later, we found out what was going on. Our conference person was telling the hotel what to do: “Turn down the air conditioning”, and they passed it on to their facilities person “Turn down the air conditioning.” The facilities person passed this along to the person who set the thermostat for the room. So the person who set the thermostat turned it down, as instructed.
My lesson from this is that the person who wants something fixed should describe the problem in as much detail as needed, and then let the expert go to work. The people experiencing the computer slowdown needed to tell when it happened, what time of day, what was going on, etc. Then the expert can decide how to further investigate and fix it. If our convention planner had said to the hotel, “The ballroom is too cold. We are chilly and uncomfortable,” the matter would have improved the first time."
Good points. In fact, I think if you can take the extra time to do the old "what I hear you saying is…" and repeat what you think they are asking for, you’ll have decent results getting to the heart of the matter.
vConferences are Now Open for Registration
Looking for ways to keep on top of things in this odd economy? Need to maximize your budget, minimize your costs, but still keep learning tips, tricks and interacting with experts?
We have the answer!
We’ve pulled together and amazing array of speakers for our SQL Server, .NET, SharePoint and Business Intelligence vConferences and we’ll bring them to you. 40 speakers, 120 all-new sessions. We’ve even added an entire track of SQL Server 101 sessions, available for all of the different disciplines, free.
Right now, you can save big dollars too for early-bird registration – it’s only $80 for a limited time. Without sounding like a car salesman, it’s a great deal.
The vConferences happen April 22, 23 and 24 – Check them out here:
– SQL Server
– .NET Developers
– Business Intelligence
– SharePoint
Hope to see you there!
Featured White Paper(s)
Protecting Microsoft SQL in Physical and Virtual Environments
If you are involved with managing Microsoft SQL Server applications, you’ll want to download this paper to learn: – The pri… (read more)