So SQL 2016 comes with updatable non clustered columnstore index. Are you wondering why this is a big deal. It is and here’s why In SQL 2012 the […]
Fill Factor and Page split demonstrated
Recently on one of the popular SQL Forums I read a post by a DBA who seemed experienced but still had a poor understanding of fill factor and […]
Some new screens you will likely encounter when installing MS SQL 2016
Here a screenshot by screenshot tour on installing SQL 2016, please keep in mind that this is a CTP (preview) so the screens may differ from RTM – […]
Did you know you can launch a trail version of SQL 2016 Azure VM?
But you will be charged for it because it launches the VM under your Azure account and will be billed as per usage. However you can register for […]
The tempdb – why shrinking doesn’t always work
Recently I was working on performance issues for a client and one of the topics we were looking at was tempdb. There was some confusion about when tempdb […]
OStress.exe – use it if you aren’t already
I was recently trying to simulate the performance implications of hashing vs encryption and wanted to simulate hundreds of sessions and 1000’s of requested on a username/password table. […]
NULL Management, SPARSE Columns, Vertical partitioning and a query
When discussing DW design I often take a lot of time to emphasize the impact Nulls have on query performance, aggregations, design, storage and much more. While this […]
administration / Azure / MSSQL
Auto Update Statistics when does it occur
I was recently asked when does the actual Auto Update Stats trigger and while I know its during query compile I wasn’t exactly sure what the thresholds were […]
TRACE FLAG 1118 – Proportional Filling and the tempdb
Often when conducting trainings I ask my participants not to take my word for it but try things out for themselves. I was asked a question about the […]
Stress testing disk subsystems – SQLIOSIM
A client of ours recently bought a brand new set of disks and wanted to know best practices around tempdb optimizations during the discussion we were trying to […]