Archives for July 2015

Interviews are a Two-way Street

I was recently chatting with a friend who was seeking advice about difficulties in their job. This was a job which, a year ago, she described as her dream job. It quickly became evident to her that it was actually a nightmare job. The company, her coworkers, and her boss were all dysfunctional in one or more ways and it was making her life miserable. One of her big questions was “What sort of questions could I have asked during the interview that would’ve helped me foresee what it’d actually be like to work there?” It’s Not Only About Pleasing the Interviewer Many times, we intuitively … [Read more...]

DBTA – Delayed Durability—The SQL Server 2014 Transaction Log Hack!

Originally appearing in my monthly column at Database Trends & Applications magazine. Delayed durability was announced late in the SQL Server 2014 development cycle, but offers something that many SQL Server professionals have wanted for years—the ability to disable transaction logging. Why turn off the transaction log? It is the main guarantor of transactional consistency in SQL Server and is critical for highly recoverable applications, after all. That answer, in itself, tells you about situations where you might like to turn off the transaction log. That is, you can accelerate … [Read more...]

ICYMI – Read Committed Snapshot Isolation, How Automatic Updates to Statistics Can Affect Query Performance, #temp table

A digest of great articles originally appearing at SQLPerformance.com. Read Committed Snapshot Isolation Paul White ( b | t ) has been doing a phenomenal series on SQL Server behavior under each of the major isolation levels. This particular post details the inner workings of READ COMMITTED SNAPSHOT, but there are more articles on this specific isolation level as well. I recommend Paul’s content generally, but this is an especially good series of articles, if you’re not up to speed on isolation levels and how they can alter SQL Server’s default performance. How Automatic Updates to … [Read more...]

Digging for Gold

Andrew Carnegie, once the wealthiest man on earth, came from humble beginnings. As a young boy, he worked a number of odd jobs. His hard work, industrious nature, and persistence eventually led him to become the largest steel manufacturer in the United States. Once, during an interview, Carnegie was asked how he had hired 43 millionaires. At that time, being a millionaire was very uncommon. It would be similar to a person having $25 to $30 million in today's dollars. Carnegie was quick to correct the reporter. He had hired 43 people who had become millionaires while working for him. The … [Read more...]

Professional Developement – Digging for Gold

Originally appearing at ForITPros.com. Andrew Carnegie, once the wealthiest man on earth, came from humble beginnings. As a young boy, he worked a number of odd jobs. His hard work, industrious nature, and persistence eventually led him to become the largest steel manufacturer in the United States. Once, during an interview, Carnegie was asked how he had hired 43 millionaires. At that time, being a millionaire was very uncommon. It would be similar to a person having $25 to $30 million in today's dollars. Carnegie was quick to correct the reporter. He had hired 43 people who had become … [Read more...]

DBTA – For #SQLFamily, a Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Originally appearing in my monthly column at Database Trends & Applications magazine. It’s the holiday season, a time for cheer and goodwill towards men. That got me thinking about the whole “most wonderful time of the year” tune playing in the background and how that has some special implications for the SQL Server world. Here’s a bit of context: I'm writing this article for you in the midst of the biggest gathering of SQL Server professions in any given year, the PASS Summit. One of the most visible activities when attendees get together for the very first time at the registration … [Read more...]

ICYMI – Avoiding Performance Tuning, Wait Statistics, Incremental Statistics

Some of my favorite articles originally appearing at SQLPerformance.com. Avoiding Knee-Jerk Performance Tuning Paul Randal of SQLskills.com starts a new series on knee-jerk troubleshooting, discussing many areas where SQL Server folks jump to conclusions when trying to fix a performance issue. Knee-Jerk Wait Statistics: SOS_SCHEDULER_YIELD Paul Randal continues his series on knee-jerk performance troubleshooting. In this post, he talks about SOS_SCHEDULER_YIELD, and how to determine whether it is a wait to worry about in your scenario. SQL Server 2014 Incremental … [Read more...]

ICYMI – Avoiding Performance Tuning, Wait Statistics, Incremental Statistics

A digest of great articles originally appearing at SQLPerformance.com. Avoiding Knee-Jerk Performance Tuning Paul Randal of SQLskills.com starts a new series on knee-jerk troubleshooting, discussing many areas where SQL Server folks jump to conclusions when trying to fix a performance issue. Knee-Jerk Wait Statistics: SOS_SCHEDULER_YIELD Paul Randal continues his series on knee-jerk performance troubleshooting. In this post, he talks about SOS_SCHEDULER_YIELD, and how to determine whether it is a wait to worry about in your scenario. SQL Server 2014 Incremental Statistics Benjamin … [Read more...]

#SQLVacation Follow-up Resources and Contest Details

I've gotten lots of requests for the slide decks, scripts, and the #SQLVacation contest running through July 31st. Plus, other things to follow-up on. In order to make life easier for me, I've put all of the answers in one place on my SQL Sentry blog page. Click the link to get all of the goodies. If enough people participate, I might be able to persuade my boss to let me do this next year. So c'mon and help a brother out!   #SQLVacation, The Experience First came the in-person #SQLVacation roadtrip.   That Kline family won't be nearly as good at this as us Griswolds! Two … [Read more...]

SQLVacation Slides and Scripts

First came the in-person roadtrip. Two weeks riding the highways from Nashville, TN to Chicago, IL to St. Louis, MO and back. One thousand four hundred miles in a minivan with my wife and four daughters. Eight PASS user groups. Twelve presentations.  Over three hundred attendees.  Two hundred t-shirts.  Eight winners of a license for Plan Explorer PRO.  And through it all ... ONE TOILET. SQLVacation, Resources I've gotten lots of requests for the slide decks, the scripts, inquiries about the #SQLVacation contest running through July 31st, and other things to follow-up … [Read more...]