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
July 7, 2015 by Leave a Comment
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
July 7, 2015 by Leave a Comment
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
July 2, 2015 by Leave a Comment
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
July 2, 2015 by Leave a Comment
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...]
Professional Development – The Stradivarius of Teams
July 2, 2015 by 1 Comment
Originally appearing at ForITPros.com. A world-class violinist was on campus for an artist-in-residence program. While at lunch he was discussing what he perceived to be the similarities between management and great music. Said the violinist, “I have glorious music, a splendid instrument, and an exquisite bow. All I need to do is bring them all together and get out of the way.” I recently read this short story found in The Sower’s Seeds by Brian Cavanaugh. Of course there is a bit more to it than the modest violinist claims. But there’s also a lot a lot of truth in it. As a leader, … [Read more...]
DBTA – Russian Hackers Steal 1.2b Internet Credentials: Or, Why the Heck Does this Keep Happening?!
July 1, 2015 by Leave a Comment
I'm decidedly old-school in a few of my habits. My morning routine, barring anything out of the ordinary, is one such example. Typically, I'll get up between 6:30 to 7:00 am, grab my first cup of coffee, and then chat with my daughters for a few minutes before seeing them off to school. Next, I make a bowl of oatmeal (a great choice for diabetics like me), pour a second cup of coffee, and browse the local paper, The Tennessean, while I have breakfast. On the morning of August 5, I had the added pleasure of spewing said coffee and oatmeal all over my morning paper when I read the headlines: … [Read more...]
ICYMI – Troubleshooting SQL Performance Issues, Missing Indexes, and DROP and TRUNCATE TABLE
June 30, 2015 by Leave a Comment
A digest of great articles originally appearing at SQLPerformance.com. Troubleshooting SQL Server CPU Performance Issues This outstanding article from Joe Sack ( b | t ) of SQLskills.com steps you through a methodical and insightful series of DMVs and queries that can pinpoint CPU issues on your SQL Server instances. Don’t just blindly create those "missing" indexes! Our own Aaron Bertrand ( b | t ) discusses ways to get better and more balanced information used in decisions about creating new indexes than offered as suggestions by native SQL Server tools. The Myth that DROP and … [Read more...]
Recommended Intel Processors For SQL ’14, Should Indexes Be In The Key Or Included, Comparing Windows Azure VM Performance
June 28, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Some of my favorite articles originally appearing at SQLPerformance.com. Grouped Concatenation in SQL Server and Grouped Concatenation: Ordering and Removing Duplicates In these two related blog posts, Aaron Bertrand ( b | t ) of SQL Sentry takes on the safest and most efficient ways to perform grouped concatenation in SQL Server. Then he follows up with a closer look at some additional requirements for typical grouped concatenation queries in SQL Server. Recommended Intel Processors for SQL Server 2014 Workloads Glenn Berry ( b | t ) of SQLskills continues his … [Read more...]
SQLVacation Postcard Day 8: Nashville, TN
June 26, 2015 by Leave a Comment
All good things must come to an end and, after logging almost 1400 miles on the road, the #SQLVacation road trip returns to its home city - Nashville, TN, the "Music City". Eight SQL Server users groups, eight matching blog posts, two hundred t-shirts, and many hundreds of attendees later, it's time to get back home. Only there's one last catch for this Clark Griswold of an everyman. I have one last session to deliver, Top 10 Things Every SQL Developer Needs to Know, here at the Nashville chapter of the Professional Association for SQL Server. Our regular monthly meetings occur on the last … [Read more...]
