database

The SQL Server plan cache can be a good tool to use in identifying current performance issues and in looking for new ways to improve performance. In this second part…

The SQL Server plan cache stores details on statements that are executed over time. Each time a statement executes, SQL Server will look inside the plan cache first to see…

I wrote a couple of posts previously on SQL Server consolidation. The first post tried to give insight on some of the problems and associated motivating factors that most companies have…

Consider for a moment that you have a deck attached to your house. It is one story above ground level and is growing weaker with each passing year. The former…

I am seeing more than a handful of articles these days regarding SQL Server virtualization and/or consolidation. Lots of companies are coming forward to provide you tools that will take…

We have customers using database mirroring, so I wanted to take some time to write a quick post regarding database mirroring and performance monitoring. Microsoft has published an article titled…

I never cared for the phrase “wasted time” when it comes to something like performance tuning. Sure, we all feel that way, especially when we spend hours on something only…

Look, everyone makes mistakes. It’s true. But not all of us have the chance to make mistakes that end up costing millions of dollars in hardware and production support costs.…

When are CXPACKET waits a problem? Note: This article, by Thomas LaRock, was posted 8/19/2013 and supercedes the previous version. This update has been made in response to comments made on the original article…

The fn_dblog() function (formerly known as the DBCC command) is one of several undocumented functions for SQL Server. It allows you to view the transaction log records in the active…