Posts by Brent Ozar

Brent Ozar

2789 posts

https://www.brentozar.com

I make Microsoft SQL Server go faster. I love teaching, travel, cars, and laughing. I'm based out of Las Vegas. He/him.

I’m Coming to the PASS Summit in Frankfurt!

Last Updated March 27, 2026

Brent Ozar

#SQLPass

The pre-conference lineup for the PASS Data Community Summit Frankfurt event was just released, and I’m proud to share that I’ll be teaching my new all-day pre-conference workshop. Dev-Prod Demon Hunters: Finding the Real Cause of Production Slowness Production is slow. Development is fast. The same query runs in both. Somewhere between the two, a…

[Video] Office Hours: Q&A on the Mountaintop

Last Updated March 15, 2026

Brent Ozar

Videos

Well, maybe mountain is a bit of a strong word, but it’s one of the highest elevation home sites in Las Vegas, with beautiful views over the valley, the Strip, the airport, and the surrounding mountains. Let’s go through your top-voted questions from https://pollgab.com/room/brento while taking in the view – and you can move the camera…

Y’all Are Getting Good Free AI Advice from PasteThePlan.

Last Updated March 24, 2026

Brent Ozar

AI, PasteThePlan.com

PasteThePlan has a new AI Suggestions tab, and it’s been really fun to watch the query plans come in and the advice go out. Here are some examples: Date “tables” – when I looked at the query, I glossed over the real problem. I thought arc_Calendar was a real date table, but AI figured out…

We do Christmas decorations a little differently around here

My Wish List for SQL Server Performance Features

Last Updated March 12, 2026

Brent Ozar

SQL Server vNext

There are a lot of shopping days left before Christmas, and even more before the next version of SQL Server ships, so might as well get my wish list over to Santa now so the elves can start working on ignoring them. My work focuses on performance tuning, so that’s what my wish list focuses…

SSMS v22.4.1: Copilot is GA. So What’s It Do Right Now?

Last Updated March 21, 2026

Brent Ozar

AI, SQL Server Management Studio

Copilot in SSMS has two parts. Usually people focus on the pop-out Copilot chat window, and that’s useful for sure, but honestly I think you’re going to get way more mileage out of the code completions feature, right away, because it blends in with your existing workflows. Let’s say that I’m working with the Stack…

[Video] Office Hours in North Bay, Ontario

Last Updated March 14, 2026

Brent Ozar

Videos

I’m up in North Bay, Ontario, Canada for the 2026 Can-Am Curling Cup run by Aaron Bertrand – and my team actually won! Hanging out with Andy Mallon, Aaron Bertrand, Leanne Swart, Michael J Swart, and Ken Mallon before the tournament The winning team, woohoo! Let’s bask in the warmth (cough) of our glory as…

Updated First Responder Kit and Consultant Toolkit for March 2026

Last Updated March 18, 2026

Brent Ozar

First Responder Kit Updates

For the last few years, I’ve slowed the First Responder Kit release down to once per quarter. It felt pretty feature-complete, and I didn’t want to make y’all upgrade any more than you have to. You’re busy, and I don’t want to take up your time unless there’s something really big to gain from doing…

Get Free AI Query Advice in PasteThePlan.

Last Updated March 12, 2026

Brent Ozar

PasteThePlan.com

At PasteThePlan.com, you can paste execution plans into your browser, then send a link to someone else to get query advice. It’s useful for online forums, Stack Exchange, and the like. After you paste the plan, you’ve got a new AI Suggestions tab. It sends your query plan (and my custom prompt) up to ChatGPT…

Or maybe y'all were just trying to emulate the lifestyle

[Video] Office Hours, Standing in the Ocean Edition

Last Updated March 12, 2026

Brent Ozar

Videos

My tripod is probably never gonna recover from the salt water, but the water was so nice that I couldn’t resist. This is a 360 video, so you can grab the screen and move it around to see Magens Bay in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, as I go through your top-voted questions from https://pollgab.com/room/brento.…

Using Claude Code with SQL Server and Azure SQL DB

Last Updated March 12, 2026

Brent Ozar

Let’s start with a 7-minute demo video – I didn’t edit this down because I want you to be able to see what happens in real time. In this video, I point the desktop version of Claude Code at a Github issue for the First Responder Kit and tell it to do the needful: Claude…

Row-Level Security Can Slow Down Queries. Index For It.

Last Updated March 6, 2026

Brent Ozar

Execution Plans

The official Azure SQL Dev’s Corner blog recently wrote about how to enable soft deletes in Azure SQL using row-level security, and it’s a nice, clean, short tutorial. I like posts like that because the feature is pretty cool and accomplishes a real business goal. It’s always tough deciding where to draw the line on…

Actual live Brent reaction to this issue

Logical Reads Aren’t Repeatable on Columnstore Indexes. (sigh)

Last Updated March 6, 2026

Brent Ozar

Columnstore Indexes

Sometimes I really hate my job. Forever now, FOREVER, it’s been a standard thing where I can say, “When you’re measuring storage performance during index and query tuning, you should always use logical reads, not physical reads, because logical reads are repeatable, and physical reads aren’t. Physical reads can change based on what’s in cache,…

I’m Not Gonna Waste Time Debunking Crap on LinkedIn.

Last Updated March 6, 2026

Brent Ozar

LinkedIn is full of absolute trash these days. Just flat out bullshit garbage. (Oh yeah, that – this post should probably come with a language disclaimer, because this stuff makes me mad.) People wanna look impressive without actually putting in the work to gain real knowledge. They’re asking ChatGPT to write viral “expertise” knowledge posts…

[Video] Office Hours: Back in the Bahamas Edition

Last Updated February 22, 2026

Brent Ozar

Videos

Yes, I’m back on a cruise ship with another 360 degree video. Lest you think I’m being wildly irresponsible (or responsible perhaps?) with your consulting and training money, be aware that this particular cruise was free thanks to the fine folks in the casino department at Norwegian Cruise Lines. In between beaches and blackjack, let’s…

I'M MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT ... actually I'm going to keep taking it because I get paid to take it

Who’s Hiring Database People? March 2026 Edition

Last Updated March 2, 2026

Brent Ozar

Who's Hiring

Is your company hiring for a database position as of March 2026? Do you wanna work with the kinds of people who read this blog? Let’s make a love connection. If your company is hiring, leave a comment. The rules: Your comment must include the job title, and either a link to the full job…

I’ve Been Using Macs for 20 Years. Here’s What You Wanted to Know.

Last Updated March 2, 2026

Brent Ozar

Home Office

tl;dr – It’s easier because I’ve always chosen to run SQL Server VMs, so it was easier for me to switch than you might expect – but if you’re a Microsoft IT pro, I don’t recommend switching. Now for the long version. About 20 years ago, back in 2006, I excitedly blogged that my boss…

The Tech Consulting Market Isn’t Looking Good.

Last Updated February 27, 2026

Brent Ozar

Consulting

After hearing the same dire news from several of my consulting friends, I put a poll up on LinkedIn: About half of the consultants out there are having a tougher time bringing in new clients than they have in the past. There are a couple things to keep in mind about the numbers. First, some…

[Video] Office Hours in the Vegas Home Office

Last Updated February 16, 2026

Brent Ozar

Videos

Let’s hang out in my home office in Vegas and go through your top-voted questions from https://pollgab.com/room/brento. The audio’s a little echo-y in this one because I just moved my office down to a small first floor guest bedroom with hardwood floors instead of carpet, and I haven’t treated the room for noise yet. Office…

You probably don't wanna hire these two.

I Don’t Take Private Questions at Pre-Conference Classes.

Last Updated February 16, 2026

Brent Ozar

Writing and Presenting

When I first started teaching database sessions at conferences, I noticed a pattern. When I finished the session, closed PowerPoint, and thanked everyone for attending, a big queue of attendees would instantly start forming at the podium. People would line up to ask private questions, one at a time. And simultaneously, a small audience would…

10 Signs It Was Time to Hire Me

Last Updated February 17, 2026

Brent Ozar

Clients and Case Studies

You’ve been reading my blog, watching my videos, and maybe even taking some of my training classes. You’ve heard me say things like “my clients” from time to time, and you’re wondering… why do companies actually hire me? What problem are they trying to solve? Well, when clients meet with me for the first time,…