Posts by Kendra Little

Kendra Little

167 posts

My goal is for you to understand your SQL Server’s behavior– and learn how to change it. When I’m not figuring out the solutions to your database problems, you’ll find me at user group meetings in Portland, Oregon. I also love to draw.

If there's such a thing as Data Science, why not Data Sauce?

3 Steps to Finding Your Secret Sauce

Last Updated May 13, 2014

Kendra Little

SQL Server

If there’s such a thing as Data Science, why not Data Sauce? It’s difficult to define why some things are wildly successful in a sea of forgettable products. Some recipes have a mysterious umami that comes from a subtle dash or two of magical sauce. In business and technology there’s an indefinable edge that sets…

5 Things About Fillfactor

Last Updated February 13, 2017

Kendra Little

Index Maintenance

Are you a page half full, or a page half empty kind of person? I’ll never think “I’ve seen it all” when it comes to SQL Server– there’s just always someone waiting around the corner who’s found a weird new thing to do with it. But there are some things I really wish I could…

Why Most People Don’t Follow Best Practices

Last Updated February 9, 2017

Kendra Little

Processes and Practices

“I don’t care about best practices, I do what I want!” We write a lot about best practices, we teach customers best practices, and we publish popular references for best practices about all sorts of things like performance monitoring, SQL Server Setup, and Availability Groups. But the internet is a sea of information and many…

DBAs vs Devs: ORMs, Caching & Access to Prod

Last Updated January 5, 2019

Kendra Little

SQL Server

Developers and database administrators frequently clash on major questions about how to scale application performance. Are they just being stubborn, or is one side really right? Jeremiah and I recently gave a talk on this topic to the AtlantaMDF User group and we wanted to open this debate to the world. Presenting Developers vs DBAs…

An Introduction to SQL Server IO for Developers (video)

Last Updated March 22, 2013

Kendra Little

SQL Server, Videos

Developers frequently make a big mistake: they tune out on discussions of storage performance and IO. Don’t fall into this trap! Understanding how storage impacts SQL Server performance helps you tune the right parts of your code and focus on what really matters. In this 30 minute video, Microsoft Certified Master Kendra Little demonstrates why…

Best Practices + Table Partitioning: Merging Boundary Points

Last Updated February 13, 2017

Kendra Little

Partitioning, SQL Server

One of the many best practices for SQL Server’s table partitioning feature is to create “extra” empty partitions around your data. This is explained in SQL Server Books Online in the page on altering a Partition Function: Always keep empty partitions at both ends of the partition range to guarantee that the partition split (before…

SQL Server Table Partitioning Tutorial: Videos and Scripts

Last Updated December 29, 2021

Kendra Little

Partitioning, SQL Server, Videos

There’s a secret to learning about SQL Server’s table partitioning feature: you need to get your hands on some code and really play with it in a test environment. In this tutorial, Kendra will walk you through test scripts that set up a sample table partitioning environment. These scripts demonstrate gotchas to look out for…

Choosing the Right SQL Server Version: It’s Trickier than You’d Think

Last Updated February 16, 2013

Kendra Little

SQL Server

It’s finally time– you’ve been given the thumbs up to upgrade to SQL Server 2012. You’ve selected your SQL Server Edition and worked out your licensing agreement. You’ve sized new hardware in production and sketched out your migration plan. You’re ready to install developer edition in the test environment. You grab your installation media and……

Implementing Snapshot or Read Committed Snapshot Isolation in SQL Server: A Guide

Last Updated July 9, 2024

Kendra Little

Locking, Blocking, and Isolation Levels, SQL Server

154

How to change isolation levels without losing your marbles. A client said the coolest thing to me the other day. He said, “We talked before about why we would want to start using optimistic locking in our code. How do we get there?” If you’re not a SQL Server geek, that comment probably doesn’t even…

sp_BlitzIndex® Holiday Week Edition

Last Updated February 13, 2017

Kendra Little

First Responder Kit, SQL Server

Only one thing could have dragged me away from the soft glow of the electric leg lamp glowing in the window… sp_BlitzIndex® It’s one of those weeks when things get nice and slow. Your business users and managers are all out of the office due to holidays. Your inbox is blissfully quiet. You get a…

Instant Index Insight: How to Use sp_BlitzIndex® (video)

Last Updated February 13, 2017

Kendra Little

First Responder Kit, Videos

You probably don’t have enough time to dig through DMVs trying to figure out which indexes you should add or drop. Whether you’re a DBA or developer, junior or senior, you’re probably too busy doing your real job to master all the index best practices – and now you don’t have to. In this 30…

The Top Three Performance Tuning Mistakes

Last Updated April 21, 2013

Kendra Little

Consulting, SQL Server

Take it from me, performance tuning ain’t easy. To do it well you need to use all of your technical skill, plan strategically, and communicate your recommendations effectively. You also need to inspire adoption. After all, what good is a plan to change a system if you can’t convince anyone to go along with you?…

Troubleshooting the Top Five Waits Occurring in SQL Server DBAs

Last Updated February 13, 2017

Kendra Little

Humor, SQL Server

We’ve all been there: the SQL Server Database Administrator has been running slowly and everyone’s getting cranky. How can you tell what’s wrong and what steps you need to take to restore normal operations? Database administrators have great instrumentation. When asked, they’re happy to tell you about their bottlenecks in excruciating detail. Use this handy…

When Your DBA Job Sucks: The Phases of Burnout

Last Updated February 12, 2017

Kendra Little

Professional Development

When your databases always look like this, eventually you feel the same way. Even when you love being a DBA, working the job can turn into a grind. There’s many times when you’re up all night troubleshooting just to face another day at the office handling user complaints. You hear at the water cooler that…

Write a Killer Technical Resume in Five Steps

Last Updated February 12, 2017

Kendra Little

Interviewing, Professional Development, SQL Server

Ever dreaded writing a resume so much that you put it off until the last minute? When you finally wrote it in desperation, were you happy with it? Are you kind of afraid to look at it now? I know what that’s like, because I’ve been there. But I’ve written two resumes in the last…

The Top Five Signs You Need a Break from SQL Server

Last Updated February 13, 2017

Kendra Little

Professional Development

Photo credit Even when you love your job, you can get too much of a good thing. How do you know when your love of technology is taking you too far away from reality? Take our quiz to diagnose your mental state. Our Quiz: Diagnose if Your Inner Geek is Out of Control Have you found…

Change Management: The Question You’re Not Asking

Last Updated August 15, 2012

Kendra Little

I work with clients with a variety of change management practices— everything from, “I just email the team when I’m going to change something” to “I need to submit formal changes each Tuesday by 2pm for weekly review for the next approved change window.” And occasionally, “Just Do It.” Don’t cry over this: plan for…

Become a Presenter, Change Your Life

Last Updated February 12, 2017

Kendra Little

Professional Development, Writing and Presenting

I began presenting on SQL Server two years ago. At the time I was a Senior Database Administrator. My workdays were spent getting ahead of the next big performance problem in an environment where software changes rolled into production like gangbusters. I was under a lot of pressure to be super-technical, stay on top of…

The Use and Abuse of RECOMPILE in SQL Server (Video)

Last Updated June 26, 2012

Kendra Little

What are the costs when you ask SQL Server to recompile a statement or a stored procedure each time it runs? In this 30 minute talk Kendra Little explains the impact on query execution– and on your SQL Server instance– of forcing recompilation. This talk is appropriate for DBAs and Developers who have a working…

Simulating OLTP Queries: How to Run Load Tests Against SQL Server with HammerDB

Last Updated February 14, 2017

Kendra Little

Load Testing, SQL Server

Do you have a SQL Server that’s not getting enough action? Maybe you have a new piece of production or lab hardware that you’d like to benchmark, to see how it compares with other gear in your environment. Or maybe you just want to run some activity against your own test SQL Server instance to…