SQL Server

The StackOverflow XML Data Dump was recently updated with 2016-03 data, so I’ve updated our torrent of the SQL Server database version of the Stack Overflow data dump. Fun facts about the database and its real-world-ness: 95GB in size 29,499,660 posts spanning 2008-07-31 to 2016-03-06 5,277,831 users spanning ages from -972 to 96 (just like real world…

One weird trick for managing a bunch of servers

Last Updated April 28, 2016

Let’s face it, most people don’t have just one SQL Server How many they tell Microsoft they have is another matter, but let the record show that I don’t condone licensing dishonesty. But going one step further, most places… Well, they’re ‘lucky’ if they have one DBA, never mind a team. Everyone else: Give me…

When Should You Hire a Consultant for Amazon RDS?

Last Updated February 9, 2017

Amazon Web Services (AWS), SQL Server

Powered By Somebody Else’s Database on Somebody Else’s Computer You’re hosting your SQL Server databases in Amazon RDS, and performance has been getting slower over time. You’re not sure if it’s storage IOPs, instance size, SQL Server configuration, queries, or indexes. What’s the easiest way to find out? Ask a few questions: Are you using…

A quick tip for working with large scripts in SSMS

Last Updated April 21, 2016

Sometimes great things stare you in the face for years Sometimes they stare at you for so long that you stop noticing them. This isn’t a romdramadey tag line. There are just so many buttons to push. Sometimes pressing them is a horrible idea and it breaks everything. I lose my mind every time I…

[Video] Office Hours 2016/04/20 – Now With Transcriptions

Last Updated April 9, 2017

SQL Server, Videos

This week, Brent, Erik, Jessica, Richie, and Tara discuss database modeling tools, how to learn about database corruption, the new cardinality estimator, and the only question that will be on our certification exams. Here’s the video on YouTube: You can register to attend next week’s Office Hours, or subscribe to our podcast to listen on the go. What ERD Tool…

Breaking News: Query Store in All Editions of SQL Server 2016

Last Updated February 13, 2017

Execution Plans, Query Store (QDS), SQL Server

Bob Ward talking Query Store at SQL Intersection Onstage at SQL Intersections in Orlando this morning, Bob Ward announced that Query Store will be available in all editions of SQL Server 2016. This is awesome, because Query Store is a fantastic flight data recorder for your query execution plans. It’ll help you troubleshoot parameter sniffing…

Stats Week: Messin’ With Statistics

Last Updated March 23, 2017

SQL Server, Statistics

If there’s one thing living in Texas has taught me It’s that people are very paranoid that you may Mess With it. Even in Austin, where the citizenry demand weirdness, they are vehemently opposed to any form of Messing, unless it results in mayonnaise-based dipping sauce. Me? I like Messing With stuff. Today we’re going…

Stats Week: Do Query Predicates Affect Histogram Step Creation?

Last Updated May 26, 2020

Execution Plans, Parameter Sniffing, SQL Server

Auto Create Statistics is your friend It’s not perfect, but 99% of the time I’d rather have imperfect statistics than no statistics. This question struck me as interesting, because the optimizer will totally sniff parameters to compile an initial plan. If you don’t have index statistics, or system statistics already on a column in a…

Stats Week: Statistics Terminology Cheatsheet

Last Updated April 9, 2017

These things used to confuse me so much Despite having worked at a Market Research company for a while, I know nothing about statistics, other than that project managers have all sorts of disagreeably subjective phrases for describing them. Vast majority, convincing plurality, dwindling minority, et al. Less talky, more picture. When I started getting…

Looking for a New Challenge? kCura is Hiring a DBA.

Last Updated April 14, 2016

I’m a big kCura Relativity fan – it’s an application that really pushes SQL Server hard, written by people who are a ton of fun to work with. If you’re looking for a challenge in a really cool environment, check out what they’re looking for: A Production Database Administrator with a deep demonstrated knowledge of MS…

Old and Busted: DBCC Commands in 2016

Last Updated April 6, 2016

I hate DBCC Commands Not what they do, just that the syntax isn’t consistent (do I need quotes around this string or not?), the results are a distraction to get into a usable table, and you need to write absurd loops to perform object-at-a-time data gathering. I’m not talking about running DBCC CHECKDB (necessarily), or…

How to Run DBCC CHECKDB for In-Memory OLTP (Hekaton) Tables

Last Updated February 15, 2019

CHECKDB and Corruption, In-Memory OLTP (Hekaton), SQL Server

tl;dr – run a copy-only full backup of the Hekaton filegroup to nul. If the backup fails, you have corruption, and you need to immediately make plans to either export all your data, or do a restore from your last good full backup, plus all your transaction log backups since. Yeah, that one’s gonna need a…

Another Hidden Parallelism Killer: Scalar UDFs In Check Constraints

Last Updated March 12, 2018

Every single time Really. Every single time. It started off kind of funny. Scalar functions in queries: no parallelism. Scalar functions in computed columns: no parallelism, even if you’re not selecting the computed column. Every time I think of a place where someone could stick a scalar function into some SQL, it ends up killing…

I’m on the RunAsRadio Podcast

Last Updated April 6, 2016

Pixelated for your pleasure It’s always fun to talk to Richard Campbell about what’s going on, and this time around, it’s SQL Server 2016: Listen to me chat with Richard about what’s coming in vNext. We’re now in the second quarter of the year, and we still don’t have pricing, licensing, or edition/feature lists. Normally,…

For Technical Interviews, Don’t Ask Questions. Show Screenshots.

Last Updated February 14, 2017

Interviewing, SQL Server

When you’re hiring a DBA, sysadmin, or developer, you’re not paying them to answer Trivial Pursuit questions all day long. You’re hiring them to look at a screen, connect a few dots, and interpret what’s happening. So for a position, I build a PowerPoint deck with a bunch of screenshots from the actual environment they’ll be…

ISNULL vs. COALESCE: What The XML?

Last Updated April 5, 2016

This isn’t about performance If you’re interested in performance tests, you can get in the way back machine and read a couple posts by Adam Machanic here and here. I’m also not talking about the difference between them. There are a million articles about that. They’re obviously different, but how does SQL handle that internally?…

SQL Server 2005 support ends next week. Here’s my tribute to it.

Last Updated February 13, 2017

Humor, SQL Server

I remember the first time I used SQL Server 2005. Did you know SQL Server has an expiration date on the bottom of the box? Also, this one is curdled. I was a database administrator working on a new-build data warehouse project in Miami. Both our data warehouse and SQL Server 2005 were looking like…

Happy Fifth Birthday to Us, 50% Off for You.

Last Updated April 9, 2017

Five years ago, we turned BrentOzar.com into a consulting and training company. Now look at us. (Well, maybe not too closely, we’re getting a little gray and wrinkly.) To celebrate: Video classes are now 50% off with coupon code HighFive That includes bundles, too, which brings the epic Everything Bundle down to just $449! Two of our…

Indexes Helping Indexes

Last Updated February 13, 2017