Videos

Licensing, SQL Server, Videos

You have a sneaking suspicion that your servers aren’t all paid for, and you need to get a rough idea of how SQL Server licensing works. You’ve never bought a box of SQL Server before, and you have no idea where to get started. Microsoft Certified Master Brent Ozar will break it down into a…

Doug Broke It: Reporting Services Encryption Keys [Video]

Last Updated February 13, 2017

Backup and Recovery, Videos

In this 5-minute video, Doug tells about the time he deleted the Reporting Services encryption key, and what it took to fix the damage. You’ll learn about what the SSRS encryption key protects, as well when to: Back up the encryption key Restore the encryption key Change the encryption key Delete the encryption key

Doug Broke It: Minimal Logging [Video]

Last Updated May 9, 2014

Videos

In this 5-minute video, Doug explains how he kept filling SQL Server’s transaction log during ETL development, and how minimal logging could have prevented a lot of the log writes. You’ll learn about: What minimal logging is How to turn minimal logging on How to tell if minimal logging is working Using minimal logging for…

The Day the SQL Server Quit [Video]

Last Updated April 27, 2014

Videos

In this 5-minute video, Doug tells a story about a DBA whose SQL Server got fed up with being misconfigured and decided to do something about it. Topics include CPU settings like MAXDOP and Cost Threshold for Parallelism, memory and disk configuration.

Refactoring T-SQL with Windowing Functions

Last Updated February 14, 2017

SQL Server, T-SQL, Videos

You’ve been querying comparative numbers like Year To Date and Same Period Last Year by using tedious CTEs and subqueries. Beginning with SQL Server 2012, getting these numbers is easier than ever! Join Doug for a 30-minute T-SQL tune-up using window functions that will cut down dramatically on the amount of code you need to…

Watch Brent Tune Queries

Last Updated January 24, 2014

Ever wonder how someone else does it? There’s no right way or wrong way, but in this 20-minute session, you can peer over Brent’s shoulder (virtually) while he takes a few Stack Overflow queries, tries various techniques to make them faster, and shows how he measures the before-and-after results. For the links and scripts, check…

Introducing the System Databases: Master, Model, MSDB

Last Updated October 6, 2013

You’ve been working with SQL Server for a couple of years, but you’re not really sure what’s going on in the System Databases folder. What gets stored in Master, Model, and MSDB? What processes use them? In the event of a crash, should you restore them? Brent Ozar will give you an introductory tour in…

Why Index Fragmentation Doesn’t Matter [Video]

Last Updated February 13, 2017

Index Maintenance, SQL Server, Videos

Are you still rebuilding all of your indexes every week – or heaven forbid, every night – and still having performance problems? Odds are, you’re not actually making things better – you’re making them worse! I explain why in this video: For more, read my post: Stop Worrying About Index Fragmentation.

How to Get Your Manager to Pay for Training

Last Updated August 29, 2013

When us geeks want something, we just point at it, look at our manager and say, “I want this. Buy it for me.” Oddly, it doesn’t seem to work. To get what we want, we have to think like a manager. Step 1. Define a user’s Pain Point. You need someone else on your side…

An Introduction to SQL Server IO for Developers (video)

Last Updated March 22, 2013

Kendra Little

Brent Ozar Unlimited Team

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…

Developers: Check Your SQL Server’s Health

Last Updated March 6, 2013

Before you join us in Atlanta for our 2-day training class (or if you’re just thinking about it), let’s talk about your environment. In this 30-minute session, we’ll give you some vital statistics to check in your SQL Server before you leave work, and we’ll explain how our upcoming training class will help you improve…

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…

Video: Documentation – It Doesn’t Suck!

Last Updated January 15, 2013

Jes Schultz

Without documentation, you could probably do your taxes, build a new piece of “some assembly required” furniture, or manage a database instance – but you’d probably end up living in prison, living with broken furniture, or living in fear of your servers. Writing documentation might not seem as important or exciting as developing or tuning…

Does Your SQL Server Need Critical Care®?

Last Updated January 8, 2013

First Responder Kit, Videos

Overwhelmed with problems on your SQL Servers? Maybe it’s time you stopped playing around with bandages and got some Critical Care®. In this 30-minute video, we’ll introduce our Critical Care® process, explain what we look for, and show you how to explain it to your manager. Let’s make your SQL Server faster and more reliable…

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

Last Updated February 13, 2017

Kendra Little

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…

Bob Dylan Explains TempDB (Video)

Last Updated February 13, 2017

Humor, TempDB, Videos

How many files must a TempDB have before it’s allowed to be fast? How many table variables must a server walk down before it’s considered a table? The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind, and Bob Dylan will share it with you in this 25-minute video – hopefully you can understand him.

Introducing the SQL Server Plan Cache (and a Better sp_Blitz®)

Last Updated February 13, 2017

Execution Plans, SQL Server, Videos

When you send your beautifully hand-crafted organic T-SQL statement to SQL Server, the database engine takes a moment to appreciate the poetry of your work. Before it turns your request into results, it has to build an execution plan. SQL Server considers: Which tables it needs to join together What subqueries it needs to execute…

SQL Server Installation Best Practices Video

Last Updated October 17, 2012