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How to Think Like the SQL Server Engine

You’re a developer or a DBA, and you’re comfortable writing queries to get the data you need. You’re much less comfortable trying to design the right indexes for your database server. In my totally free How to Think Like the Engine class, you’ll learn how the SQL Server engine looks at your indexes and builds your query results.

You’ll learn:

  • The differences between clustered and nonclustered indexes
  • How (and when) to make a covering index
  • The basics of execution plans

Print out this 5-page PDF built from Stack Overflow’s database pages. Sounds crazy, but having these pages in hand helps you understand these concepts. You can also download the slides.

Ready to learn more and save big?

I’m running a giant Black Friday sale on my training courses! You can choose from Fundamentals, Mastering, or both.

The Fundamentals package is best if you’ve never been to a formal SQL Server training class before. If you finished my free How to Think Like the Engine class and said, “Wow, I learned a lot!” then believe it or not, your next best step is the Fundamentals.

The Mastering package is best if you already knew all the stuff in How to Think Like the Engine, and you want to be challenged for the next several years of your career.

Fundamentals, Yearly
$195Save $200
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Mastering, Yearly
$695Save $300
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Fundamentals + Mastering, Lifetime
$1,695Save $500
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Fundamentals + Mastering + Apps, Yearly
$1,095Save $500
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Or, Wanna Attend My Classes Live?

I’ve updated my legendary Mastering classes with the latest information about SQL Server 2022, Azure, and AWS:

Mastering Index Tuning
$995Save $600
  • You need to speed up a SQL Server app, but you only want to make index changes. You don’t want to buy hardware, change SQL Server, or change the code.
Sign up
Mastering Query Tuning
$995Save $600
  • You need to speed up an existing app, and you’re allowed to change both queries & indexes, but you can’t throw hardware at it.
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Mastering Server Tuning
$995Save $600
  • You're constantly facing new performance challenges on different servers. You need to quickly diagnose a server's bottleneck, and learn the most common ways to fix each bottleneck.
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Mastering Parameter Sniffing
$995Save $600
  • You’ve conquered Fundamentals of Parameter Sniffing, and now you need to master all the different ways to mitigate parameter sniffing problems for good.
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To get these deals, you have to check out online through our e-commerce site with a credit card or buy now pay later.

Can we pay via bank transfer, check, or purchase order? Yes, but only for 10 or more seats for the same package, and payment must be received before the sale ends. Email us at Help@BrentOzar.com with the package you want to buy and the number of seats, and we can generate a quote to include with your check or wire. Make your check payable to Brent Ozar Unlimited and mail it to 9450 SW Gemini Drive, ECM #45779, Beaverton, OR 97008. Your payment must be received before we activate your training, and must be received before the sale ends. Payments received after the sale ends will not be honored. We do not accept POs as payment unless they are also accompanied with a check. For a W9 form: http://downloads.brentozar.com/w9.pdf

Can we get discounts for group buys? Not during the Black Friday sale.

Can we send you a form to fill out? No, to keep costs low during the Black Friday sales, we don’t do any manual paperwork. To get these awesome prices, you’ll need to check out through the site and use the automatically generated PDF invoice/receipt that gets sent to you via email about 15-30 minutes after your purchase finishes. If you absolutely need us to fill out paperwork or generate a quote, we’d be happy to do it at our regular (non-sale) prices – email us at Help@BrentOzar.com.

Want to Re-Watch How to Think Like the Engine?

How to Think Like the Engine: Written Articles

Both the videos and the written articles cover the same basic topics – it just comes down to how you prefer to learn:

  1. How to Think Like the SQL Server Engine: Introduction
  2. Why Query Plans Can Look Different on Different Servers
  3. Adding an ORDER BY
  4. The Perils of SELECT *
  5. What Happens When You Run a Query Repeatedly
  6. Adding a Nonclustered Index
  7. So Index Seeks are Great, Right?
  8. What’s a Key Lookup?
  9. The Tipping Point: When a Scan Makes More Sense
  10. Using Statistics to Build Query Plans
  11. When Statistics Don’t Help
  12. Building Wider Indexes to Deal with Bad T-SQL
  13. Should Columns Go in the Index Key or Includes?
  14. Included Columns Aren’t Free
  15. Index Key Column Order Matters a Lot
  16. When a Seek Isn’t: Scan/Residual Predicates