Microsoft SQL Server Consultant
Blog posts relating to SQL Performance Tuning.
SQL Server tuning is the process of optimizing the database’s configuration, queries, and infrastructure to ensure the system runs as efficiently as possible. The goal is to reduce resource usage, increase query speed, and improve overall system responsiveness. Performance tuning involves analyzing server performance metrics, identifying bottlenecks, and implementing solutions that range from hardware upgrades to query rewriting. These optimizations are crucial for maintaining a smooth user experience and supporting business-critical applications.
A key aspect of performance tuning is query optimization. Poorly written SQL queries, missing indexes, or incorrect indexing strategies often lead to slow query execution. By using tools such as execution plans and SQL Profiler, DBAs can identify and correct inefficiencies in SQL code. Techniques like index tuning, query rewriting, and partitioning can drastically reduce query execution times. Regularly updating statistics and reorganizing or rebuilding indexes further enhances query performance and ensures accurate query plans.
Beyond queries, performance tuning also focuses on the SQL Server environment itself. Configuring server settings, adjusting memory allocation, and fine-tuning I/O operations play a significant role in optimizing database performance. Monitoring tools like Database Health Monitor (available at DatabaseHealth.com) provide insights into server health and potential issues. Stedman Solutions offers comprehensive SQL Server performance tuning services, combining years of experience with specialized tools to ensure your SQL Server environment performs at its peak. Learn more about our managed services at Stedman Solutions.
This Friday, October 14th I will be presenting at the Centricity Healthcare Users Group (CHUG) conference in Austin TX. The session is on “Tune, Monitor and Analyze the Health of Your Centricity SQL Server” and I will be co-presenting with Derrick Bovenkamp. Here is the session abstract: Misconfigured SQL Servers can slow down your overall system performance. Sometimes making a …
How often should I reboot SQL Server? It is a common belief with computers that rebooting cleans things up in memory and that they run better if they are rebooted more often. With your windows desktop or your cell phone operating system this may be true, but that’s not the case with SQL Server. Over time as SQL Server runs …
One way to improve performance on SQL Server is with IFI or Instant File Initialization. Normally files are zeroed out on a database growth during an AUTOGROW, RESTORE, CREATE DATABASE or ALTER DATABASE. This is done by SQL Server when the file grows, it runs through that file and writes zeroes to the entire new allocation in the file. The …
Today on the tuning minute on the SQL Data Partners Podcast, we discussed duplicate indexes, which lead me to think more about and and write this post. You know there are many different ways of doing things in SQL Server, and often times you can argue that one way or the other is better, and given the right situation anything …
There is a great deal of confusion about the WITH NOLOCK query hint. The following is a transcription of a conversation that I had on the SQL Data Partners Podcast #57 about the WITH NOLOCK hint, and some of the misconceptions about it. WITH NOLOCK Hint Carlos: So the next on is the WITH NOLOCK hint and I think this …
Here is an error that popped up in the SQL Server error log today: 5/6/2016 10:10:10 AM spid22s Database [DatabaseName] has more than 10000 virtual log files which is excessive. Too many virtual log files can cause long startup and backup times. Consider shrinking the log and using a different growth increment to reduce the number of virtual log files. Virtual …
Updating SQL Server statistics may not be as obvious as it may sound. Imagine this scenario. I invite you over for dinner and a game of Scrabble. After dinner, I start to do the dishes, while you set up the game. Rather than just doing the dishes that are dirty from our dinner, I decide to take all the dishes …
I have been doing work with multiple clients using the GE Centricity EMR product which makes extensive use of Microsoft SQL Server. The performance issues that you run into with Centricity are very similar to what I see working with other clients on a daily basis. Centricity is a solid product, when you run into performance issues, they can often …
One of my favorite queries this week is the following query that creates a text based bar chart to quickly help visualize the VLF files on any database log file. In the last month I have given the “TempDB Do This and Don’t Do That” presentation twice, once at the Bellingham SQL Server users group, and another time at SQL …
Here is a discovery that I made using the Database Health Monitor historic wait monitoring, on a server with slow storage where the backups were being written. If you are seeing excessive waits on the PREEMPTIVE_OS_GETPROCADDRESS wait type and xp_create_subdir is the command with the wait, and this is occurring at the time your backups are being run, it is a …
PREEMPTIVE_OS_GETPROCADDRESS and xp_create_subdir Read more »