By Lori Brown | Backup and Restore , Beginner , Helpful Scripts , SQL Administration , SQL Server
We recently started using a third party software to do our in-house SQL backups so that the backup files are stored in a redundant and safe place. To confirm that the software was indeed compressing backups as it stated it would, we wanted to see what each backup size actually was in SQL so that […]
Continue readingBy Jeffry Schwartz | Expert , Missing Indexes , Performance Tuning , Query Tuning , SQL Development , SQL Server
The Problem Many articles concerning SQL Server missing index recommendations demonstrate the mechanics for obtaining them and often highlight whether the suggested key columns are used in equality or inequality relationships. Most of these examples emphasize a single index that can be implemented to improve performance. However, real-life situations often involve multiple or many suggested […]
Continue readingBy Ginger Daniel | Encryption , SQL Administration , SQL Server
It is common knowledge that encrypting a database causes degraded performance in a SQL server. In an AlwaysOn environment performance can be even more sluggish because there is the extra element of data replication latency. How much difference does it really make? Of course the answer is “it depends” on your environment and your workload. […]
Continue readingBy SQLRx Admin | Database Mail , SQL Administration , SQL Server , Tip of the Month
If you are planning on installing SQL Server 2016, take note that you need SP1 or .NET 3.5 for Database Mail. Database Mail is a very important and widely used part of SQL that allows us to send e-mail. I found this when mail could not be sent and the Database Mail log was empty […]
Continue readingBy Ginger Daniel | Cloud , SQL Administration , SQL Server , Stretch Database
Microsoft has added another cool feature in SQL Server 2016 – Stretch databases – that provides a cost effective way to store historical or ‘cold’ data. This feature is ideal for transactional databases with large amounts of cold data, typically stored in a small number of tables. Stretching is better than the traditional method […]
Continue readingBy Lori Brown | Installation , SQL 2017 , SQL Administration , SQL Server
SQL Server 2017 is available as a CTP for testing (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sql-server/sql-server-2017) and is able to be installed on a system running Linux. Because I have done all of my professional work on Windows systems, the leap to a Linux system was a bit of a stretch. I learned that while Linux is the OS kernel, […]
Continue readingBy Lisa Dominy | Advice , Cloud , Partners , SQL Server , SQLRX
Whether you currently host your SQL Server in the Cloud or are considering moving it to the cloud, here are a few guidelines that can lead you to select the right hosting provider for your specific requirements. Set the stage for a tech discussion. Familiarize yourself with your current technology profile so you can have […]
Continue readingBy SQLRx Admin | Beginner , Helpful Scripts , SQL Administration , SQL Server , Tip of the Month
Find out if any of your tables are compressed in your database using the query below. Compressed tables can save space and make queries run faster. — Compressed Tables select distinct t.name AS CompressedTables from sys.partitions p inner join sys.tables t on p.object_id = t.object_id where p.data_compression > 0 If you don’t have any tables […]
Continue readingBy Jeffry Schwartz | Missing Indexes , Performance Tuning , Query Tuning , SQL Development , SQL Server
Overview Most analysts are familiar with missing index recommendations provided by SQL Server when query plans are displayed within SSMS or reported by various missing index DMVs. Several questions arise concerning these recommendations: What determines whether a column becomes a key or included in the new index? Where does the ordering of the included columns […]
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