An introduction to Database Engine Tuning Advisor, or DTA, the tool that ships with SQL Server client tools and suggests indexes and statistics.
Interview Question of the Week #019 – How to Reset Identity of Table
Reset identity values with DBCC CHECKIDENT, distinguish DELETE from TRUNCATE, and prove that identity alone does not prevent duplicates.
SQL SERVER – Script: Current IO Related Waits on SQL Server
A friend’s SQL Server in an Azure VM slowed down suddenly. Here is my handy script using sys.dm_io_pending_io_requests to see current IO related waits.
SQL SERVER – Backup Failure – Error: 3203, Severity: 16, State: 1
A transaction log backup failed with Error: 3203, saying the read on the LDF file failed with Incorrect function. Here is what I found.
SQL SERVER – Using Package Configurations in SSIS 2012 and Beyond – Notes from the Field #079
Moving to SSIS 2012 or 2014 and worried about losing the Package Configurations you built? Good news: the classic option is still there. Here is how to use it.
SQL Server – Knowing the Use of Deprecated or Discontinued Features
After an upgrade, a DBA’s management asked if any deprecated or discontinued features were still in use. Here is how to find that out on a live server.
SQL SERVER – Generating Row Number Without Ordering Any Columns
ROW_NUMBER needs an ORDER BY clause, but what if you do not want to sort by any column? Here is a simple trick to generate a row number without ordering.