user_lookups helps identify where to investigate missing coverage. Compare complete query results and actual plans before adding included columns. Weigh the read benefit against storage and write costs.
SQLAuthority News – Ahmedabad SQL Server User Group Meeting Review – March 21, 2009
My user group meeting review for Ahmedabad on March 21, 2009: how Profiler works and how to find the most popular and longest running queries.
SQL SERVER – 2008 – SCOPE_IDENTITY Bug with Multi Processor Parallel Plan and Solution
SCOPE_IDENTITY can return a wrong value when a query uses a parallel plan on a multi processor server. Run it on one processor or, better, use the OUTPUT clause.
SQL SERVER – 2008 – Location of Activity Monitor – Where is SQL Serve Activity Monitor Located
Can’t find the location of Activity Monitor in SQL Server 2008? It’s not under Tools. Open it from the Standard toolbar or by right clicking the server node.
SQL SERVER – 2008 – Activity Monitor is Empty – Fix Activity Monitor for All Users
In SQL Server 2008, Activity Monitor is empty for a user without the right permissions. Here is how to fix Activity Monitor for all users.
Optimize for Ad Hoc Workloads: Shrinking a Bloated Plan Cache
One-off queries can fill your plan cache with plans nobody will reuse. Here is the setting that stores a stub instead, and how to check if you need it.
geometry STEquals: Equal Shapes Can Have Different Text
geometry STEquals compares the represented point set, which can stay the same when its text representation changes. I separate that question from byte-for-byte text identity. Reversing a line does not necessarily change the places it occupies.