AI in production without a second pair of eyes is a quick way to lose a table. Cardinal was going to add the WHERE clause. Eventually.
Know Your Wait Types: Six Profiles, All Induced
I caused six wait types on purpose, one at a time, and measured each one for a single session. What each is blamed for, what it actually means, and the numbers it produced on SQL Server 2025. Wait types are the most misread figures in the product.
Why AI Sounds Confident When It’s Wrong
When a GUID Clustered Primary Key Gets Expensive
A GUID primary key can be useful. Learn when a GUID clustered primary key gets expensive, from page splits to index size, and when a bigint key can help.
AI Productivity Gains Went Up and Nothing Shipped Faster
AI productivity gains went up on every dashboard, and the release notes are the same length as last year’s. Writing code was never the constraint. Speed up one station and you get a taller pile in front of the station that is. Here is how to time your own line.
Tribal Knowledge: Nobody Left to Ask
Tribal knowledge is the part of the job nobody writes down, and it leaves when the person leaves. I sat with a team that could not tell me whether they were allowed to change four lines of billing code. The assistant at the end of the table had read every line and could not say why those lines were there.
Which Cable Reaches the Database? A Sunday Puzzle
Which cable reaches the database? Four coloured cables cross behind a rack. Follow each one to its destination.
SQL Server slow? Let's fix it together in about four hours.
In my Comprehensive Database Performance Health Check, you share your screen, I guide you, and we fix your biggest performance troublemakers. No passwords. No remote access.
You keep every script, and the know-how to fix it yourself next time.
Want your whole team to learn it?
My Practical Workshop has no PowerPoint, just live demos. My AI Enablement Workshop shows your team where AI saves hours, and where it quietly costs them.
Over 400 customers have worked with me this way, and not one shared a password. See all consulting options.
Who We Are
Pinal Dave is an SQL Server Performance Tuning Expert and independent consultant with over 24 years of hands-on experience. He holds a Masters of Science degree and numerous database certifications.
Pinal has authored 19 books and 125 Pluralsight courses. To freely share his knowledge and help others build their expertise, Pinal has also written more than 5,800 database tech articles on his blog at https://blog.sqlauthority.com.
Pinal is also a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer (CF-L1) and CrossFit Level 2 Trainer (CF-L2).
Nupur Dave is a social media enthusiast and an independent consultant. She primarily focuses on the database domain, helping clients build short and long-term multi-channel campaigns to drive leads for their sales pipeline.
Shaivi Pinalkumar Dave is a book author and a women’s artistic gymnast.

