Understand adaptive joins in SQL Server, read their runtime threshold, inspect the actual choice, and test a query hint safely.
How Many CPUs SQL Server Really Uses
CPUs SQL Server really uses depend on edition, guest topology, affinity, and online schedulers; learn to see the instance’s usable capacity.
user_lookups: Verify the Plan Before Adding Coverage
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.
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.
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.
SQL SERVER – Practical SQL Server XML: Part One – Query Plan Cache and Cost of Operations in the Cache
A guest post from Michael Coles, author of Pro SQL Server 2008 XML: a practical XML demo that looks at the query plan cache and the cost of cached operations.
SQL SERVER – Profiler – Adding Filters – Observation on CPU Load
I thought adding a column filter in SQL Server Profiler would lower CPU load. My test with large sample data showed the opposite: the filter raised CPU usage.