XML document could not be created, error 6624, on a server with 300 GB free. What OPENXML really costs, measured, and why XQuery is the fix.
SQL Server emergency? Email pinal@sqlauthority.com with URGENT in the subject line.
SQL SERVER – Parallelism for Heap Scan
Two DBAs asked me if their table needed a clustered index. Our conversation during a Health Check turned into a lesson on parallelism for Heap Scan.
What is Read Ahead Read in SQL Server? – Interview Question of the Week #197
Question: What is Read Ahead Read in SQL Server?
Answer: This is SQL Server’s feature which brings data pages into the buffer cache.
SQL SERVER – Finding Compression Ratio of Backup
Is there a way to know the compression ratio of backup files in SQL Server? Here is a quick script on msdb backupset that compares backup size with compressed size.
SQL Authroity News – Optimizing Lazy Spool – PASS Blog
A sneak preview of my SQLPASS sessions: I wrote about optimizing Lazy Spool on the PASS blog, and here are the first two paragraphs with a link to the rest.
SQL SERVER – Reporting Services Not Starting After Maintenance Window
Reporting Services not starting after maintenance? On my lab server every SQL service came back except SSRS. Here is what the log showed.
SQL SERVER – How to Get List of SQL Server Instances Installed on a Machine Via T-SQL?
A registry query lists SQL Server Instances recorded on the Windows host. A customer wanted a T-SQL-only method.
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.
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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.

