Understanding your customer is the first step of consulting and DBA work. This post uses one plumber metaphor to show why a fix needs an explanation, why hearing is not listening, how a scoping call helps and why the plain tool beats the fancy one.
SQL Server emergency? Email pinal@sqlauthority.com with URGENT in the subject line.
SQL SERVER – What is Deadlock Scheduler? How to Reproduce it?
If you have come on this page by internet search, then you must have seen below error in the ERRORLOG which is about deadlock scheduler.
SQL SERVER – Becoming a More Effective DAX Developer with DAX Studio – Notes from the Field #134
Bill Anton walks through DAX Studio, the tool that makes writing, testing and tuning DAX easier for Power BI, Power Pivot and Tabular developers.
Parameter Sensitive Plans: Reading Query Variants in Query Store
Inspect query variants and dispatcher plans in Query Store, compare skewed parameter values, and read the boundaries selecting each plan.
SQL SERVER – System Stored Procedures I Use to Get Started
System Stored Procedures remain part of my troubleshooting toolbox. I use these familiar entry points before moving to more detailed views.
SQL SERVER Installation – FeatureUpgradeMatrixCheck (SQL Server 2016 Feature Upgrade) setup rule failed
SQL Server Installation failed on rule FeatureUpgradeMatrixCheck: the edition upgrade from Enterprise to Evaluation is not supported. Here is why and the fix.
How to Find Outdated Statistics? – Interview Question of the Week #081
How do you find outdated statistics? The honest answer is that ‘outdated’ is subjective. I explain why, and how I look at statistics instead.
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.

