Too many VLFs can hurt performance. Here is a simple PowerShell script that counts the VLFs in every database on one or many SQL Server instances.
SQL Server emergency? Email pinal@sqlauthority.com with URGENT in the subject line.
SQL SERVER – Evaluation Period Has Expired – How to Activate SQL Server?
Chose Evaluation Edition in a hurry and now the evaluation period has expired? Here is how to activate SQL Server by moving to a licensed edition.
Interview Question of the Week #025 – How to Implement Paging in SQL Server?
Implement paging with deterministic OFFSET FETCH, correct ROW_NUMBER boundaries, and keyset navigation for deeper SQL Server pages.
SQL SERVER – Using PowerShell and Native Client to run queries in SQL Server
A friend wanted PowerShell and Native Client, not SQL PowerShell, to run queries against SQL Server. Here is the small sample script I wrote for it.
SQL SERVER – Database Snapshots and Replica Causing Write Delays
Do database snapshots slow down writes? With copy on write, each snapshot adds work to every page change. Here is how they can cause write delays.
SQL SERVER – Converting Standard SSMS File Results to Delimited – Notes from the Field #085
Clients sometimes send files made with Results To File in SSMS. Kevin shows how to convert standard SSMS file results to delimited data you can load.
Autogrowth Settings: Why 1 MB and 10 Percent Still Hurt
Inspect autogrowth settings across database files, review retained growth events and VLFs, and choose tested fixed-size increments.
SQL Server slow? Let's fix it together in about four hours.
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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.

