I start every tuning exercise with Statistics IO. Here is how to read its output: scan count, logical reads, physical reads and read-ahead reads per table.
SQL Server emergency? Email pinal@sqlauthority.com with URGENT in the subject line.
MONTH, DATEPART and DATENAME: Getting Month Names and Numbers Right
Use DATENAME for month labels, compare MONTH and DATEPART, control language and culture, and group sales without combining different years.
SQL SERVER – Antivirus Exclusions Best Practices With SQL Server
If antivirus locks a SQL Server file, you can face startup issues or even corruption. Here are the antivirus exclusions best practices every DBA should follow.
Checking That a Patch Really Installed
Checking That a Patch Really Installed means comparing full versions, reading Setup summary logs, and confirming the startup error log.
Interview Question of the Week #020 – What is the Difference Between DISTINCT and GROUP BY?
Explain the difference between DISTINCT and GROUP BY with a self-contained demo, HAVING filters, and a correlated-subquery plan comparison.
SQL SERVER – Service Pack Error – The User Data directory in the registry is not valid. Verify DefaultData key under the instance hive points to a valid directory
Service pack 2 on SQL Server 2012 failed with: The User Data directory in the registry is not valid. Here is how the DefaultData registry key caused it.
SQL SERVER – WARNING – SQL Server Has Encountered N Occurrence(s) of I/O Requests Taking Longer Than 15 Seconds
Seeing ‘I/O requests taking longer than 15 seconds’ in the ERRORLOG? Here is what this common warning means and where to look for the slow disk behind it.
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.