Evaluate narrow index keys by comparing clustered GUID and integer designs, measuring index pages, and preserving natural uniqueness.
SQL Server emergency? Email pinal@sqlauthority.com with URGENT in the subject line.
Database Security Basics for a Small Business
Database security basics for a small business cover patching, off-site backups, strong logins, limited access, and encryption that works.
Designing Your First Table: Columns, Keys and Data Types
Designing Your First Table gets easier when you decide what it must hold before you write any SQL. This post walks through naming, data types, NULL or NOT NULL, a primary key, a default and a check constraint on a small Customers table. It also shows what to leave for later.
Table-Valued Parameters: Sending Thousands of Rows in One Call
Send thousands of rows in one call with table-valued parameters, compare round trips, and handle missing column statistics accurately.
Read-Only Filegroups: Locking Away Old Data
Read-only filegroups let you lock old data so nothing can change it by accident. This post moves old rows to their own filegroup, makes it read-only, shows what still works and what fails, and explains how partial backups skip the locked data.
Pages and Extents: How SQL Server Stores Rows in a Data File
Pages and Extents are the building blocks of every SQL Server data file. A page is 8 KB, an extent is eight pages, and a row has to fit on a page. This post shows how to count the pages a table uses and what happens when a row is too wide.
SQL SERVER – Tips for SQL Query Optimization by Analyzing Query Plan
An overloaded ERP system taught me a lot. Here are my tips for SQL query optimization by analyzing the query plan of the most resource consuming queries.
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