Use DROP_EXISTING to change an index definition in one operation, inspect its columns, and check online availability and dependencies.
SQL Server emergency? Email pinal@sqlauthority.com with URGENT in the subject line.
SQL SERVER – Saturday Fun Puzzle with SQL Server DATETIME2 and CAST
A Saturday fun puzzle with DATETIME2 and CAST in SQL Server 2012. Run each script one at a time, guess the output, and learn something new.
Deprecated Features and Breaking Changes: Plan Your Upgrade
Breaking Changes are only one of four kinds of change that an upgrade brings. This guest post by Nakul Vachhrajani explains the four kinds, how to find deprecated feature use with Extended Events and the Deprecated Features counters, and a checklist for planning the upgrade.
Upgrading With Log Shipping for a Short Cutover
Upgrading with log shipping stages a newer secondary with NORECOVERY, applies logs in order, and leaves a short, rehearsed final cutover.
SQL Server Lessons: Five Short Scripts You Can Run in a Minute
SQL Server lessons stick when you can run them in a minute. This page covers errors, security, XML, hierarchies and query hints. Each lesson asks one question and answers it with a short script. Every result comes from SQL Server 2025.
SQL SERVER – Get Schema Name from Object ID using OBJECT_SCHEMA_NAME
Many people join sys.tables and sys.schemas to get a schema name from an object ID. The OBJECT_SCHEMA_NAME function does it in one simple call.
SQL SERVER – Columnstore Index and sys.dm_db_index_usage_stats
My Columnstore index DMV script failed on SQL Server 2012 RTM because sys.column_store_index_stats was gone. What I found next, with sys.dm_db_index_usage_stats.
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.

