What are hints in SQL Server and when should you use them? Understanding table hints with examples, plus a word of caution about overriding the optimizer.
SQL Server emergency? Email pinal@sqlauthority.com with URGENT in the subject line.
SQL SERVER – Size of Index Table – A Puzzle to Find Index Size for Each Index on Table
sp_spaceused shows the total index size of a table. My puzzle for you: write a query that adds the size of each index to the sys.indexes list.
SQL SERVER – 2005 2008 – Backup, Integrity Check and Index Optimization By Ola Hallengren
Ola Hallengren’s free scripts for backup, integrity check and index optimization in SQL Server 2005 and 2008, with notes from Ola on how they work.
SQLAuthority News – Notes of Excellent Experience at SQL PASS 2009 Summit, Seattle
My notes from SQL PASS 2009 Summit in Seattle: why I went, from networking to putting faces to names, and links to my posts from all four days.
SQL SERVER – Whitepaper Consolidation Using SQL Server 2008
Allan Hirt’s white paper on consolidation using SQL Server 2008: gathering the facts, then planning, building and running a consolidated environment.
Storage Settings That Matter for SQL Server
Storage settings That Matter for SQL Server include latency, file placement, allocation unit size, and file growth; learn what to verify.
SQL SERVER – Policy Based Management – Create, Evaluate and Fix Policies
A full walk through Policy Based Management in SQL Server 2008: the policy framework, facets and conditions, then creating, evaluating and fixing policies.
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 120 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.

