Read operator cost percentages as estimates, then use actual rows, elapsed time, IO, and repeated work to find the real bottleneck.
SQL Server emergency? Email pinal@sqlauthority.com with URGENT in the subject line.
SQL SERVER – Shrinking NDF and MDF Files – A Safe Operation
Is shrinking NDF and MDF files safe? A reader asked if it causes data loss. It does not, but I explain why shrinking them is often not a good idea.
Connecting Excel to SQL Server Safely
Connecting Excel to SQL Server safely means a narrow read-only view, a scoped login, controlled refresh load, and no saved password in the workbook.
SQL SERVER – 2008 – 2005 – Find Longest Running Query – TSQL – Part 2
An updated script to find the longest running query in SQL Server 2005 and 2008, with the divide by zero error fixed and time now shown in milliseconds.
SQLAuthority News – Milestone of 6 Million Visits – 60 Lak Visits – Search and Job
SQLAuthority.com crossed 6 Million Visits in 2 years and 3 months. Thank you, readers! I also announce a small surprise for readers who take part here.
SQLAuthority News – SQLAuthority News – Ahmedabad User Group Meeting January 17 2009 – Review
A review of our first Ahmedabad User Group Meeting of 2009, with three back to back performance tuning talks on index usage, query optimization and MERGE.
SQL SERVER – Rules for Optimizining Any Query – Best Practices for Query Optimization
My quick rules for query optimization: a primary key, a clustered index, the right non-clustered indexes, fewer views and triggers, and other simple checks.
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.

