To change fill factor for an index, rebuild it with a new FILLFACTOR value. The tests here measure what 100, 80 and 50 do to page count, scan reads and page splits, and when a lower value is not worth the space.
Vertical Partitioning: Moving Rarely Used Columns Off a Hot Table
Moving rarely used columns to a side table can cut reads, or change nothing. Here is how to measure it and what it costs your writes.
Moving a Table to Another Filegroup by Rebuilding Its Clustered Index
One statement moves the rows, but large-object data and other indexes stay behind. A small demo shows exactly where everything ends up.
Storing Images in varbinary(max): Size, Reads and Backups
Store images in varbinary(max), read file bytes with OPENROWSET, inspect LOB allocation, and evaluate backup and retrieval costs.
Storing Hash Values: binary(32) or a 64-Character Hex String
A hex string is just a printed hash, and it costs twice the space. Here is the round trip, the index sizes and the traps.
SQL SERVER – FIX : Error 3154: The backup set holds a backup of a database other than the existing database – SSMS
Error 3154 says the backup set holds a backup of a different database. Here is how to fix it in SSMS, plus the T-SQL RESTORE WITH REPLACE option.
SELECT * Cost: Why Wide Result Sets Slow Exports
The query starts fast but the export crawls. A small demo shows how much a wide text column adds, and what to measure on your own server.