The COL_NAME function returns a column’s name when you give it a table’s object ID and the column’s ID. This post uses it to turn the column IDs in index views into names, shows why a column ID is not a position once a column has been dropped, and explains the trap that returns a wrong name when the table lives in another database.
Measure Page Splits in SQL Server With T-SQL
To measure page splits in SQL Server, read the Page Splits/sec counter twice and subtract the first reading from the second. This post loads a table with sequential keys and another with random keys, so you can see which splits are normal and which cost you. It also names the index behind the splits and shows how a lower fill factor removes most of them.
Finding Which Indexes Use a Custom Fill Factor Setting
Find indexes with a custom fill factor, compare their page counts, and review one rebuild without changing the server-wide setting.
Row and Page Compression: Estimating Savings Before You Compress
Estimate row and page compression savings per index and partition, then compare storage, CPU, reads, and maintenance before deployment.
SQL Server Performance Mistakes: Three Checks to Run Today
SQL Server performance mistakes hide in the settings, the files and the code. This post checks four server settings, shows poor file growth and its fix, and measures two code mistakes, a function on an indexed column and a data type mismatch, in logical reads.
Columnstore Segment Elimination: Loading Data So Scans Skip Work
See how segment elimination skips columnstore work by checking segment metadata, measuring scans, and loading rows in a useful order.
How to Find Size of All the Indexes on the Database – Interview Question of the Week #097
Need to know how much space your indexes use? Here is a script I share with clients that lists all the indexes in a database along with their size.