Diagnose uneven parallelism by comparing CXPACKET and CXCONSUMER with per-thread row counts in plans and live query profiles.
sys.dm_os_waiting_tasks: Who Is Waiting Right Now and Why
sys.dm_os_waiting_tasks shows every task that waits right now, what it waits for and who is in the way. This post builds a three-session blocking chain on SQL Server 2025, reads the view, finds the head of the chain and names the locked table.
Anniversary of SQL Wait Stats Book: Memories From the First Year
A year ago I published my second book, SQL Wait Stats. On this first anniversary of SQL Wait Stats book, here are some memories from that journey: the blog series behind it, the work with my co-author, and why September 1st is a special day for me.
Tuning Step One: Capture a Wait Stats Baseline Before Changing Anything
Capture a wait stats baseline, compare two saved snapshots, reject reset intervals, and rank meaningful waits before changing settings.
SQL Server Wait Stats: eBook to Download on Kindle and My Answer to Free PDF Requests
SQL Server Wait Stats was my first book experiment. Here is how I answered readers who asked for a free PDF, and what the Kindle offer looked like in 2011. Prices and offers are from that time.
SQL SERVER – TRACEWRITE – Wait Type – Wait Related to Buffer and Resolution
What does the TRACEWRITE wait type mean, and how do you resolve it? A DBA saw it as the top wait on his system, so here is a quick explanation.
Spotting tempdb Contention
Spot tempdb contention through PAGELATCH waits and allocation pages, then review file layout and current server settings before changing files.