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Microsoft SQL Server Performance Monitoring and Tuning

• SQL Server BI performance for the uninitiated

  Maintaining a SQL Server business intelligence (BI) system may be challenging for many database administrators, but there’s a lot you can do to ensure top SQL Server BI performance. Continue Reading

• Before scaling up Microsoft SQL Server, a few questions

  Scaling up SQL Server could give your database performance a boost. First, check that your hardware is doing all it can. Learn what questions to ask before you begin an upgrade. Continue Reading

• System Center Advisor promises configuration alerts for DBAs

  Microsoft System Center Advisor, formerly Project Atlanta, is a database-configuration system designed to help database administrators root out problems before they begin. Continue Reading

• Q&A: New Microsoft products focus on configuration, virtualization

  There’s been a slew of new Microsoft products lately, including an upgrade for Project Atlanta. A company expert discusses this development, third-party tools and more. Continue Reading

• Third-party tool for SQL Server outshines IntelliSense in SSMS

  IntelliSense in SSMS is Microsoft’s answer to developer pleas. But there is competition from a third-party tool for SQL Server -- SQL Prompt. Continue Reading

• Bedeviled by SQL Server lock escalation? Trace flags can help

  SQL Server lock escalation can save on memory when working with a table strewn with locks, but it also can lead to blocking. Use SQL Server trace flags to disable lock escalation.Continue Reading

• Three third-party tools for SQL Server you need to have

  SQL Server is packaged with an array of management tools, but it’s not complete. Several third-party tools for SQL Server can help with monitoring, backup and capacity management.Continue Reading

• Finding your way around SQL Server data preservation

  Need to know what a table looked like before changes were changes were made? There are several tools for SQL Server data preservation -- SQL Server change tracking and SQL Server database mirroring among them -- each with its own uses and ...Continue Reading

• Gain insight with SQL Server dynamic management views

  Dynamic management views, a feature in SQL Server 2005 and newer, let users say goodbye to complex queries for retrieving database information. In the first of this two-part series, have a look at a sampling of SQL Server DMVs and the database info ...Continue Reading

• Three SQL Server hardware upgrades to enliven performance

  You’re contemplating SQL Server hardware upgrades and want a shortlist of easy steps to boost performance. You’re in luck. Read on for tips to make it move like never before.Continue Reading

• Tuning SQL Server table indexes: Adjusting the fill factor

  Don’t get bedeviled by SQL Server table indexes. They can fragment over time, but a little tuning goes a long way. Adjusting the fill factor for an index is common method. Read on for dos and don’ts.Continue Reading

• Demystifying the Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator

  Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator is crucial for transactional consistency across multiple instances of SQL Server. Learn how to monitor MSDTC and troubleshoot issues, and get tips on how to ensure proper and efficient communications ...Continue Reading

• Using bcp utility for data moving, sqldiag for troubleshooting

  Learn about three more command-line utilities. The bcp utility for data moving directs data into and out of SQL Server; sqldiag gathers diagnostic information and can be used in troubleshooting a problem; and sqlservr is an executable that starts ...Continue Reading

• Command-line utilities for SQL Server database tuning, comparing tables

  Get an inside look at a command line utility for SQL Server database tuning. See how the dta utility does an analysis on its given workload and provides performance recommendations. And read about tablediff, which allows for comparing tables.Continue Reading

• SQL Server command-line utilities: sqlcmd

  SQL Server command-line utilities give database administrators a new way to access the database engine and its components. Learn about each utility and its command syntax, starting with the sqlcmd utility.Continue Reading