Month: November 2024

By Posted on Posted in SQL Server Consulting Services No Comments

SQL Health Check Report: How Stedman Solutions Can Help Optimize Your SQL Server Environment A well-maintained SQL Server environment is critical for business operations, but without regular monitoring, issues like slow queries, blocked processes, and inefficient configurations can creep in. At Stedman Solutions, we offer a comprehensive SQL health check report—also known as our Health Assessment or Performance Assessment—to identify problems, optimize performance, and provide actionable recommendations to keep your databases running smoothly. In this blog post, we’ll explore what’s …

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By Posted on Posted in SQL Server Consulting Services, SQL Server Corruption No Comments

How to Run DBCC CHECKDB – a beginners guide Ensuring the integrity of your SQL Server databases is essential to maintaining a healthy and reliable system. One of the most powerful tools for this purpose is DBCC CHECKDB. In this blog post, we’ll explain how to run DBCC CHECKDB, why it’s critical, and best practices for using it. What Is DBCC CHECKDB? DBCC CHECKDB is a Database Console Command that validates the structural and logical integrity of a SQL Server …

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By Posted on Posted in SQL Server Performance Tuning No Comments

Understanding SQL Server Cost Threshold for Parallelism When tuning SQL Server for performance, one important configuration setting is the Cost Threshold for Parallelism. This setting directly affects when SQL Server decides to execute a query in parallel, potentially speeding up large operations or, if misconfigured, overloading system resources. In this post, we’ll explore what the Cost Threshold for Parallelism is, how it works, and best practices for configuring it in your SQL Server environment. What is Cost Threshold for Parallelism? …

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What is involved with a SQL Server Performance Assessment from Stedman Solutions A SQL Server Performance Assessment from Stedman Solutions is designed to uncover and resolve issues slowing down your SQL Server. Our in-depth analysis identifies performance bottlenecks and provides actionable recommendations to enhance the speed, stability, and scalability of your databases. Key Components of a SQL Server Performance Assessment Benefits of a Stedman Solutions SQL Server Performance Assessment Ready to Get Started? At Stedman Solutions, our SQL Server experts …

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Exploring Episode 6 of the Stedman SQL Server Podcast: New Features in Database Health Monitor In Episode 6 of the Stedman SQL Server Podcast, we look at the latest updates to Database Health Monitor (DBHM), a free tool designed to give SQL Server users clear insights into performance, reliability, and potential issues. We cover several new features and bug fixes in this episode that enhance DBHM’s functionality, provide better diagnostics, and add even more monitoring power to your SQL Server …

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Understanding SQL Server Isolation Levels: Choosing the Right One for Your Needs SQL Server isolation levels are a crucial part of managing database transactions. They control how transactions interact with each other, particularly regarding locking behavior, data visibility, and concurrency. By adjusting the isolation level, you can fine-tune the balance between data consistency and performance to match your specific application needs. Let’s explore each isolation level in SQL Server, how they impact your transactions, and best-use cases for each. 1. …

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By Posted on Posted in Files and IO No Comments

CrystalDiskMark: How It Helps Assess SQL Server Performance When managing a SQL Server environment, one key factor that often gets overlooked is disk performance. SQL Server relies heavily on the speed and throughput of the storage subsystem for database operations, making it critical to understand and measure disk performance regularly. This is where CrystalDiskMark can be a game-changer. What is CrystalDiskMark? CrystalDiskMark is a popular, free, and easy-to-use benchmarking tool that measures the performance of your storage devices, such as …

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By Posted on Posted in SQL Server Classes No Comments

Understanding SQL Server Full Join vs. Cross Join: What’s the Difference? When working with SQL Server, understanding the different types of joins is crucial for building effective and efficient queries. Two commonly misunderstood joins are the Full Join and the Cross Join. Let’s break down what each join does, when to use it, and how they compare. Full Join: Including All Data from Both Tables The Full Join (or Full Outer Join) is used when you need to retrieve all …

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Database Engine Tuning Advisor (DTA) in SQL Server: Understanding its Use and Risks The Database Engine Tuning Advisor (DTA) in SQL Server is a built-in tool designed to help identify potential performance improvements. It analyzes your database workload and provides recommendations like adding indexes, partitioning tables, and optimizing statistics. While it can be valuable for tuning your SQL Server environment, it also poses a significant risk of over-indexing, which can hurt performance if not managed properly. In this post, we’ll …

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Boost SQL Server Priority is dangerous and should not be used. Understanding the “Boost SQL Server Priority” Option in SQL Server Microsoft strongly advises against enabling this setting in production environments. When it comes to SQL Server Performance tuning, there are numerous settings and options to explore. One option that often sparks debate among DBAs is the “Boost SQL Priority” setting. While it sounds promising—after all, who wouldn’t want to “boost” SQL Server’s Performance?—the reality is more complex. In this …

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