Wait Based Tuning: Which Part of the Bar to Read First
Wait based tuning starts with one question: is this query running or waiting? Read the Waits by Query report in the right order.
Month: October 2026
SQL Server Disabled Index: Why Your Query Ignores It
A SQL Server disabled index sits in the catalog and does nothing. Here is how to find it, plus the low fill factor and hypothetical indexes hiding beside it.
SQL Server Missing Indexes: Read Write Cost First
SQL Server missing indexes look like free speed until the writes pay for them. Learn to weigh benefit against write cost before you build anything.
Silent Job Failure: Read Missed Runs in This Order
A silent job failure writes no history and raises no alert. Here is the order to read the Missed Runs report so the gaps tell you what happened.
SQL Server Plan Cache: Which Database Is Eating Memory?
Your SQL Server plan cache is memory that is not holding data pages. Split it by database, compare size to query count, and find the ad hoc SQL wasting it.
SQL Server CPU History: Read a Week in One Glance
Your SQL Server CPU history is a wall of spikes on a line chart. A heat map by hour and day shows the weekly pattern and the one day that broke it.
SQL Server Seek vs Scan: Why a Flat Read Count Lies
A flat read count can hide an index sliding from seeks to scans. Here is how the SQL Server seek vs scan ratio exposes it before queries slow down.
SQL Code Smells: Unindexed Range Predicates
When a query filters a large table on a range, like a date window, and no index supports that range, SQL Server scans the table. Put that scan inside a subquery that gets joined to other inputs, and a query that should take seconds can run for hours. In a recent case, one covering index took a query from almost two hours in the worst case down to about four seconds. What is an unindexed range predicate? A range predicate …
What’s New in Database Health Monitor 4.1626: Index Consolidation, Service Broker, Data Protection, Analysis Services and a Web Dashboard
Database Health Monitor 4.1626 adds an Index Consolidation Plan with a rollback script, reports for Service Broker, data protection and Analysis Services, and an opt-in read-only web dashboard.
msdb suspect_pages: Read the Date Before the Count
A walkthrough of the Suspect Pages report and the msdb suspect_pages table behind it: which column to read first, and how to spot a page still failing.