Do you like to learn about execution plans? And do you want to save money? Then this post is for you!
Execution Plan Video Training
Tuning query performance works best if you understand what you can learn from reading execution plans. And if you want to get the most out of each execution plan you see, then you need to know what all operators and properties tell you. The most in-depth and complete learning resource for that is the SQLServerFast Execution Plan Video Training. The only problem with this resource is that it’s not ready yet.
Announcing … block 2, advanced level
Here is the good news. The advanced level of block 2, Reading data, is almost ready. I am at this time still working to complete the final chapter, but I am close enough that I can set a release date.
On June 1st, this new set of videos will go live! Almost three hours of information-packed videos that will teach you everything you ever wanted to know (and perhaps even more) about how execution plans read data, and how that impacts performance.
Why the delay?
For those who already watched block 1 and the basic level of block 2, the wait has been long. Too long, arguably. I will not deny that. There are two reasons for that. One is that I have personally gone through a period of feeling worn out and unmotivated to do community work. And the second reason is that I really wanted to make sure that the quality of the videos is as high as I can get them. At the time I write this, I have already spent over 125 hours on the five videos that are about to be released, and I expect that the tally will hit 130 before the final product is released.
In case you wonder why they took so much time, here are a few reasons. I spent hours upon hours crafting complex Powerpoint animations to visualize the various access patterns of scan and seek operators when they access columnstore data or memory-optimized tables. I kept redoing recordings when I was not entirely satisfied. I included way more demos than I originally planned, to make sure every feature and every explanation is as clear as I can get it. And I added captions to all these videos, not machine generated but hand-crafted, to make sure the hearing impaired (or those who prefer not to hear my soothing voice) can also follow along.
What to expect?
The advanced level of block 2 covers consists of five videos (“chapters”), ranging in duration between 23 and 50 minutes, for a total combined duration of almost 3 hours. In these chapters, we build on the knowledge given in the basic block (where scan, seek, and lookup operators are explained in the context of traditional disk-based rowstore storage).
The first two chapters explain the storage structures used for columnstore and memory-optimized data, and show how scan, seek, and lookup operators behave when accessing those structures. The third chapter shows how specialized index types, such as XML indexes and spatial indexes, actually use standard indexes combined with smart internal representations of the data, but we also look at filtered indexes and full-text indexes in this chapter. In chapter 4 you will learn exactly how parallelism and batch mode execution affect read operators. The final chapter covers a variety of remaining topics related to data reading, such as read-ahead, merry-go-round scans, the Merge Interval operator, and reading from partitioned tables and indexes.
The basic level of block 2 already gave you a wealth of information to use for tuning queries that waste too much time doing I/O. The additional knowledge from the advanced chapters should prepare you for any performance challenge related to reading data.
Pricing and pre-order discount
After June 1st, when the videos are released, you can choose to buy access to individual videos, or you can buy the entire level. The price for a single video is $24.95. Buying the entire level costs $99.95, or in other words, you pay four and get the fifth thrown in for free!
If you happen to have any discount code, for instance because you attended one of my regular or pre-con conference sessions, then these will apply to this new level just as they do on the older levels. But also with the same expiration date!
However, you do not need to wait until June 1st. You can at this time already purchase the whole level, at the highly reduced pre-order price of $79.95, an additional 20% saving! This pre-order offer can not be combined with discount codes, though. And during the pre-order period, it is not possible to buy individual chapters. Do note that the pre-order period will end on May 31, so don’t wait too long!
(All prices listed in USD. Free Vimeo account required for purchase of videos. Depending on where you live, prices may be converted to local currency and tax might be added)
Some links
If you are interested, then you can use one of the following links:
- Direct link to the SQLServerFast Execution Plan Video Training; block 2 – Reading data; advanced level. You can use this link to sign up for the pre-order. After the release date, this same link goes to the videos.
- A full overview of the SQLServerFast Execution Plan Video Training, with content overview of and links to all already released levels, and an overview of what is planned for the future.
- A short overview, with just the links to all blocks, levels, and chapters.
I hope you will enjoy watching these videos, and I hope they will help you to better tune your SQL Server queries!
NOTE: This post was edited on May 12, one day after release, to fix some confusion regarding the distinction between levels and blocks of the SQLServerFast Execution Plan Video Training.
