SQLServerFast

Fake statistics, and how to get rid of them

Hugo Kornelis
4 Comments
There are two ways to test how your queries behave on huge amounts of data. The simple option is to actually use them on huge amounts of data – but where do you get that if you have no access to the production database, and how do you store it if you happen not to have a multi-terabyte storage array sitting in your basement? So here’s the second best option: you cheat. Luckily, SQL Server has a feature that allows you to do just that. I must warn you that this feature is undocumented and unsupported. You should never under…
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Database Design training – for free?

Hugo Kornelis
7 Comments
When I started this blog, my plan was to focus on two main subject areas. One of them is SQL Server, T-SQL, and performance. The other is database design. Looking back over my post history, I honestly cannot say I delivered on the second area. Not because I have nothing to say about database design, but because I found it doesn’t lend itself for a blog. In the SQL Server / T-SQL area, there are subjects that can be isolated and described in a single post, or in a short series. In database design, I do not see such objects.…
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Parameterization and filtered indexes (part 2)

Hugo Kornelis
1 Comment
In my previous post, I demonstrated how the presence of a filtered index can get in the way of successful parameterization, possibly resulting in too much query compilations and procedure cache bloat. I suggest reading that first, because I will go straight where I left off. Use the Force, Luke If you read the previous post very carefully, you will have noticed that I wrote that if a plan is unstable, it is “unsafe for simple parameterization” – and that suggests that SQL Server will not have such inhibitions when using forced parameterization. Let’s have a look. Assuming you still…
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Parameterization and filtered indexes (part 1)

Hugo Kornelis
4 Comments
Parameterization is a process where SQL Server slightly modifies a query in the parse phase: it replaces constant values by parameters. So if you submit — Query 1 SELECT COUNT(*) FROM   Sales.SalesOrderDetail WHERE  ProductID = 706; the parser will replace this by (and fool the optimizer into thinking you submitted): DECLARE @1 smallint = 706; SELECT COUNT(*) FROM   Sales.SalesOrderDetail WHERE  ProductID = @1; You can verify this very easily. If you go to the actual execution plan and hover over the left-most icon (the SELECT), a popup window will open that shows (a.o.) the query that was fed into the…
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Understanding Execution Plans

Hugo Kornelis
5 Comments
To me, it feels as if 2014 is a long time away. But it isn’t. Sinterklaas has already dropped off his presents and is probably already back in his castle in Spain. Christmas is almost upon us. And before we know it, we’ll be washing oliebollen down with Champagne. That also means that I need to get cracking on preparing my precon seminar on execution plans. What precon seminar you say? Oh right – I didn’t tell you yet. The good folks organizing SQL Saturday #269 in Exeter (UK) (on March 22) have decided to extend the event with a…
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SQLRally and SQLRally – Session material

Hugo Kornelis
1 Comment
I had a great week last week. First at SQLRally Nordic, in Stockholm, where I presented a session on how improvements to the OVER clause can help you simplify queries in SQL Server 2012 enormously. And then I continued straight on into SQLRally Amsterdam, where I delivered a session on the performance implications of using user-defined functions in T-SQL. I understand that both events will make my slides and demo code downloadable from their website, but this may take a while. So those who do not want to wait can download the material from this blog post. Both SQLRally events…
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Decks and demos – Session material for Silicon Valley Code Camp

Hugo Kornelis
1 Comment
This weekend, I will be presenting two sessions at Silicon Valley Code Camp, in Los Altos Hills, CA. On Saturday, I will have an early start – the first time slot of the day, at 9:45 AM, I will present on how T-SQL user-defined functions can easily wreck your performance – and how you can prevent that. On Sunday afternoon (1:15 PM), I will then present a session on the OVER clause, focusing on how both the SQLL Server 2005 version and the enhanced SQL Server 2012 syntax of this feature can help you solve common problems without having to…
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Book review: SQL Server Transaction Log Management

Hugo Kornelis
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It was an offer I could not resist. I was promised a free copy of one of the newest books from Red Gate Books, SQL Server Transaction Log Management (by Tony Davis and Gail Shaw), with the caveat that I should write a review after reading it. Mind you, not a commercial, “make sure we sell more copies” kind of review, but a review of my actual thoughts. Yes, I got explicit permission to be my usual brutally honest self. A total win/win for me! First, I get a free book – and free is always good, right? And second,…
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Jetzt geht’s los – speaking in Germany!

Hugo Kornelis
No Comments
It feels just like yesterday that I went to Munich for the very first German edition of SQL Saturday – and it was a great event. An agenda that was packed with three tracks of great sessions, and lots of fun with the organization, attendees, and other speakers. That was such a great time that I didn’t have to hesitate long before deciding that I wanted to repeat this event this year. Especially when I heard that it will be held in Rheinland, on July 13 – that is a distance I can travel by car! The only potential problem…
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Why does SQL Server not compress data on LOB pages?

Hugo Kornelis
12 Comments
Enabling compression on your database can save you a lot of space – but when you have a lot of varchar(max) or nvarchar(max) data, you may find the savings to be limited. This is because only data stored on the data and index pages is compressed, and data for the (max) data types is generally stored on other, special-purpose pages – either text/image pages, or row overflow data pages. (See Understanding Pages and Extents in Books Online). This is from the SQL Server 2008R2 Books Online, but it is still valid in SQL Server 2012 – but apparently, this page…
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Hugo Kornelis

Married, father of 2 children.

Awarded 13x MVP (2006-2016; 2019-now), in the areas SQL Server and Data Platform.

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