If a query is performing poorly, and you can't understand why, then that query's execution plan will tell you not only what data set is coming back, but also what SQL Server did, and in what order, to get that data. It will reveal how the data was retrieved, and from which tables and indexes, what types of joins were used, at what point filtering, sorting and aggregation occurred, and a whole lot more. These details will often highlight the likely source of any problem.

I wrote this book with the singular goal of teaching you how to read SQL Server Execution plans

It will explain, among many other things, the following:

• How to capture execution plans using manual and automatic methods
• A documented method for reading and interpreting execution plans
• How common SQL Server objects, such as indexes, views, stored procedures, and so on, appear in execution plans
• How to control execution plans with hints and plan guides, and why this is a double-edged sword
• How the Query Store works with, and collects data on, execution plans
  

With this knowledge, you'll have everything you need to read the execution plan, for any query of your own, regardless of complexity, and understand what it does and what is causing the bad performance. It is still your job to work out how best to fix it, but your new understanding of execution plans will give a much better chance of success

How do you price your software? Is it art, science or magic? How much attention should you pay to your competitors? This short handbook will provide you with the theory, practical advice and case studies you need to stop yourself from reaching for the dice. Table of Contents Chapter 01: Some - but not too much - Economics Chapter 02: Pricing Psychology: What is your product worth? Chapter 03: Pricing Pitfalls Chapter 04: Advanced Pricing Chapter 05: What your price says about you (and how to change it) Why read this book? At Business of Software 2007 Michael Pryor held an impromptu session on how to price your software. So many people turned up, and so many people kept on arriving, that by the time they'd introduced themselves there was no time left to talk about software pricing. I've had similar experiences; in fact, How do I price my software? is probably the most common question I'm asked by software entrepreneurs and product managers. This handbook is an attempt to answer that question. Neil Davidson, Author. About the Author Neil Davidson is co-founder and joint CEO of Red Gate Software. Red Gate was founded in 1999 and now employs some 150 people. It was Cambridge News business of the year in 2006 and has been in the Sunday Times top 100 companies to work for three years running. It was founded with no VC money and little debt. Neil is also founder of the annual Business of Software conference and runs the Business of Software social network.

This book starts with an introduction to the core concepts of .NET memory management and garbage collection, and then quickly layers on additional details and intricacies. Once you're up to speed, you can dive into the guided troubleshooting tour, and tips for engineering your application to maximise performance. And to finish off, take a look at some more sophisticated considerations, and even a peek inside the Windows memory model.

The duties and responsibilitie: s of a Database Administrator (DBA) make for long and dynamically changing list, ranging from offering query tuning advice, to cutting stored procedures, all the way through to system process design and implementation for high availability. A DBA's tasks, from day-to-day, are rarely constant; with one exception: the need to ensure each and every day that any database in their charge can be restored and recovered, in the event of error of disaster. This means that if a database, for whatever reason, gets corrupted, dropped, or otherwise becomes unusable, then it is the DBA's responsibility to restore that database to the state it was in before the problem occurred, or as close as is possible. Of course, this doesn't mean that a DBA is required to restore a database each and every day, just that if disaster does strike the DBA must be prepared to deal with it, regardless of when or why it occurs. If a DBA isn't prepared, and significant data is lost, or databases become unavailable to end users for long periods of time, then that DBA probably won't be in their job for too long. This is why a good, and tested, SQL Server backup and restore plan must be on the top of every administrative DBA's list of tasks. In this book, you'll discover how to perform each of these backup and restore operations using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), basic T-SQL scripts and Red Gate's SQL Backup tool. Capturing backups using SSMS or simple scripts is perfectly fine for one-off backup operations, but any backups that form part of the recovery strategy for any given database must be automated and you'll also want to build in some checks that, for example, alert the responsible DBA immediately if a problem arises. The tool of choice in this book for backup automation is Red Gate SQL Backup. Building your own automated solution will take a lot of work, but we do offer some advice on possible options, such as PowerShell scripting, T-SQL scripts and SQL Server Agent jobs.

Every day, out in the various online forums devoted to SQL Server, and on Twitter, the same types of questions come up repeatedly: Why is this query running slowly? Why is SQL Server ignoring my index? Why does this query run quickly sometimes and slowly at others? My response is the same in each case: have you looked at the execution plan? An execution plan describes what's going on behind the scenes when SQL Server executes a query. It shows how the query optimizer joined the data from the various tables defined in the query, which indexes it used, if any, how it performed any aggregations or sorting, and much more. It also estimates the cost of all of these operations, in terms of the relative load placed on the system. Every Database Administrator, developer, report writer, and anyone else who writes T-SQL to access SQL Server data, must understand how to read and interpret execution plans. My book leads you right from the basics of capturing plans, through how to interrupt them in their various forms, graphical or XML, and then how to use the information you find there to diagnose the most common causes of poor query performance, and so optimize your SQL queries, and improve your indexing strategy.

The SQL Server 2016 In-Memory OLTP engine (a.k.a. Hekaton) is designed to exploit terabytes of available memory and high numbers of processing cores. It allows us to work with memory-optimized tables and indexes, and natively compiled stored procedures, in addition to the disk-based tables and indexes, and T-SQL stored procedures, that SQL Server has always provided.

Hekaton in-memory data is accessible, transparently, using familiar interfaces such as T-SQL and SSMS, but Hekaton's internal behavior and capabilities are very different than those of the standard relational engine. Everything you knew about how your SQL Server stores and accesses data is different in Hekaton. Everything you understood about how multiple concurrent processes are handled needs to be reconsidered.

In this book, Kalen Delaney explains how the new In-Memory OLTP engine works, how it stores and manipulates data, and how, even with all data stored in memory and no locking or latching, it can still guarantee the ACID properties of all transactions.

Kalen has been working with SQL Server since 1987, specializing in query performance tuning and SQL Server internals. The Hekaton internals knowledge she provides in this book will help you migrate existing tables or databases to Hekaton, and get faster performance from your SQL Server applications than you ever thought possible.

This book will help you learn and use XML Schema collections in SQL Server. Prior knowledge of XSD is not required to start with this book, although any experience with XSD will make your learning process easier. This book starts with the basics of XML schemas and then walks you through everything you need to know, with examples and labs, in order to build powerful XML schemas in SQL Server.

Editorial Review As the backbone to so many commercial communications infrastructures, Microsoft's Exchange Server technology has become a critical component in many an IT department. With the latest incarnation of Exchange Server on the horizon, and indeed almost upon us, it is becoming increasingly urgent that SysAdmins get to grips with this latest-and-greatest technology. What's new? What's gone? What's easier or harder? Jaap touches upon all these essentials. As a practical field-guide to Exchange Server 2010, this book will tell you exactly what you need to know to get started with upgrading, installing, configuring and managing your new Exchange Server. If you need to get to grips with Exchange Server 2010 fast, or want a short, to-the-point, practical guide to Microsoft's latest offering, then you should read this book. Table of Contents * Chapter 01: Introduction to Exchange Server 2010 * Chapter 02: Installing Exchange Server 2010 * Chapter 03: Exchange Server 2010 Coexistence * Chapter 04: Managing Exchange Server 2010 * Chapter 05: High Availability in Exchange Server 2010 About the Author Jaap Wesselius is a senior Exchange consultant for DM Consultants (http: //www.dm-consultants.nl/), a Microsoft Gold Partner with a strong focus on messaging and collaboration solutions. Prior to working for DM Consultants Jaap worked for 8 years for Microsoft Services in The Netherlands, specializing in Exchange Server. Jaap is a BSc, MCSE, MCITP, and MCT and was awarded the Microsoft MVP Award (Exchange Server) for his contributions to the Dutch messaging and collaboration community. Besides Exchange Server, Jaap is also very active in virtualization and is a founder of the Dutch Hyper-V community. You can reach Jaap at J.Wesselius@dm-consultants.nl or Jaap@hyper-v.nu

The SQL Server 2014 In-Memory OLTP engine (a.k.a. Hekaton) is designed from the ground up to exploit terabytes of available memory and high numbers of processing cores. It allows us to work with memory-optimized tables and indexes, and natively compiled stored procedures, in addition to the disk-based tables and indexes, and T-SQL stored procedures, that SQL Server has always provided. Hekaton in-memory data is accessible, transparently, using familiar interfaces such as T-SQL and SSMS, but Hekaton's internal behavior and capabilities are very different than those of the standard relational engine. Everything you knew about how your SQL Server stores and accesses data is different in Hekaton. Everything you understood about how multiple concurrent processes are handled needs to be reconsidered. In this book, Kalen Delaney explains how the new In-Memory OLTP engine works, how it stores and manipulates data, and how, even with all data stored in memory and no locking or latching, it can still guarantee the ACID properties of all transactions. Kalen has been working with SQL Server since 1987, specializing in query performance tuning and SQL Server internals. The Hekaton internals knowledge she provides in this book will help you migrate existing tables or databases to Hekaton, and get faster performance from your SQL Server applications than you ever thought possible.

This book shows how to use of mixture of home-grown scripts, native SQL Server tools, and tools from the Red Gate SQL Toolbelt, to successfully develop database applications in a team environment, and make database development as similar as possible to normal development.

For as long as there has been something to communicate between two persons there has been data. Today, vast volumes of it are gathered about almost every individual and business. It is the information that we provide when we sign up for an account at our favorite website, fill out a job application, or apply for a mortgage. These valuable, often sensitive, data assets are stored in a SQL Server database, and entrusted to the Database Administrator, who must use every weapon and strategy at his or her disposal in the war to protect this sensitive data from would-be hackers, phishers, rumor mongers and identity thieves. Encryption is one of the primary weapons with which this battle can be won, and yet it is treated with trepidation by many, who fear that it will prove just another way for data to be lost or an unjustifiable cost on performance. This book holds the key to encryption without fear. In it, the author goes way beyond the usual demonstration of the SQL Server cryptographic functions. He explains how to assess and categorize data elements according to sensitivity, regulate access to the various categories of data using database roles, views and stored procedures, and then how to implement an efficient and secure data architecture using the available SQL encryption features, such as cell-level encryption, transparent data encryption and one-way encryption. At each stage the author covers not only how the features work, but also described the situations when they are and are not suitable, and at all times stresses the steps that must be taken to ensure that the solution is maintainable.

In the Complete Guide .NET Performance and Optimization, Paul Glavich and Chris Farrell offer a comprehensive and essential handbook to anybody looking to set up a .NET testing environment and get the best results out of it, or just learn effective techniques for testing and optimizing their .NET applications.

A 2nd edition of Brad McGehee's popular career guide for DBAs, designed to help new and prospective DBAs find their feet in the profession, and to advise those more-experienced on how they can excel at their jobs, and so become Exceptional DBAs.

In his new book, Brad's Sure Guide to SQL Server Maintenance Plans, Brad McGehee takes you on a comprehensive tour of two SQL Server tools designed to help DBAs ensure that a required minimum level of maintenance takes place on their SQL Server instances: the Maintenance Plan Wizard and the Maintenance Plan Designer. Table of Contents * Chapter 01: Why is Database Maintenance Important? Chapter 02: Before you Create any Maintenance Plans Chapter 03: Getting Started with the Maintenance Plan Wizard Chapter 04: Task Scheduling Chapter 05: Check database Integrity Task Chapter 06: Shrink Database Task Chapter 07: Rebuild Index Task Chapter 08: Reorganize Index Task Chapter 09: Update Statistics Task Chapter 10: Execute SQL Server Agent Job Task Chapter 11: History Cleanup Task Chapter 12: Define Back Up Database (Full) Task Chapter 13: Define Back Up Database (Differential) Task Chapter 14: Back Up Database (Transaction Log) Task Chapter 15: Maintenance Cleanup Task Chapter 16: Using the Maintenance Plan Designer Why read this book? Millions of SQL Server instances run in the offices of small and medium-sized organizations and there are many accidental DBAs out there whose job it is to maintain them. Often, they find that they don't have the knowledge, experience, or critically the time, to perform the correct level of maintenance on their SQL Server databases, much as they might like to. This can mean poor performance and reduced availability. Regardless of the size of your organization, if your mission critical data becomes unavailable, then business will suffer greatly. The Maintenance Plan Wizard and Designer allow you to configure and schedule eleven core database maintenance tasks, ranging from integrity checks, to database backups, to index reorganizations and rebuilds. Brad walks through every one of these tasks covering: * The intent of each task and why it's important * How to configure each task and what all the options mean * Scheduling considerations: when and how often should you run the task? * Customizing and extended your Maintenance Plans using the Designer Used carefully, these Maintenance Plan tools represent powerful time-saving devices for any DBA. At each stage of the book, Brad explains clearly the correct and incorrect uses for the tool, and indicates where more advanced solutions, using T-SQL or PowerShell scripting, would be more appropriate.

The goal of Defensive Programming is to produce resilient code that responds gracefully to the unexpected. To the SQL Server programmer, this means T-SQL code that behaves consistently and predictably in cases of unexpected usage, doesn't break under concurrent loads, and survives predictable changes to database schemas and settings. Inside this book, you will find dozens of practical, defensive programming techniques that will improve the quality of your T-SQL code and increase its resilience and robustness.

The SQL Server Query Optimizer is perceived by many to be a magic black box, transforming SQL queries into high performance execution plans in the blink of an eye through some unknowable process. The truth is that, while the Query Optimizer is indeed the highly-complex result of decades of research, learning how it works its magic is not only possible, but immensely useful to DBAs and Developers alike. A better understanding of what the Query Optimizer does behind the scenes can help you to improve the performance of your databases and applications, and this book explains the core concepts behind how the SQL Server Query Optimizer works. With this knowledge, you'll be able to write superior queries, provide the Query Optimizer with all the information it needs to produce efficient execution plans, and troubleshoot the cases when the Query Optimizer is not giving you the best plan possible. With over 15 years of experience in the use of Relational Databases (including SQL Server since version 6.5), Benjamin has watched the SQL Server Query Optimizer grow and evolve. His insight will leave you with an excellent foundation in the practicalities of the Query Optimizer, and everything you need to know to start tuning your queries to perfection.

Relational databases place heavy demands on their underlying hardware and many of these databases are mission-critical resources for multiple applications, where performance bottlenecks are immediately noticeable and often very costly to the business. Despite this, many database administrators are not very knowledgeable about server hardware. Many medium-to-large companies have completely separate departments that are responsible for hardware selection, configuration, and maintenance, and the DBA with no knowledge of hardware is often completely at their mercy. Likewise, many DBAs are also unaware of the performance implications of the various options and configurations for SQL Server, and the Operating System on which it is installed. Glenn Berry is a highly experienced Database Architect, teacher and SQL Server MVP, and his book is designed to provide the fundamental knowledge and resources you need to make intelligent choices about optimal installation and configuration of SQL Server hardware, operating system and the SQL Server RDBMS. With what you learn in this book, you'll be able to ensure that your SQL Server instances can handle gracefully the CPU, memory and IO workload generated by your applications, and that the operating system and SQL Server itself are installed, patched, and configured for maximum performance and reliability.

Dynamic Management Views (DMVs) are a significant and valuable addition to the DBA's troubleshooting armory, laying bare previously unavailable information regarding the under-the-covers activity of your database sessions and transactions. Why, then, aren't all DBAs using them? Why do many DBAs continue to ignore them in favour of tried and trusted tools such as sp_who2, DBCC OPENTRAN, and so on, or make do with the ready made reports built into SSMS? Why do even those that do use the DMVs speak wistfully about good old sysprocesses? There seem to be two main factors at work. Firstly, some DBAs are simply unaware of the depth and breadth of the information that is available from the DMvs, or how it might help them troubleshoot common issues. This book investigates all of the DMVs that are most frequently useful to the DBA in investigating query execution, index usage, session and transaction activity, disk IO, and how SQL Server is using or abusing the operating system. Secondly, the DMVs have a reputation of being difficult to use. In the process of exposing as much useful data as possible, sysprocesses has been de-normalized, and many new views and columns have been added. This fact, coupled with the initially-baffling choices of what columns will be exposed where, has lead to some DBAs to liken querying DMVs to collecting mystic spells. In fact, however, once you start to write your own scripts, you'll see the same tricks, and similar join patterns, being used time and again. As such, a relatively small core set of scripts can be readily adapted to suit any requirement. This book is here to de-mystify the process of collecting the information you need to troubleshoot SQL Server problems. It will highlight the core techniques and patterns that you need to master, and will provide a core set of scripts that you can use and adapt for your own systems, including how to: * Root out the queries that are causing memory or CPU pressure on your system * Investigate caching, and query plan reuse * Identify index usage patterns * Track fragmentation in clustered indexes and heaps * Get full details on blocking and blocked transactions, including the exact commands being executed, and by whom. * Find out where SQL Server is spending time waiting for resources to be released, before proceeding * Monitor usage and growth of tempdb The DMVs don't make existing, built-in, performance tools obsolete. On the contrary, they complement these tools, and offer a flexibility, richness and granularity that are simply not available elsewhere. Furthermore, you don't need to master a new GUI, or a new language in order to use them; it's all done in a language all DBAs know and mostly love: T-SQL.

Over the past two years, Simple-Talk has published articles on a variety of SysAdmin topics, from Exchange to Virtualization, and including everything from Powershell to Unifi ed Messaging. We have brought the best of these articles together to form The SysAdmin Handbook. With over fi fty articles packed into this book, it will be an essential reference for any Systems Administrator, whether you have years of experience or are just starting out.

It is a common requirement to make data that lives on one server available on another. You might want to speed up cross-server queries by providing a local copy of the data. You might want to make the data available to resource intensive reporting queries without affecting the OLTP load, maybe even with an intentional delay in synchronization, so that reports run against complete days only. You may wish to replicate a complete database to a secondary 'standby' server for high availability. In each case, SQL Server Replication is a viable option, and Fundamentals of SQL Server 2012 Replication provides the hands-on introduction you need to get started, and explores all of the technology's most important strengths and weaknesses. It will help you make an informed decision on whether replication is the right feature for your requirements, and on which type of replication most appropriate. Equally, it offers guidance on when to avoid replication in favor of features such as simple log shipping, or the Always On feature set. This is a practical guide, with all major concepts illustrated with exercises.