As a system admin, DBA, or a developer it is our job to root out performance problems quickly. The trouble is that there are so many things that can cause performance issues it can be difficult to know every possible root cause. This is especially true when the root cause lies somewhere outside your area … Read more
This video is an hour-long but well worth sharing with you today. One of the main takeaways from this video I want you to have is the fact that troubleshooting performance is not always rocket surgery. When you watch this video and listen to Conor Cunningham talk about some of the real world examples he … Read more
Recently I wrote about about five database design mistakes you don’t want to make. Those mistakes were focused on database design, but what about the design process itself? It is possible that you could have all intentions of a solid design only to be let down by your overall design process. Here are the five ways … Read more
We’ve all had those moments. It’s late in the day. You are about to head home a few minutes early so you can bring your daughter to soccer practice on time. Your phone rings. The voice on the other end of the line mutters something about the server “being slow”, and needs you to fix … Read more
I’ve had this script in my toolbox for a few years now. I didn’t create it initially, and I have no idea who did. This script helps you to identify duplicate indexes. Why is that important? I’m glad you asked, mostly because I’m tired of answering my own questions and it’s good to have someone … Read more
Application code, that’s what causes deadlocks. Well, perhaps a combination of application code on top of database design, and access patterns, and transaction isolation levels, and… OK, here’s the point I need to make clear: the database engine does not suddenly seize up and start deadlocking transactions arbitrarily because it is tired one day. No, certain … Read more
