Most Popular Performance

Why DPA Uses SQL Server Trace Flag 2861 and Zero Cost Plans

About zero cost plans in SQL Server OK, first thing first, what is a “zero cost plan” in SQL Server?  I did some digging around and found the following links, which I would encourage you to read before continuing with this post: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms181055.aspx http://support.microsoft.com/kb/325607 If you’ve done this background reading, you should now be aware […]

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Collecting and Alerting on Deadlocks for SQL Server

SolarWinds Database Performance Analyzer can collect a count of the number of deadlocks to be displayed as a resource graph. For Ignite versions prior to 8.2, you can update two files in order to start collecting the number of deadlocks. Enabling DPA to Collect Deadlock Information The code below takes advantage of the system_health extended […]

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How and When to Use SQL Server FILESTREAM Datatypes–Part 2

The FILESTREAM data type is SQL Server’s principle BLOB storage technology. The FILESTREAM data type lets you combine native NTFS file system performance with relational database data integrity. It supports up to 16 TB files which maximum file size supported by the NTFS file systems and simultaneously provides you with full data consistency. The FILESTREAM […]

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How and When to Use SQL Server FILESTREAM Datatypes–Part 1

Combining Binary Large Object (BLOBs) with relational databases like SQL Server has always been like combining oil and water. They just don’t mix very well. BLOB objects like pictures, videos, text documents and xml documents don’t fit within the standard relational data types. SQL Server originally offered support for BLOBs using the TEXT, NTEXT and […]

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Web Application Process Flow in Oracle Databases

Poorly written server-side code and a badly designed database will make any application run slower, but improving the performance of a slow running web application requires examination of the entire system, not just the database. A typical three-tier web application structure is shown in Figure 1. FIGURE 1. Web application process flow As shown in […]

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SQL Server Memory Buffer Pools: Understand the Basics

How many times you have heard this question: “Why is SQL Server consuming so much memory?” If you ask a DBA who knows the functionality of SQL Server, the answer would be, “That is an expected behavior! Limit max server memory of SQL Server if you are concerned.” One might then wonder why SQL Server doesn’t release […]

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