Tag: Storage

SQL Server 2008 Graphical Execution Plans

I'm attending a SQL training and looking at indexing closely. One thing that becomes important is understanding how SQL executes queries. Understanding the graphical execution plans becomes extremely important. While looking for a good reference, I found it in books online: Graphical Execution Plan Icons (SQL Server Management Studio)http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms175913.aspx As usual, Books Online is a great … Continue reading SQL Server 2008 Graphical Execution Plans →

SQL Server 2008 Indexing Best Practices

Here are some additional notes on "SQL Server 2008 Indexing Best Practices" I took while attending an advanced class on SQL Server taught by Kimberly Tripp  (http://sqlskills.com/AboutKimberlyLTripp.asp.Please) note that, although these notes were taken during the class, I might have added some of my own (mis)interpretation :-). Always check your facts on Books Online (I try to … Continue reading SQL Server 2008 Indexing Best Practices →

SQL Server 2008 Indexing

Here are some notes on "SQL Server 2008 Indexing" I took while attending an advanced class taught by Kimberly Tripp (http://sqlskills.com/AboutKimberlyLTripp.asp.Please) note that, although these notes were taken during the class, I might have added some of my own (mis)interpretation :-). Always check your facts on Books Online (I try to provide links when applicable). … Continue reading SQL Server 2008 Indexing →

SQL Server 2008 File-related Optimizations

While attending training today, I learned some file-related optimizations for SQL Server 2008. Some of those will also apply to previous versions of SQL Server. 1) No performance gain in multiple log files There is a common misconception that having multiple log files per database would help performance. That is not true. Even if you … Continue reading SQL Server 2008 File-related Optimizations →

To BLOB or Not To BLOB: Large Object Storage in a Database or a Filesystem

While attending a class on SQL Server, I was introduced to a paper from Microsoft Research (authors are Russell Sears, Catharine Van Ingen and Jim Gray) that discusses whether to store large objects in a filesystem or in a database, depending on the size of the object in question. White Paper Title: To BLOB or … Continue reading To BLOB or Not To BLOB: Large Object Storage in a Database or a Filesystem →

New White Paper on Hyper-V and SQL Server Consolidation at Microsoft

A new white paper on how Microsoft IT is combining Hyper-V and SQL Server has just been published. This comes from a team that provides thousands of SQL Server instances for internal applications. It includes a lot of interesting new information, including results of specific tests they performed to evaluate their options. This is something … Continue reading New White Paper on Hyper-V and SQL Server Consolidation at Microsoft →

The Basics of the Windows Server 2008 Distributed File System (DFS)

Overview In this blog post, we’ll cover the basics of the Distributed File System (DFS) in Windows Server 2008, which offers users simplified access to a set of file shares and helps administrators easily maintain the file server infrastructure behind those file shares, including options for load sharing, replication and site awareness. Many File Servers … Continue reading The Basics of the Windows Server 2008 Distributed File System (DFS) →

Technical Articles and White Papers on SQL Server

I will be attending an advanced SQL Server training in a couple of weeks and the instructors recommended some pre-reading. I'm sharing here a subset of those recommendations that point to articles and white papers published by Microsoft, grouped by category:Database Storage TechNet Library Whitepaper: Physical Database Storage Design RAID Levels and SQL Server Books … Continue reading Technical Articles and White Papers on SQL Server →