SQL Server Magazine

SQL Server Inside Editions

Kalen discusses why it can be difficult to choose which SQL Server edition to use, as well as the differences between SQL Server editions.

SQL Server Feature Changes You Might Not Notice

Kalen explores the types of changes that can be made to features in new SQL Server releases.

What Happened to Betas?

Kalen explores the difference between betas and release candidates and points out some of the SQL Server 2008 features you'll want to start becoming familiar with.

Knowledge and Wisdom: Honoring Jim Gray

Kalen discusses a recent event held to honor Jim Gray, and suggests one way the SQL Server community can honor him in future.

Why Do People Bash Microsoft?

This week, Kalen explorers why people believe SQL Server isn't an enterprise-ready database platform.

Are You a Developer or an IT Pro?

This year, Microsoft has decided to split TechEd into a developer week and an IT pro week. Kalen looks at how DBAs are deciding which week to attend.

The Search for the True Definition of DML

Kalen discusses the steps she took to find out what DML is really supposed to stand for.

Microsoft Research Labs Fuel Innovation

Kalen takes a look at Microsoft Research's history and discusses Microsoft Research's newest facility, the Microsoft Jim Gray Systems Lab.

Ask for a Service Pack and You Shall Receive

Kalen discusses the announcement of SQL Server 2005 SP3 and the release of Cumulative Update 7.

Familiar SQL Server Tools in a New Wrapper

Kalen discusses SQL Server 2008's Data Collection suite, which contains the Data Collector, performance and diagnostic monitoring, and Management Data Warehouse.

SQL Server 2008 Launch Sequence Initiated

This week, Kalen discusses preparing for her presentation at the SQL Server 2008 launch event in Seattle.

Further Explorations in Plan-Cache Metadata

Uncover more valuable metadata that can aid you in troubleshooting and performance-tuning your queries.

SQL Server 2005 Metadata I Couldn’t Live Without

Kalen discusses what she plans to cover in her upcoming SQL Server Magazine UPDATE commentaries, and which SQL Server 2005 Dynamic Management Objects she couldn't live without.

Column Statistics Give the Optimizer an Edge

Column statistics—statistics on unindexed table columns—complement index statistics and give the optimizer additional information to use in determining the most efficient query plans.

Examining XML Plans in Cache

A large plan cache can seriously impact performance. By using plan-cache metadata in SQL Server 2005, you can analyze any user query without actually running the query and avoid expensive queries by comparing many plans at once.

A Brief History of Plan Caching in SQL Server

Changes in plan caching over successive versions of SQL Server affect its memory usage.

Managing Plan-Cache Size

SQL Server 2005 doesn’t limit plan-cache size but still provides ways to control it. Learn how to keep an eye on cache size and tricks to trim down a bloated cache to improve performance.

Managing Plan-Cache Size

Making the Most of Automatic Statistics Updating

Tune performance by using UPDATE STATISTICS and trace flags to improve the quality of index statistics by ensuring they’re regularly updated.

Combining SQL and TEMPLATE Plan Guides

By using both TEMPLATE plan guides, which enable autoparameterization, and SQL plan guides, which let you specify many query-processing hints, you can optimize query performance.