Blog

SQL Server, From the Trenches

Practical articles on SQL Server performance, health checks, indexing, tempdb, parameter sniffing, and Query Store. Written by Michael Paycer — a senior DBA with 20+ years of production experience.

Health Check

The SQL Server Health Check Series

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HEALTH CHECK

What a Real SQL Server Health Check Includes (80+ Checks Deep)

A SQL Server health check is more than a stored proc dump. Here's what actually matters — the 80+ diagnostic checks a senior DBA runs against your environment.

12 min read Read
HEALTH CHECK

7 Signs Your SQL Server Needs a Health Check

Most production SQL Server problems give warning signs months before they cause outages. Here are the seven that say it's time to bring in a senior DBA.

6 min read Read
MIGRATIONS

Run a SQL Server Health Check Before Your Cloud Migration (Not After)

Migrating to Azure SQL or AWS RDS without a pre-migration health check is the most expensive mistake teams keep making. Here's how to avoid carrying debt forward.

8 min read Read

Performance

Performance Tuning

PERFORMANCE

SQL Server Parameter Sniffing: How to Diagnose and Fix It Permanently

Parameter sniffing is the single most misunderstood SQL Server performance issue. Here's how to identify, diagnose, and fix it — without disabling it everywhere.

10 min read Read
PERFORMANCE

The SQL Server Index Tuning Checklist (A DBA's Field Guide)

A working checklist for tuning indexes on a live SQL Server: what to add, what to drop, what to leave alone, and how to measure the impact.

11 min read Read
PERFORMANCE

SQL Server tempdb Contention: How to Diagnose and Fix It

Slow queries that share tempdb often share a single bottleneck: allocation contention. Here's how to spot it, prove it, and fix it in production.

9 min read Read
PERFORMANCE

SQL Server Query Store: The Underused Feature That Saves Tuning Hours

Query Store is the single most underused performance feature shipped with SQL Server. Here's how to turn it on properly, read what it tells you, and use it to fix regressions.

10 min read Read

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