Dear SQL DBA

Erik Darling joins Kendra to chat about AI tools, why they work better for Python and PowerShell than SQL, and what's exciting (and what's not) in SQL Server 2025.
Along the way we describe the ONE THING we always want to configure in Resource Governor, why at least one SQL Server 2025 feature should be backported to 2022, and why the universe is text files all the way down.

Erik Darling joins Kendra Little to rate different SQL Server Performance Tuning Techniques in episode 81 of the Dear SQL DBA podcast. We share our opinions of... (deep breath)
 
Recompile hints, Query Store hints and plan forcing, CTEs, Resource Governor, the legacy cardinality estimator, Table Variables, Automatic Plan Correction, Batch Mode, index rebuilds, Hekaton, NOLOCK, page compression, partitioning, filtered indexes, columnstore, join hints, PSPO, indexed hints, indexed views, optimize for unknown, RCSI, adding more memory, restarting the damn thing, scalar UDFs, and Persisted Memory Grant Feedback.

Eugene Meidinger stops by to chat about Power BI Performance Tuning with Kendra. We talk about the various engines and languages used in Power BI and big-picture strategies for getting performance from the start. Eugene then talks about the community of tools and techniques that can be used to dig in and solve performance problems in Power BI.
Eugene's new Pluralsight course on Perf tuning Power BI launches on February 5th, 2024. The first 50 sales will be only $20. If you don't get one of those lucky spots, use code RACOONS to get 50% off.
Find more of Eugene's content at sqlgene.com.

In this episode, Michael J Swart joins the Dear SQL DBA podcast to talk about databases, automation, and how he's come to illustrate some of the coolest blog posts ever to be written about data.
Check out Michael's art and blog posts at michaeljswart.com, and explore his posts by illustration at https://michaeljswart.com/browse-articles-by-illustration/.

SQL Server has a new feature that's currently only available in Azure SQL Database: Optimized Locking. Jeremiah Peschka joins the podcast to talk through the docs and nerd out on locks, blocks, and how to pronounce the acronym "LAQ".
Learn more about this feature online:
Optimized locking article from Microsoft Learn
Transaction locking and row versioning guide Kendra's Sketchnote diagram of Optimized Locking