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SQL Server query performance tuning (4th ed.)
Fritchey G., Apress, Berkeley, CA, 2014. 612 pp. Type: Book (978-1-430267-43-0)
Date Reviewed: Jan 9 2015

At the beginning of the 21st century, data are becoming as important an asset as financial resources, real estate, or intellectual property, and even more important is the ability to process them quickly and timely. The way data flow within an enterprise and are exchanged with its partners can definitely become a competitive advantage in times when market conditions are harsh. Long gone are the days when relatively simple batch processing or desktop database management systems (DBMS) were all that was needed to stay on top of things: nowadays data structures and flows need to be carefully designed, developed, tested, and run in specialized environments, and then looked after on a daily basis. Microsoft SQL Server is one such environment, widely in use to support industrial-grade, critical applications.

This book does not even attempt to start from the beginning and explain what a database is or how to design and build one; it assumes a complete infrastructure that is already up and running, managed by professional database administrators--it deals only with constantly tuning it up in order to keep its performance top-notch. The subject certainly is hard, but the book deals with it in a way that is broad and thorough at the same time. Most books, for example, start with forewords and acknowledgements; this one starts with a flowchart detailing the performance tuning process. In fact, the message, clear and loud from the first pages, is: performance tuning is not a once-for-all process, but rather a continuous one that must carried out if not daily at least every time a major change occurs in the data structure. The details to look after are countless, but so luckily are the Microsoft SQL Server tools described in this book.

From infrastructure analysis to resource use measurements to query design, every aspect of DBMS operation is covered; this book seems to have been written to create a work habit rather than to follow some set of procedures.

The book starts by reviewing the very hardware in which queries must be executed on: methods to monitor and analyze memory, disks, and central processing unit (CPU) performance are presented, not forgetting that nowadays DBMS often run on virtual machines where performance is measured differently than on conventional machines. Indexes are then tackled as key elements in speeding up queries: among the subjects covered is index overhead, when creating too many indexes actually slows things down. Next is the Database Engine Tuning Advisor: no, we are not on a Formula One racetrack--it is simply the SQL Server tool that dynamically optimizes the indexes in use as the data workload changes. Then, the process of building the actual query is discussed: how to minimize resource use, how the query is actually executed by the hardware or virtual machine, and how to avoid deadlocks. At last, attention is given to the actual query execution: how to optimize workload and how to actually test database performance. The final chapter condenses all of the material in a checklist: in a few pages, tips and advice are ordered from drawing board to execution time.

This book is not for the faint-hearted: the wealth of details is at times overwhelming; however, reference to SQL Server, 2014 edition is always at hand and to the point, and in many cases the advice given is also valid for different DBMS. Nonetheless, a solid experience in database administration is suggested to take full advantage of this book.

More reviews about this item: Amazon, i-Programmer

Reviewer:  Andrea Paramithiotti Review #: CR143068 (1504-0269)
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