Modern organizations rely heavily on database applications as part of their financial operations, with cloud storage becoming the default for processing and storing information, rendering SQL query optimization even more essential to company performance than before.
In this blog, we have discussed strategies for optimizing SQL Server performance, SQL Server configuration, and much more. So, keep reading to learn more.
Nine Excellent Strategies For Optimizing SQL Server Performance
No one cares how good SQL Server is when queries or workloads don't perform effectively or experience deadlocks, latency issues and service disruptions - users will only care about how their app performs instead.
Below we have outlined the important strategies for optimizing SQL Server performance:
Arrange Hardware According To Performance Specifications
Your SQL Server's hardware infrastructure can often be the cause of performance issues. Resources related to hardware may lead to performance concerns; these could potentially be avoided through proper infrastructure planning:
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Compute: Since SQL Server is an intensive resource-consuming program, it requires enough processing power and memory for its workloads, such as transactional processing, analytical queries, business intelligence functions or bulk loads.
Applications become less responsive or may even stop altogether when these components cannot keep pace.
- Retention: Storage solutions for SQL Server must accommodate various methods by which data can be accessed as well as expected volumes of information. While organizations have many storage alternatives available to them on the market, not all are optimized to work well with SQL Server. Businesses must ensure any option chosen can provide minimal latency. At the same time, meeting required input/output operations per second (IOPS) rates.
- Connect: Additionally, performance issues may develop if the network cannot keep pace with workload demands. Even when SQL Server runs without issue and queries perform optimally, network bottlenecks could result in prolonged response times that impede applications or cause timeouts resulting in performance degradation and potential timeouts for applications running under it.
- Planning To Implement Sql Server Can Be Complicated: In order to ensure optimal results, make sure your infrastructure can support all workloads with sufficient performance. Assess current hardware if already using it and experiencing performance issues with it.
While Configuring Your SQL Server Instance, Consider Performance
Performance should always be kept top of mind when creating SQL Server instances - similar to hardware purchases.
You might wish to install SQL Server onto an individual server for that specific instance or deploy multiple instances for various settings - such as development and production environments.
Additionally, SQL Server comes equipped with numerous customizable settings you can adjust according to your workload needs.
An excellent example would be server memory settings which enable you to select minimum and maximum memory requirements as well as index construction memory needs and minimum per query memory needs - you may wish to reduce maximum memory on each instance when running multiple instances on one server or cluster without competition for resources among themselves - though there are more choices such as parallelism priority.
As with all configuration changes, exercise caution when making SQL server configuration modifications.
A high maximum worker thread count may seem like it will increase performance but instead causes applications to crash; similarly, using backup compression may interfere with other processes and consume CPU resources unnecessarily; when setting trace flags, be mindful that modifications could potentially disrupt operations even though diagnosing performance becomes easier with proper testing beforehand.
Take Performance Into Account When Setting Up Your Databases
SQL Server offers various options for improving database performance. For instance, data and log files should be located on separate physical disks to avoid file contention and accommodate different access patterns.
You may find it beneficial to modify their Autogrowth and parameters accordingly, depending on workload considerations.
Like server-level configuration, database-level customization of SQL Server is also possible. For instance, you can manage asynchronous statistics updates as well as turn on or off Auto Create and Auto Update Statistics features.
Furthermore, SQL Server offers you the flexibility of changing its compatibility level should you upgrade SQL Server to a later version.
Optimizing can also help increase database-level performance issues; this may have unintended ramifications such as object allocation or metadata contention issues.
Storing its files separately from user databases and operating systems is one way of optimizing while other approaches include altering file sizes or quantities for this system database.
When Creating Databases, Consider Performance
Not only can an efficient database be essential in maintaining data integrity, it may have significant ramifications on performance as well.
A normalized database, for instance, may increase performance by decreasing redundant data which in turn makes write and read operations simpler - particularly with only one table involved. By applying denormalization selectively however it could help your questions in certain instances.
Make sure that when creating a database, you use appropriate data types when saving information. For instance, when dealing with strings consisting of only two characters, use char instead of varchar.
Additionally it is important to remember what kind of information will actually reside within SQL Server databases and be stored there.
Consider how other database objects impact performance beyond tables, like views. Indexing them (provided proper standards are met for indexing them) can often avoid complex queries.
Stored methods also tend to perform more efficiently than queries of a similar nature if written properly; adhere to recommended practices when writing stored procedures by including their unique ID without prefixed letters and including the "SET NOCOUNT ON clause.
Create Indexes To Enhance, Not Degrade, Performance
Businesses often fall into the trap of adding more indexes to tables in an effort to speed up performance, only to discover performance has actually worsened over time.
A more nuanced strategy should be employed that considers both query types being run against data as well as potential data changes over time. Although there are too numerous standards for appropriate indexing to mention here, here are a few things you should keep in mind when indexing:
- Base indexes on the columns under query, particularly in joins and query predicates.
- Consider how the columns are queried when arranging the columns in the index when building more than one.
- If you can't properly illustrate the benefits of indexes, don't create them for small tables.
- A column with very few unique values shouldn't be indexed.
- Regularly check indexes for fragmentation and rebuild or rearrange them as needed.
- To cut down on needless expenses, find underutilized or unused indexes and eliminate them.
- Indexes are sorted according to the querying technique used.
- Make sure that the indexes are being used by your queries as intended.
- When applicable, use filtered or covered indexes, bearing in mind the kinds of queries you're supporting.
As you create indexes on your tables and views, these are just a few things to bear in mind when creating indexes.
Appropriate indexing must be carried out carefully or it can actually hinder performance instead of improving it.
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Formulate Inquiries To Optimize Efficiency
Optimizing SQL queries is one of the key strategies you can employ to increase SQL Server speed, yet this task can be extremely complex and subtle; volumes have been written on it alone.
When optimizing, take care to consider several factors, such as:
- Instead of using the generic query SELECT * for retrieving fields that you require, select the exact fields required instead.
- When communicating with database objects, include their schema name as part of their contact. To avoid knowing exactly how many rows a query affects, include the clause SET NOCOUNT ON within your queries to keep an estimate.
- Avoid implicit conversions that lead to unnecessary data conversion by the query engine. Try limiting how many queries are executed per session and keeping transactions brief.
- Recognizing and understanding the differences among common table expressions, table variables and temporary tables enables you to choose when each type is best applied.
- Instead of using correlated subqueries, joins are preferred when optimizing SQL queries.
- Furthermore, scripts should undergo thorough code reviews and testing prior to going live in production environments.
- Developers should make changes gradually rather than making massive sweeping adjustments all at once to gain a clear picture of what worked and what didn't.
Maintain An Updated SQL Server Environment
Although this best practice may seem obvious, hardware, firmware and software must remain up to date. Upgrading to more recent versions of SQL Server could yield additional performance-related capabilities; Microsoft offers SQL Server 2019 which features memory optimized information which could further optimize workloads that utilize databases for enhanced performance.
To take full advantage of any recent speed enhancements, update both SQL Server instances and their associated Windows operating systems on an ongoing basis - even if not migrating to an upgraded version.
Furthermore, consider upgrading any hardware that might be hindering performance issues.
Use SQL Server Tools To Maximize Efficiency
SQL Server tools designed to enhance performance.
As these resources are included in their licensing fees, anyone looking to optimize an SQL Server installation should utilize them whenever possible. Below are just a few resources offered by this database system:
- Utilize Microsoft Database Engine Tuning Advisor (DTA), an assessment and recommendation tool that analyzes databases to help optimize query performance. DTA can assist with managing storage space requirements, performing what-if analyses of design changes, optimizing queries across several databases or troubleshooting individual queries.
- With SQL Server Query Store, you can archive queries, execution plans and runtime statistics that have taken place over time. After reviewing these histories later on, it can reveal changes in query plans as well as database usage trends; find and adjust resource-consuming queries or address performance regression caused by plan modifications with its help.
- SQL Server Extended Events provide a lightweight and efficient method for collecting all the information necessary to identify and address performance issues quickly and effectively. By creating an extended events session, you can designate which events to track as well as where and how they should be stored, eventually bringing together all relevant details of your SQL Server setup that you may wish to examine later in a format that best meets your requirements.
- SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) provides various ways of gathering information about how a query is executed. Use Live Query Statistics for real-time views into its execution or display its actual execution plan with runtime information like resource usage metrics or warnings.
- SQL Server offers a broad selection of dynamic management views (DMVs) which can help pinpoint performance problems. One such DMV that may aid you is viewing waits faced by execution threads through its wait statistics DMV, with both database-scoped and server-scoped DMVs available within SQL Server.
Discover and address performance issues more effectively when you master SQL Server tools, but it is important to be aware of limitations within older editions or editions of SSMS that prevent you from taking full advantage of some capabilities or tools available - for instance Microsoft Database Experiment Assistant (DEA), an A/B testing tool designed specifically for SQL Server updates is free.
Consider looking into features and tools which could assist with solving performance-related difficulties, even error logs can provide invaluable assistance in pinpointing any performance-related issues that might exist.
Keep An Eye On Everything
Maintaining consistent performance across all SQL Server databases and instances requires constant monitoring, but simply gathering telemetry is insufficient for doing this successfully.
A monitoring solution can assist in the identification of performance problems as well as their root causes using data gathered. A solution like this one could identify bottlenecks, warn of impending difficulties or identify trends that indicate potential performance issues over a specified time frame.
No hard and fast rule dictates exactly which metrics need to be monitored; your monitoring plan should reflect your unique situation.
That being said, some areas usually warrant your focus: utilization, fragmentation and index fill factors should probably receive your consideration; in addition to log and data files as well as metrics measuring CPU RAM I/O buffer cache utilization metrics may also prove valuable in helping with decision-making processes and providing insight. Furthermore it would be worthwhile keeping tabs on metrics specific to searches as well.
Conclusion
Optimizing SQL Server performance takes careful design and coding. Key strategies for success include selecting appropriate data types, avoiding nulls and extra clauses, wisely employing indexes, decreasing cursor use by temporary tables and temp tables, as well as creating effective stored procedures - these all help ensure your database works as efficiently for your applications as possible.
Adherence to these suggestions ensures optimal database operation for applications using it.
