Some operations in SQL Server will turn your entire query plan serial (single-threaded), others will just reserve a so-called “serial zone”. I read up on this stuff a number of years ago (including a great post by Paul White), and thinking that some things must have changed since, I decided to go see for myself.
parallelism
Computed columns with scalar functions
Scalar functions can be a real headache when you’re performance tuning. For one, they don’t parallelize. In fact, if you use a scalar function in a computed column, it will prevent any query that uses that table from going parallel – even if you don’t reference that column at all!
The 2015 Swedish SQL Server usergroup challenge
It’s been absolutely ages since I last wrote a blog post, mostly because I’ve been busy getting my shiny new own consultancy up to speed, but I’ll admit that writer’s block has also been a factor.
But here’s something to write home about. This year’s annual Swedish SQL Server usergroup challenge was as interesting as ever, and it marks my third stab at this prestigious competition. In this post, I’ll go through my contribution, highlighting some of the techniques that I’ve applied to make it go really fast.
Parallel execution, part 3
In the two previous parts of this series, we’ve looked at how parallelism works, how you can control it, and how it affects your query (and server) performance in different environments. In this, the third part, we’re going to take a more technical look at how the different Parallelism operators work.
Parallel execution, part 2
Continuing on last week’s post on parallelism, here’s part two, where we take a closer look at when parallel plans are considered and what you can do to either force or prevent a query from running parallel as well as things you want to avoid if you’re trying to achieve a parallel query plan.
Parallel execution, part 1
The subject of parallel execution of SQL Server queries is at times somewhat shrouded in mystery and uncertainty. Since the concept of parallel execution is such a significant (and indispensable tool) for performance tuning, it’s good to have a fair idea of how it works. In this first post in a series on parallelization, I’m going to try to sort out the apples from the pears, or the serial from the parallel if you will.
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