2784 TUNING AND OPTIMIZING QUERIES USING MICROSOFT SQL SERVER 2005

Unit 1: Measuring Database Performance
This unit provides students with an opportunity to measure database performance and identify database performance bottlenecks. Students will use a sample script to identify performance and concurrency problems, capture baseline performance, and prioritize identified problems for optimization.
Topics
· Importance of Benchmarking
· Key Measures for Query Performance: Sysmon
· Key Measures for Query Performance: Profiler
· Guidelines for Identifying Locking and Blocking
Lab:
· Measuring Database Performance
· Reviewing Tables and Scripts
· Determining Performance Baselines
· Prioritizing Identified Problems

Unit 2: Optimizing Physical Database Design
In this unit, students work with strategies for optimizing physical database design. Students will optimize a database schema using normalization, generalization, and denormalization.
Topics
· Performance Optimization Model
· Schema Optimization Strategy: Keys
· Schema Optimization Strategy: Responsible Denormalization
· Schema Optimization Strategy: Generalization
Lab:
· Optimizing Schemas
· Optimizing Memberships
· Optimizing Events
· Normalizing Event Sponsorships
· Denormalizing Membership Visits
· Cleaning Up Schema
· Adapting the Solution to the New Database Schema
· Determining Performance

Unit 3: Optimizing Queries for Performance
In this unit students experience optimizing and tuning queries to improve performance. In the lab, students will optimize stored procedures, views, and non-cursor aggregate queries to improve database performance and user experience. Each query that is optimized improves the overall system because the query will use fewer resources, freeing up those resources for other queries, and reducing the amount of locking done by the query. The domino effect is profound.
Topics
· Performance Optimization Model: Queries
· What Is Query Logical Flow?
· Considerations for Using Subqueries
· Guidelines for Building Efficient Queries
Lab:
· Optimizing Queries
· Optimizing and Rewriting Slow Performing Stored Procedures
· Optimizing and Rewriting Slow Performing Views
· Optimizing and Rewriting Slow Performing Non-Cursor Aggregate Queries
· Determining Performance

Unit 4: Refactoring Cursors into Queries
In this unit, students will work with strategies for refactoring cursors into queries. In the lab, students will work to optimize a database by replacing slow iterative code with faster set-based code.
Topics
· Performance Optimization Model: Query-Set-based solutions
· Five Steps to Building a Cursor
· Strategies for Refactoring Cursors
Lab:
· Refactoring Cursors into Queries
· Refactoring the pMembershipCategory Cursor
· Refactoring the pCommunityImpact Cursor
· Refactoring the pMemberInvitation Cursor
· Determining Performance

Unit 5: Optimizing an Indexing Strategy
In this unit, students will work on optimizing indexing strategies. Students will work with a given database to add and delete indexes, by providing the optimum bridge between the query and the data without any redundancies.
Topics
· Performance Optimization Model: Indexes
· Considerations for Using Indexes
· Best Uses of the Clustered Index
· Best Practices for Non-Clustered Index Design
· How to Document an Indexing Strategy
Lab:
· Optimizing an Indexing Strategy
· Identifying Tables to Optimize
· Designing Indexes
· Determining Performance

Unit 6: Managing Concurrency
This unit provides students with the opportunity to work with concurrency management. Students will look for concurrency issues and then solve them by optimizing transactions and adjusting the transaction isolation level.
Topics
· Performance Optimization Model: Locking and Blocking
· Multimedia - "How to Use Efficient Queries to Reduce Locking and Blocking"
· Strategies to Reduce Locking and Blocking
Lab:
· Reducing Blocking
· Identifying Code with Locking and Blocking Issues
· Reducing Concurrency Issues
· Determining Final Performance