Last page insert contention is common in a busy SQL Server environment where multiple users are inserting data simultaneously in a table and that table has clustered index on a identity column. When multiple sessions try to add data in the same data page file, the data page becomes "hotspot". As a result, processes queue up to acquire access to the last page, which leads to latch contention, high wait times, and overall reduced throughput.
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Did you ever face any situation where your SQL Server completely stuck in the middle? The CPU rocketed to the sky and SSMS not responding. You cannot execute any query. What did you do to overcome this critical moment? Did you restart the SQL Server? You are not alone. Many DBAs unaware that there is a lifeline in this scenario and they could still access to their SQL Servers. In this article, we will walk through how to enable, configure and access of this lifeline. Let's start.
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In SQL Server, choosing the right transaction isolation level is critical for balancing consistency, concurrency, and performance. While higher isolation levels reduce concurrency issues like dirty reads and phantom rows, they also increase locking and blocking. On the other hand, lower isolation levels improve performance but may allow data anomalies. As a DBA or developer, knowing when to use each isolation type and understanding it. This will help you design stable, efficient systems that match your workload needs.
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As DBAs, we all know how frustrating deadlocks can be. One moment everything looks fine, and the next, SQL Server decides to kill a perfectly good query just to break the deadlock cycle. Hunting down the cause often means digging through error logs, setting up Extended Events, and piecing together XML deadlock graphs that feel more like puzzles than solutions.
That is where sp_BlitzLock comes to the rescue. It takes the pain out of deadlock analysis by reading deadlock graphs for you and turning them into a clear, easy-to-understand report. Instead of spending hours trying to figure out who blocked whom, you get a straightforward breakdown of the queries, resources, and victims involved. In short, sp_BlitzLock makes a DBA’s life much easier when dealing with deadlocks.
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In [Part 1] of this series, we explored the locking and blocking of SQL Server — what they are, why they occur, and their detection and prevention mechanism. In Part 2, we will focus on how DBAs can detect, analyze, and resolve deadlock scenarios in real-world workloads. You will learn how to leverage SQL Server’s built-in tools, interpret key system views, capture deadlock graphs, and apply strategies to minimize performance impact. Along the way, we will also discuss best practices and preventive measures to help ensure smooth concurrency handling in your databases.
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In the world of SQL Server, ensuring data consistency, and concurrency is critical — but it often comes with challenges like locking, blocking and deadlocking. These negatively impact on performance. As databases grow in size and usage, understanding how SQL Server handles concurrent data access becomes essential for any DBA.
In this first part of the series, we will dive deep into the core concepts of locks and blocks, explore how they work, and examine why they occur. Through real-world examples and practical scripts, this article aims to equip you with the knowledge to identify, analyze, and handle common blocking scenarios. Mastering these fundamentals will prepare you for the more complex topic of deadlocks, which we will cover in Part 2.
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In the ever-evolving world of database administration, visibility is power. Understanding what is happening inside SQL Server is crucial for diagnosing problems, optimizing performance, and ensuring stability. That is where Extended Events come in. Extended Events is a lightweight and highly customizable replacement of SQL Trace and Profiler which offer deep insights into SQL Server’s internal behavior without imposing significant overhead. These make Extended Events a perfect choice for troubleshooting deadlocks, monitoring long-running queries, analyzing I/O bottlenecks, trace, filter, and respond to specific database events with precision.
In this guide, we will walk through how to set up Extended Events in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), explain the key configuration options, and explore real-world use cases that make Extended Events an essential tool in every DBA’s toolbox.
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That day, one of my team members asked me how he could generate a table creation script and a data insert script of that table. I replied that "Table creation script is pretty straightforward. You can tweak creation script option to include the insert script as well." Here goes the steps.
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As a human being, your SQL Server tries to express its pain point with you — but not in words. It whispers through wait stats, sending subtle signals when something is off. But, you have to learn how to decode these signals.
In this article, we will decode the most common SQL Server wait types—like CXPACKET, PAGEIOLATCH, and SOS_SCHEDULER_YIELD—and understand what they are quietly telling you about your server’s workload, health, and bottlenecks. If you have ever wondered why your queries slow down despite healthy hardware, the answer might just be in these whispers.
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As a DBA, you are often alert to the usual suspects—blocking, deadlocks, or long-running queries. But sometimes, performance issues creep in silently, and one of the quietest yet most impactful culprits is latch contention. Unlike locks, latches are lightweight synchronization primitives that protect internal memory structures. When these get overwhelmed, even the most well-tuned queries can slow to a crawl.
In this guide, you will explore what latch contention is, how it differs from locks, when it occurs, how to detect it, and most importantly—how to tune your system to minimize its impact. Whether you are running a high-throughput OLTP workload or managing a reporting environment, understanding latches could be the missing piece in your performance puzzle.
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