22-25 April 2026 
SQLBits 2011
The Dark Arts-a.k.a Performance Tuning, indexing and query plans
This session will cover the "Dark Arts" of SQL Server namely performance tuning. Rather than a traditional look at query tuning it will focus on common misconceptions and a look a why sometimes you get query plans that do "odd" things
In this session, rather than a traditional look at "query tuning" I will challenge some of the common misconceptions around tuning queries.
It will also go into some detail around why sometimes the query optimiser chooses "odd" plans which perform poorly and how to help the optimiser choose a better plan.
It will also take a brief look at SARGability, indexing and "inverse predicates"
The session will mainly be held in management studio
Speakers
David Morrison's previous sessions
Introduction to PowerApps
An overview of PowerApps and the platform
Query Plans Deep Dive
An in depth look at query plans and the query optimiser
Daves SQL Fun Time Hour (Plus a bit)
In this session we'll take a look at a wide variety of topics, from useful and little known TSQL coding constructs to best case indexing advice and a whole lot more.
SQL Tips, Tricks and Misconceptions
In this session we'll take a look at some nice bits of TSQL coding to resolve troublesome coding problems. We'll also look into writing code to make use of some TSQL features that are under used in daily coding.
Query Plan Operators Deep Dive
In this session we will deep an in-depth look at some of the most common query plan operators. We'll look at what they do, how they do it and the circumstances in which they are chosen. We'll also take a look into the ups and downs of each
The Dark Arts-a.k.a Performance Tuning, indexing and query plans
This session will cover the "Dark Arts" of SQL Server namely performance tuning. Rather than a traditional look at query tuning it will focus on common misconceptions and a look a why sometimes you get query plans that do "odd" things