22-25 April 2026 
Understand Complex Plans and Staying Sane with Plan Explorer
2012TL; DR
Learn about the revolutionary free Plan Explorer from SQL Sentry. Find out what's new in version 1.3 and how you can use it to get to grips with even the most terrifying query plans around.
Session Details
Plan Explorer has changed the way people tune queries and made complex plan analysis easier for all. However, Plan Explorer has not stood still. It has kept moving forward based on your feedback! Did you know that there’s a SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) add-in for Plan Explorer? Did you know if your query has joins, you can easily view and understand them using the new Join Diagram Tab? In this session you’ll learn how SQL Sentry Plan Explorer can help you explore and tune the most difficult query plans, directly from the source!
Scott Fallen, will cover the key differences between Plan Explorer and SSMS, plus what to look for in estimated and actual plans; you’ll learn how to use this revolutionary FREE tool, SQL Sentry Plan Explorer, to wrangle even the scariest query plans.
Learn about the new version (1.3) as well as the SQL Server Management Studio Add-In functionality and much more!
Finally, the latest release of the SQL Sentry Power Suite introduces several unique and cutting edge features, including active query plan capture for heavy SQL, plan analysis using the integrated version of Plan Explorer, additional Plan Explorer features made possible by active capture, historical query plan analysis, VLF problem detection and more. Scott will share an in-depth look at the complete performance monitoring solution offered by this award-winning software package.
Scott Fallen, will cover the key differences between Plan Explorer and SSMS, plus what to look for in estimated and actual plans; you’ll learn how to use this revolutionary FREE tool, SQL Sentry Plan Explorer, to wrangle even the scariest query plans.
Learn about the new version (1.3) as well as the SQL Server Management Studio Add-In functionality and much more!
Finally, the latest release of the SQL Sentry Power Suite introduces several unique and cutting edge features, including active query plan capture for heavy SQL, plan analysis using the integrated version of Plan Explorer, additional Plan Explorer features made possible by active capture, historical query plan analysis, VLF problem detection and more. Scott will share an in-depth look at the complete performance monitoring solution offered by this award-winning software package.
3 things you'll get out of this session
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