SQL Fool Adventures in SQL Tuning – a blog for the rest of us

4Jun/103

Index Interrogation for SQL Server 2008

I had previously posted an index interrogation script for SQL Server 2005. I've updated that script for 2008; namely, it includes filtered index definitions. For anyone interested:

DECLARE @objectID INT = OBJECT_ID('Sales.SalesOrderHeader');
 
WITH indexCTE(partition_scheme_name
            , partition_function_name
            , data_space_id)
AS (
    SELECT sps.name
        , spf.name
        , sps.data_space_id
    FROM sys.partition_schemes AS sps
    Join sys.partition_functions AS spf
        ON sps.function_id = spf.function_id
)
 
SELECT st.name AS 'table_name'
    , IsNull(ix.name, '') AS 'index_name'
    , ix.OBJECT_ID
    , ix.index_id
	, CAST(
        CASE WHEN ix.index_id = 1 
                THEN 'clustered' 
            WHEN ix.index_id =0
                THEN 'heap'
            ELSE 'nonclustered' END
		+ CASE WHEN ix.ignore_dup_key <> 0 
            THEN ', ignore duplicate keys' 
                ELSE '' END
		+ CASE WHEN ix.is_unique <> 0 
            THEN ', unique' 
                ELSE '' END
		+ CASE WHEN ix.is_primary_key <> 0 
            THEN ', primary key' ELSE '' END AS VARCHAR(210)
        ) AS 'index_description'
    , IsNull(REPLACE( REPLACE( REPLACE(
        (   
            SELECT c.name AS 'columnName'
            FROM sys.index_columns AS sic
            Join sys.columns AS c 
                ON c.column_id = sic.column_id 
                And c.OBJECT_ID = sic.OBJECT_ID
            WHERE sic.OBJECT_ID = ix.OBJECT_ID
                And sic.index_id = ix.index_id
                And is_included_column = 0
            ORDER BY sic.index_column_id
            FOR XML Raw)
            , '"/><row columnName="', ', ')
            , '<row columnName="', '')
            , '"/>', ''), '')
        AS 'indexed_columns'
    , IsNull(REPLACE( REPLACE( REPLACE(
        (   
            SELECT c.name AS 'columnName'
            FROM sys.index_columns AS sic
            Join sys.columns AS c 
                ON c.column_id = sic.column_id 
                And c.OBJECT_ID = sic.OBJECT_ID
            WHERE sic.OBJECT_ID = ix.OBJECT_ID
                And sic.index_id = ix.index_id
                And is_included_column = 1
            ORDER BY sic.index_column_id
            FOR XML Raw)
            , '"/><row columnName="', ', ')
            , '<row columnName="', '')
            , '"/>', ''), '')
        AS 'included_columns'
    , ix.filter_definition
    , IsNull(cte.partition_scheme_name, '') AS 'partition_scheme_name'
    , COUNT(partition_number) AS 'partition_count'
    , SUM(ROWS) AS 'row_count'
FROM sys.indexes AS ix
Join sys.partitions AS sp
    ON ix.OBJECT_ID = sp.OBJECT_ID
    And ix.index_id = sp.index_id
Join sys.tables AS st
    ON ix.OBJECT_ID = st.OBJECT_ID
LEFT Join indexCTE AS cte
    ON ix.data_space_id = cte.data_space_id
WHERE ix.OBJECT_ID = IsNull(@objectID, ix.OBJECT_ID)
GROUP BY st.name
    , IsNull(ix.name, '')
    , ix.OBJECT_ID
    , ix.index_id
	, CAST(
        CASE WHEN ix.index_id = 1 
                THEN 'clustered' 
            WHEN ix.index_id =0
                THEN 'heap'
            ELSE 'nonclustered' END
		+ CASE WHEN ix.ignore_dup_key <> 0 
            THEN ', ignore duplicate keys' 
                ELSE '' END
		+ CASE WHEN ix.is_unique <> 0 
            THEN ', unique' 
                ELSE '' END
		+ CASE WHEN ix.is_primary_key <> 0 
            THEN ', primary key' ELSE '' END AS VARCHAR(210)
        )
    , ix.filter_definition
    , IsNull(cte.partition_scheme_name, '')
    , IsNull(cte.partition_function_name, '')
ORDER BY table_name
    , index_id;

You may need to create some indexes to see this in AdventureWorks:

CREATE NONCLUSTERED INDEX IX_Sales_SalesOrderHeader_filtered_2005
    ON Sales.SalesOrderHeader(AccountNumber)
    Include (CustomerID, SalesPersonID)
    WHERE OrderDate >= '2005-01-01'
        And OrderDate < '2006-01-01';
table_name           index_name                               object_id   index_id    index_description                   indexed_columns      included_columns               filter_definition                                            partition_scheme_name partition_count row_count
-------------------- ---------------------------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------------------------------- -------------------- ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------- --------------- --------------------
SalesOrderHeader     PK_SalesOrderHeader_SalesOrderID         1010102639  1           clustered, unique, primary key      SalesOrderID                                        NULL                                                                               1               31465
SalesOrderHeader     AK_SalesOrderHeader_rowguid              1010102639  2           nonclustered, unique                rowguid                                             NULL                                                                               1               31465
SalesOrderHeader     AK_SalesOrderHeader_SalesOrderNumber     1010102639  3           nonclustered, unique                SalesOrderNumber                                    NULL                                                                               1               31465
SalesOrderHeader     IX_SalesOrderHeader_CustomerID           1010102639  5           nonclustered                        CustomerID                                          NULL                                                                               1               31465
SalesOrderHeader     IX_SalesOrderHeader_SalesPersonID        1010102639  6           nonclustered                        SalesPersonID                                       NULL                                                                               1               31465
SalesOrderHeader     IX_Sales_SalesOrderHeader_filtered_2005  1010102639  13          nonclustered                        AccountNumber        CustomerID, SalesPersonID      ([OrderDate]>='2005-01-01' AND [OrderDate]<'2006-01-01')                           1               1379
28May/100

Summit 2010 Abstract Submission

Jeremiah Peschka just tweeted about the looming deadline to submit an abstract for Summit 2010. I've been trying to think of a good topic to present on, and this finally got my butt in gear to submit one! For those interested, here's what I submitted:

Heaps of Trouble, Clusters of Glory - A Look At Index Internals

Indexes are a crucial component of SQL Server, especially in performance tuning, yet many DBA's don't fully understand how indexes work. In this in-depth session, Michelle will examine the anatomy of indexes, from how they're stored to how they get fragmented. And to make our inner geeks happy, she'll look at page data to show you what's happening behind the scenes. Topics covered will include index structure, fragmentation and defragmentation, index partitioning, and index filtering. If you've ever wondered just *what* goes on in an index, don't miss this session!

Special thanks to Chris for help with the session title. :)

22Apr/1039

Index Defrag Script, v4.0

In my blog post, "Index Defrag Script Updates - Beta Testers Needed", I stated "I'll hopefully have the new version online in just a few days." That was dated January 26th. I had every intention of following through with it, too, but something came up:

My daughter, Chloe Lynn, was born on February 10th. She's a happy, healthy baby girl who consumes all of my free time and already has both her parents wrapped around her adorable little finger. So while I apologize for the delay in posting the latest version, I hope you can understand and forgive me. :)

Alrighty, back to SQL stuff! This version of the script has been significantly overhauled from previous versions. Here's a full synopsis of the changes and enhancements:

- There's now a time limit option so you have more control over how long your defrags run. This time limit is checked *before* a defrag is begun, so it's still possible to have a defrag occur after the time limit is exceeded (i.e. a large index).

- I've added a static table for managing the index defrag scans. This way, you can start and stop the defrag process without the need to rescan. This is especially useful for VLDB's or any environment where you're unable to complete the defrags in one operation.

- Just in case you want to perform a rescan, even if there's still indexes left to defrag from your last rescan, there's a parameter to force it.

- There's now an option to sort by page count, range scan count, or fragmentation level. Range scan count is defaulted, as the indexes that have high amounts of range scans will benefit the most from having a defragged index. You can also specify whether you want to sort by ASC or DESC.

- There's now min and max parameters for page counts. This is useful for a) ignoring indexes with less than 1 extent (as recommended by Microsoft) and b) for scheduling index operations by size. For instance, you may want to defrag your small indexes during business hours but leave your big indexes for evening or weekend hours.

- There's now a parameterized option for sorting in TEMPDB. This may reduce execution time and will prevent unnecessary database file size inflation during defrags. NOTE: Make sure you have enough free space in TEMPDB prior to enabling this option.

- I moved the SQL statement output to display before execution so you can see what's currently executing.

- I've added a debug output of the parameters selected. I've added additional validation to the start of the script, so this will help show you if an invalid value was submitted and overwritten.

- I've added new columns to the log table to show what command is being executed and what error, if any, occurred when trying to execute.

- I've added try/catch logic to handle errors during execution; this way, a single error will not prevent the whole script from terminating.

- The script will now force a rebuild for indexes with allow_page_locks = off.

- For those who use partitioning, you can now exclude the right-most populated partition from the defrag operation. This won't be applicable for all partitioning schemes, but for sliding-window scenarios (one of the most common schemes), it'll reduce contention on the partition that's being actively written to.

- I've fixed a bug where tables with LOB indexes may have more than one record returned from sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats.

- For various reasons, I've removed the option to rebuild stats.

Also, if you have a previous version of the script installed, this version will rename those tables, since there have been some changes made to them.

FAQ:

I often receive the same questions about this script, so allow me to answer them here:

"I keep running the script, but my index is still fragmented. Why?"
This is most likely a very small index. Here's what Microsoft has to say:

"In general, fragmentation on small indexes is often not controllable. The pages of small indexes are stored on mixed extents. Mixed extents are shared by up to eight objects, so the fragmentation in a small index might not be reduced after reorganizing or rebuilding the index. For more information about mixed extents, see Understanding Pages and Extents."

"What database should I create it in?" or "Can I create this in the MASTER database?"
It's up to you where you create it. You could technically create it in the MASTER database, but I recommend creating a utility database for your DBA administrative tasks.

"Can I run this againt a SharePoint database?"
I've never tried personally, but I've been told it runs just fine.

"What are the minimum requirements to run this script?" or "Will this run on SQL Server 2000 instances?"
You need to be on SQL Server 2005 SP2 or higher.

Without further ado, here's the script:

/* Scroll down to the see notes, disclaimers, and licensing information */
 
DECLARE @indexDefragLog_rename      VARCHAR(128)
    , @indexDefragExclusion_rename  VARCHAR(128)
    , @indexDefragStatus_rename     VARCHAR(128);
 
SELECT @indexDefragLog_rename       = 'dba_indexDefragLog_obsolete_' + CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), GETDATE(), 112)
    , @indexDefragExclusion_rename  = 'dba_indexDefragExclusion_obsolete_' + CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), GETDATE(), 112)
    , @indexDefragStatus_rename     = 'dba_indexDefragStatus_obsolete_' + CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), GETDATE(), 112);
 
IF Exists(SELECT [OBJECT_ID] FROM sys.tables WHERE [name] = 'dba_indexDefragLog')
    EXECUTE SP_RENAME dba_indexDefragLog, @indexDefragLog_rename;
 
IF Exists(SELECT [OBJECT_ID] FROM sys.tables WHERE [name] = 'dba_indexDefragExclusion')
    EXECUTE SP_RENAME dba_indexDefragExclusion, @indexDefragExclusion_rename;
 
IF Exists(SELECT [OBJECT_ID] FROM sys.tables WHERE [name] = 'dba_indexDefragStatus')
    EXECUTE SP_RENAME dba_indexDefragStatus, @indexDefragStatus_rename;
Go
 
CREATE TABLE dbo.dba_indexDefragLog
(
      indexDefrag_id    INT IDENTITY(1,1)   Not Null
    , databaseID        INT                 Not Null
    , databaseName      NVARCHAR(128)       Not Null
    , objectID          INT                 Not Null
    , objectName        NVARCHAR(128)       Not Null
    , indexID           INT                 Not Null
    , indexName         NVARCHAR(128)       Not Null
    , partitionNumber   SMALLINT            Not Null
    , fragmentation     FLOAT               Not Null
    , page_count        INT                 Not Null
    , dateTimeStart     DATETIME            Not Null
    , dateTimeEnd       DATETIME            Null
    , durationSeconds   INT                 Null
    , sqlStatement      VARCHAR(4000)       Null
    , errorMessage      VARCHAR(1000)       Null
 
    CONSTRAINT PK_indexDefragLog_v40
        PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED (indexDefrag_id)
);
 
PRINT 'dba_indexDefragLog Table Created';
 
CREATE TABLE dbo.dba_indexDefragExclusion
(
      databaseID        INT                 Not Null
    , databaseName      NVARCHAR(128)       Not Null
    , objectID          INT                 Not Null
    , objectName        NVARCHAR(128)       Not Null
    , indexID           INT                 Not Null
    , indexName         NVARCHAR(128)       Not Null
    , exclusionMask     INT                 Not Null
        /* 1=Sunday, 2=Monday, 4=Tuesday, 8=Wednesday, 16=Thursday, 32=Friday, 64=Saturday */
 
    CONSTRAINT PK_indexDefragExclusion_v40
        PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED (databaseID, objectID, indexID)
);
 
PRINT 'dba_indexDefragExclusion Table Created';
 
CREATE TABLE dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus
(
      databaseID        INT
    , databaseName      NVARCHAR(128)
    , objectID          INT
    , indexID           INT
    , partitionNumber   SMALLINT
    , fragmentation     FLOAT
    , page_count        INT
    , range_scan_count  BIGINT
    , schemaName        NVARCHAR(128)   Null
    , objectName        NVARCHAR(128)   Null
    , indexName         NVARCHAR(128)   Null
    , scanDate          DATETIME        
    , defragDate        DATETIME        Null
    , printStatus       BIT             DEFAULT(0)
    , exclusionMask     INT             DEFAULT(0)
 
    CONSTRAINT PK_indexDefragStatus_v40
        PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED(databaseID, objectID, indexID, partitionNumber)
);
 
PRINT 'dba_indexDefragStatus Table Created';
 
IF OBJECTPROPERTY(OBJECT_ID('dbo.dba_indexDefrag_sp'), N'IsProcedure') = 1
BEGIN
    DROP PROCEDURE dbo.dba_indexDefrag_sp;
    PRINT 'Procedure dba_indexDefrag_sp dropped';
END;
Go
 
CREATE PROCEDURE dbo.dba_indexDefrag_sp
 
    /* Declare Parameters */
      @minFragmentation     FLOAT           = 10.0  
        /* in percent, will not defrag if fragmentation less than specified */
    , @rebuildThreshold     FLOAT           = 30.0  
        /* in percent, greater than @rebuildThreshold will result in rebuild instead of reorg */
    , @executeSQL           BIT             = 1     
        /* 1 = execute; 0 = print command only */
    , @defragOrderColumn    NVARCHAR(20)    = 'range_scan_count'
        /* Valid options are: range_scan_count, fragmentation, page_count */
    , @defragSortOrder      NVARCHAR(4)     = 'DESC'
        /* Valid options are: ASC, DESC */
    , @timeLimit            INT             = 720 /* defaulted to 12 hours */
        /* Optional time limitation; expressed in minutes */
    , @DATABASE             VARCHAR(128)    = Null
        /* Option to specify a database name; null will return all */
    , @tableName            VARCHAR(4000)   = Null  -- databaseName.schema.tableName
        /* Option to specify a table name; null will return all */
    , @forceRescan          BIT             = 0
        /* Whether or not to force a rescan of indexes; 1 = force, 0 = use existing scan, if available */
    , @scanMode             VARCHAR(10)     = N'LIMITED'
        /* Options are LIMITED, SAMPLED, and DETAILED */
    , @minPageCount         INT             = 8 
        /*  MS recommends > 1 extent (8 pages) */
    , @maxPageCount         INT             = Null
        /* NULL = no limit */
    , @excludeMaxPartition  BIT             = 0
        /* 1 = exclude right-most populated partition; 0 = do not exclude; see notes for caveats */
    , @onlineRebuild        BIT             = 1     
        /* 1 = online rebuild; 0 = offline rebuild; only in Enterprise */
    , @sortInTempDB         BIT             = 1
        /* 1 = perform sort operation in TempDB; 0 = perform sort operation in the index's database */
    , @maxDopRestriction    TINYINT         = Null
        /* Option to restrict the number of processors for the operation; only in Enterprise */
    , @printCommands        BIT             = 0     
        /* 1 = print commands; 0 = do not print commands */
    , @printFragmentation   BIT             = 0
        /* 1 = print fragmentation prior to defrag; 
           0 = do not print */
    , @defragDelay          CHAR(8)         = '00:00:05'
        /* time to wait between defrag commands */
    , @debugMode            BIT             = 0
        /* display some useful comments to help determine if/where issues occur */
 
AS
/*********************************************************************************
    Name:       dba_indexDefrag_sp
 
    Author:     Michelle Ufford, http://sqlfool.com
 
    Purpose:    Defrags one or more indexes for one or more databases
 
    Notes:
 
    CAUTION: TRANSACTION LOG SIZE SHOULD BE MONITORED CLOSELY WHEN DEFRAGMENTING.
             DO NOT RUN UNATTENDED ON LARGE DATABASES DURING BUSINESS HOURS.
 
      @minFragmentation     defaulted to 10%, will not defrag if fragmentation 
                            is less than that
 
      @rebuildThreshold     defaulted to 30% as recommended by Microsoft in BOL;
                            greater than 30% will result in rebuild instead
 
      @executeSQL           1 = execute the SQL generated by this proc; 
                            0 = print command only
 
      @defragOrderColumn    Defines how to prioritize the order of defrags.  Only
                            used if @executeSQL = 1.  
                            Valid options are: 
                            range_scan_count = count of range and table scans on the
                                               index; in general, this is what benefits 
                                               the most from defragmentation
                            fragmentation    = amount of fragmentation in the index;
                                               the higher the number, the worse it is
                            page_count       = number of pages in the index; affects
                                               how long it takes to defrag an index
 
      @defragSortOrder      The sort order of the ORDER BY clause.
                            Valid options are ASC (ascending) or DESC (descending).
 
      @timeLimit            Optional, limits how much time can be spent performing 
                            index defrags; expressed in minutes.
 
                            NOTE: The time limit is checked BEFORE an index defrag
                                  is begun, thus a long index defrag can exceed the
                                  time limitation.
 
      @database             Optional, specify specific database name to defrag;
                            If not specified, all non-system databases will
                            be defragged.
 
      @tableName            Specify if you only want to defrag indexes for a 
                            specific table, format = databaseName.schema.tableName;
                            if not specified, all tables will be defragged.
 
      @forceRescan          Whether or not to force a rescan of indexes.  If set
                            to 0, a rescan will not occur until all indexes have
                            been defragged.  This can span multiple executions.
                            1 = force a rescan
                            0 = use previous scan, if there are indexes left to defrag
 
      @scanMode             Specifies which scan mode to use to determine
                            fragmentation levels.  Options are:
                            LIMITED - scans the parent level; quickest mode,
                                      recommended for most cases.
                            SAMPLED - samples 1% of all data pages; if less than
                                      10k pages, performs a DETAILED scan.
                            DETAILED - scans all data pages.  Use great care with
                                       this mode, as it can cause performance issues.
 
      @minPageCount         Specifies how many pages must exist in an index in order 
                            to be considered for a defrag.  Defaulted to 8 pages, as 
                            Microsoft recommends only defragging indexes with more 
                            than 1 extent (8 pages).  
 
                            NOTE: The @minPageCount will restrict the indexes that
                            are stored in dba_indexDefragStatus table.
 
      @maxPageCount         Specifies the maximum number of pages that can exist in 
                            an index and still be considered for a defrag.  Useful
                            for scheduling small indexes during business hours and
                            large indexes for non-business hours.
 
                            NOTE: The @maxPageCount will restrict the indexes that
                            are defragged during the current operation; it will not
                            prevent indexes from being stored in the 
                            dba_indexDefragStatus table.  This way, a single scan
                            can support multiple page count thresholds.
 
      @excludeMaxPartition  If an index is partitioned, this option specifies whether
                            to exclude the right-most populated partition.  Typically,
                            this is the partition that is currently being written to in
                            a sliding-window scenario.  Enabling this feature may reduce
                            contention.  This may not be applicable in other types of 
                            partitioning scenarios.  Non-partitioned indexes are 
                            unaffected by this option.
                            1 = exclude right-most populated partition
                            0 = do not exclude
 
      @onlineRebuild        1 = online rebuild; 
                            0 = offline rebuild
 
      @sortInTempDB         Specifies whether to defrag the index in TEMPDB or in the
                            database the index belongs to.  Enabling this option may
                            result in faster defrags and prevent database file size 
                            inflation.
                            1 = perform sort operation in TempDB
                            0 = perform sort operation in the index's database 
 
      @maxDopRestriction    Option to specify a processor limit for index rebuilds
 
      @printCommands        1 = print commands to screen; 
                            0 = do not print commands
 
      @printFragmentation   1 = print fragmentation to screen;
                            0 = do not print fragmentation
 
      @defragDelay          Time to wait between defrag commands; gives the
                            server a little time to catch up 
 
      @debugMode            1 = display debug comments; helps with troubleshooting
                            0 = do not display debug comments
 
    Called by:  SQL Agent Job or DBA
 
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    DISCLAIMER: 
    This code and information are provided "AS IS" without warranty of any kind,
    either expressed or implied, including but not limited to the implied 
    warranties or merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    LICENSE: 
    This index defrag script is free to download and use for personal, educational, 
    and internal corporate purposes, provided that this header is preserved. 
    Redistribution or sale of this index defrag script, in whole or in part, is 
    prohibited without the author's express written consent.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Date        Initials	Version Description
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    2007-12-18  MFU         1.0     Initial Release
    2008-10-17  MFU         1.1     Added @defragDelay, CIX_temp_indexDefragList
    2008-11-17  MFU         1.2     Added page_count to log table
                                    , added @printFragmentation option
    2009-03-17  MFU         2.0     Provided support for centralized execution
                                    , consolidated Enterprise & Standard versions
                                    , added @debugMode, @maxDopRestriction
                                    , modified LOB and partition logic  
    2009-06-18  MFU         3.0     Fixed bug in LOB logic, added @scanMode option
                                    , added support for stat rebuilds (@rebuildStats)
                                    , support model and msdb defrag
                                    , added columns to the dba_indexDefragLog table
                                    , modified logging to show "in progress" defrags
                                    , added defrag exclusion list (scheduling)
    2009-08-28  MFU         3.1     Fixed read_only bug for database lists
    2010-04-20  MFU         4.0     Added time limit option
                                    , added static table with rescan logic
                                    , added parameters for page count & SORT_IN_TEMPDB
                                    , added try/catch logic and additional debug options
                                    , added options for defrag prioritization
                                    , fixed bug for indexes with allow_page_lock = off
                                    , added option to exclude right-most partition
                                    , removed @rebuildStats option
                                    , refer to http://sqlfool.com for full release notes
*********************************************************************************
    Example of how to call this script:
 
        Exec dbo.dba_indexDefrag_sp
              @executeSQL           = 1
            , @printCommands        = 1
            , @debugMode            = 1
            , @printFragmentation   = 1
            , @forceRescan          = 1
            , @maxDopRestriction    = 1
            , @minPageCount         = 8
            , @maxPageCount         = Null
            , @minFragmentation     = 1
            , @rebuildThreshold     = 30
            , @defragDelay          = '00:00:05'
            , @defragOrderColumn    = 'page_count'
            , @defragSortOrder      = 'DESC'
            , @excludeMaxPartition  = 1
            , @timeLimit            = Null;
*********************************************************************************/																
SET NOCOUNT ON;
SET XACT_Abort ON;
SET Quoted_Identifier ON;
 
BEGIN
 
    BEGIN Try
 
        /* Just a little validation... */
        IF @minFragmentation IS Null 
            Or @minFragmentation Not Between 0.00 And 100.0
                SET @minFragmentation = 10.0;
 
        IF @rebuildThreshold IS Null
            Or @rebuildThreshold Not Between 0.00 And 100.0
                SET @rebuildThreshold = 30.0;
 
        IF @defragDelay Not Like '00:[0-5][0-9]:[0-5][0-9]'
            SET @defragDelay = '00:00:05';
 
        IF @defragOrderColumn IS Null
            Or @defragOrderColumn Not In ('range_scan_count', 'fragmentation', 'page_count')
                SET @defragOrderColumn = 'range_scan_count';
 
        IF @defragSortOrder IS Null
            Or @defragSortOrder Not In ('ASC', 'DESC')
                SET @defragSortOrder = 'DESC';
 
        IF @scanMode Not In ('LIMITED', 'SAMPLED', 'DETAILED')
            SET @scanMode = 'LIMITED';
 
        IF @debugMode IS Null
            SET @debugMode = 0;
 
        IF @forceRescan IS Null
            SET @forceRescan = 0;
 
        IF @sortInTempDB IS Null
            SET @sortInTempDB = 1;
 
 
        IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('Undusting the cogs and starting up...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
        /* Declare our variables */
        DECLARE   @objectID                 INT
                , @databaseID               INT
                , @databaseName             NVARCHAR(128)
                , @indexID                  INT
                , @partitionCount           BIGINT
                , @schemaName               NVARCHAR(128)
                , @objectName               NVARCHAR(128)
                , @indexName                NVARCHAR(128)
                , @partitionNumber          SMALLINT
                , @fragmentation            FLOAT
                , @pageCount                INT
                , @sqlCommand               NVARCHAR(4000)
                , @rebuildCommand           NVARCHAR(200)
                , @dateTimeStart            DATETIME
                , @dateTimeEnd              DATETIME
                , @containsLOB              BIT
                , @editionCheck             BIT
                , @debugMessage             NVARCHAR(4000)
                , @updateSQL                NVARCHAR(4000)
                , @partitionSQL             NVARCHAR(4000)
                , @partitionSQL_Param       NVARCHAR(1000)
                , @LOB_SQL                  NVARCHAR(4000)
                , @LOB_SQL_Param            NVARCHAR(1000)
                , @indexDefrag_id           INT
                , @startDateTime            DATETIME
                , @endDateTime              DATETIME
                , @getIndexSQL              NVARCHAR(4000)
                , @getIndexSQL_Param        NVARCHAR(4000)
                , @allowPageLockSQL         NVARCHAR(4000)
                , @allowPageLockSQL_Param   NVARCHAR(4000)
                , @allowPageLocks           INT
                , @excludeMaxPartitionSQL   NVARCHAR(4000);
 
        /* Initialize our variables */
        SELECT @startDateTime = GETDATE()
            , @endDateTime = DATEADD(MINUTE, @timeLimit, GETDATE());
 
        /* Create our temporary tables */
        CREATE TABLE #databaseList
        (
              databaseID        INT
            , databaseName      VARCHAR(128)
            , scanStatus        BIT
        );
 
        CREATE TABLE #processor 
        (
              [INDEX]           INT
            , Name              VARCHAR(128)
            , Internal_Value    INT
            , Character_Value   INT
        );
 
        CREATE TABLE #maxPartitionList
        (
              databaseID        INT
            , objectID          INT
            , indexID           INT
            , maxPartition      INT
        );
 
        IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('Beginning validation...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
        /* Make sure we're not exceeding the number of processors we have available */
        INSERT INTO #processor
        EXECUTE XP_MSVER 'ProcessorCount';
 
        IF @maxDopRestriction IS Not Null And @maxDopRestriction > (SELECT Internal_Value FROM #processor)
            SELECT @maxDopRestriction = Internal_Value
            FROM #processor;
 
        /* Check our server version; 1804890536 = Enterprise, 610778273 = Enterprise Evaluation, -2117995310 = Developer */
        IF (SELECT SERVERPROPERTY('EditionID')) In (1804890536, 610778273, -2117995310) 
            SET @editionCheck = 1 -- supports online rebuilds
        ELSE
            SET @editionCheck = 0; -- does not support online rebuilds
 
        /* Output the parameters we're working with */
        IF @debugMode = 1 
        BEGIN
 
            SELECT @debugMessage = 'Your selected parameters are... 
            Defrag indexes with fragmentation greater than ' + CAST(@minFragmentation AS VARCHAR(10)) + ';
            Rebuild indexes with fragmentation greater than ' + CAST(@rebuildThreshold AS VARCHAR(10)) + ';
            You' + CASE WHEN @executeSQL = 1 THEN ' DO' ELSE ' DO NOT' END + ' want the commands to be executed automatically; 
            You want to defrag indexes in ' + @defragSortOrder + ' order of the ' + UPPER(@defragOrderColumn) + ' value;
            You have' + CASE WHEN @timeLimit IS Null THEN ' not specified a time limit;' ELSE ' specified a time limit of ' 
                + CAST(@timeLimit AS VARCHAR(10)) END + ' minutes;
            ' + CASE WHEN @DATABASE IS Null THEN 'ALL databases' ELSE 'The ' + @DATABASE + ' database' END + ' will be defragged;
            ' + CASE WHEN @tableName IS Null THEN 'ALL tables' ELSE 'The ' + @tableName + ' table' END + ' will be defragged;
            We' + CASE WHEN Exists(SELECT TOP 1 * FROM dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus WHERE defragDate IS Null)
                And @forceRescan <> 1 THEN ' WILL NOT' ELSE ' WILL' END + ' be rescanning indexes;
            The scan will be performed in ' + @scanMode + ' mode;
            You want to limit defrags to indexes with' + CASE WHEN @maxPageCount IS Null THEN ' more than ' 
                + CAST(@minPageCount AS VARCHAR(10)) ELSE
                ' between ' + CAST(@minPageCount AS VARCHAR(10))
                + ' and ' + CAST(@maxPageCount AS VARCHAR(10)) END + ' pages;
            Indexes will be defragged' + CASE WHEN @editionCheck = 0 Or @onlineRebuild = 0 THEN ' OFFLINE;' ELSE ' ONLINE;' END + '
            Indexes will be sorted in' + CASE WHEN @sortInTempDB = 0 THEN ' the DATABASE' ELSE ' TEMPDB;' END + '
            Defrag operations will utilize ' + CASE WHEN @editionCheck = 0 Or @maxDopRestriction IS Null 
                THEN 'system defaults for processors;' 
                ELSE CAST(@maxDopRestriction AS VARCHAR(2)) + ' processors;' END + '
            You' + CASE WHEN @printCommands = 1 THEN ' DO' ELSE ' DO NOT' END + ' want to print the ALTER INDEX commands; 
            You' + CASE WHEN @printFragmentation = 1 THEN ' DO' ELSE ' DO NOT' END + ' want to output fragmentation levels; 
            You want to wait ' + @defragDelay + ' (hh:mm:ss) between defragging indexes;
            You want to run in' + CASE WHEN @debugMode = 1 THEN ' DEBUG' ELSE ' SILENT' END + ' mode.';
 
            RAISERROR(@debugMessage, 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
        END;
 
        IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('Grabbing a list of our databases...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
        /* Retrieve the list of databases to investigate */
        INSERT INTO #databaseList
        SELECT database_id
            , name
            , 0 -- not scanned yet for fragmentation
        FROM sys.databases
        WHERE name = IsNull(@DATABASE, name)
            And [name] Not In ('master', 'tempdb')-- exclude system databases
            And [STATE] = 0 -- state must be ONLINE
            And is_read_only = 0;  -- cannot be read_only
 
        /* Check to see if we have indexes in need of defrag; otherwise, re-scan the database(s) */
        IF Not Exists(SELECT TOP 1 * FROM dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus WHERE defragDate IS Null)
            Or @forceRescan = 1
        BEGIN
 
            /* Truncate our list of indexes to prepare for a new scan */
            TRUNCATE TABLE dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus;
 
            IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('Looping through our list of databases and checking for fragmentation...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
            /* Loop through our list of databases */
            WHILE (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM #databaseList WHERE scanStatus = 0) > 0
            BEGIN
 
                SELECT TOP 1 @databaseID = databaseID
                FROM #databaseList
                WHERE scanStatus = 0;
 
                SELECT @debugMessage = '  working on ' + DB_NAME(@databaseID) + '...';
 
                IF @debugMode = 1
                    RAISERROR(@debugMessage, 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
               /* Determine which indexes to defrag using our user-defined parameters */
                INSERT INTO dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus
                (
                      databaseID
                    , databaseName
                    , objectID
                    , indexID
                    , partitionNumber
                    , fragmentation
                    , page_count
                    , range_scan_count
                    , scanDate
                )
                SELECT
                      ps.database_id AS 'databaseID'
                    , QUOTENAME(DB_NAME(ps.database_id)) AS 'databaseName'
                    , ps.OBJECT_ID AS 'objectID'
                    , ps.index_id AS 'indexID'
                    , ps.partition_number AS 'partitionNumber'
                    , SUM(ps.avg_fragmentation_in_percent) AS 'fragmentation'
                    , SUM(ps.page_count) AS 'page_count'
                    , os.range_scan_count
                    , GETDATE() AS 'scanDate'
                FROM sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats(@databaseID, OBJECT_ID(@tableName), Null , Null, @scanMode) AS ps
                Join sys.dm_db_index_operational_stats(@databaseID, OBJECT_ID(@tableName), Null , Null) AS os
                    ON ps.database_id = os.database_id
                    And ps.OBJECT_ID = os.OBJECT_ID
                    and ps.index_id = os.index_id
                    And ps.partition_number = os.partition_number
                WHERE avg_fragmentation_in_percent >= @minFragmentation 
                    And ps.index_id > 0 -- ignore heaps
                    And ps.page_count > @minPageCount 
                    And ps.index_level = 0 -- leaf-level nodes only, supports @scanMode
                GROUP BY ps.database_id 
                    , QUOTENAME(DB_NAME(ps.database_id)) 
                    , ps.OBJECT_ID 
                    , ps.index_id 
                    , ps.partition_number 
                    , os.range_scan_count
                OPTION (MaxDop 2);
 
                /* Do we want to exclude right-most populated partition of our partitioned indexes? */
                IF @excludeMaxPartition = 1
                BEGIN
 
                    SET @excludeMaxPartitionSQL = '
                        Select ' + CAST(@databaseID AS VARCHAR(10)) + ' As [databaseID]
                            , [object_id]
                            , index_id
                            , Max(partition_number) As [maxPartition]
                        From ' + DB_NAME(@databaseID) + '.sys.partitions
                        Where partition_number > 1
                            And [rows] > 0
                        Group By object_id
                            , index_id;';
 
                    INSERT INTO #maxPartitionList
                    EXECUTE SP_EXECUTESQL @excludeMaxPartitionSQL;
 
                END;
 
                /* Keep track of which databases have already been scanned */
                UPDATE #databaseList
                SET scanStatus = 1
                WHERE databaseID = @databaseID;
 
            END
 
            /* We don't want to defrag the right-most populated partition, so
               delete any records for partitioned indexes where partition = Max(partition) */
            IF @excludeMaxPartition = 1
            BEGIN
 
                DELETE ids
                FROM dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus AS ids
                Join #maxPartitionList AS mpl
                    ON ids.databaseID = mpl.databaseID
                    And ids.objectID = mpl.objectID
                    And ids.indexID = mpl.indexID
                    And ids.partitionNumber = mpl.maxPartition;
 
            END;
 
            /* Update our exclusion mask for any index that has a restriction on the days it can be defragged */
            UPDATE ids
            SET ids.exclusionMask = ide.exclusionMask
            FROM dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus AS ids
            Join dbo.dba_indexDefragExclusion AS ide
                ON ids.databaseID = ide.databaseID
                And ids.objectID = ide.objectID
                And ids.indexID = ide.indexID;
 
        END
 
        SELECT @debugMessage = 'Looping through our list... there are ' + CAST(COUNT(*) AS VARCHAR(10)) + ' indexes to defrag!'
        FROM dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus
        WHERE defragDate IS Null
            And page_count Between @minPageCount And IsNull(@maxPageCount, page_count);
 
        IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR(@debugMessage, 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
        /* Begin our loop for defragging */
        WHILE (SELECT COUNT(*) 
               FROM dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus 
               WHERE (
                           (@executeSQL = 1 And defragDate IS Null) 
                        Or (@executeSQL = 0 And defragDate IS Null And printStatus = 0)
                     )
                And exclusionMask & POWER(2, DATEPART(weekday, GETDATE())-1) = 0
                And page_count Between @minPageCount And IsNull(@maxPageCount, page_count)) > 0
        BEGIN
 
            /* Check to see if we need to exit our loop because of our time limit */        
            IF IsNull(@endDateTime, GETDATE()) < GETDATE()
            BEGIN
                RAISERROR('Our time limit has been exceeded!', 11, 42) WITH NoWait;
            END;
 
            IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('  Picking an index to beat into shape...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
            /* Grab the index with the highest priority, based on the values submitted; 
               Look at the exclusion mask to ensure it can be defragged today */
            SET @getIndexSQL = N'
            Select Top 1 
                  @objectID_Out         = objectID
                , @indexID_Out          = indexID
                , @databaseID_Out       = databaseID
                , @databaseName_Out     = databaseName
                , @fragmentation_Out    = fragmentation
                , @partitionNumber_Out  = partitionNumber
                , @pageCount_Out        = page_count
            From dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus
            Where defragDate Is Null ' 
                + CASE WHEN @executeSQL = 0 THEN 'And printStatus = 0' ELSE '' END + '
                And exclusionMask & Power(2, DatePart(weekday, GetDate())-1) = 0
                And page_count Between @p_minPageCount and IsNull(@p_maxPageCount, page_count)
            Order By + ' + @defragOrderColumn + ' ' + @defragSortOrder;
 
            SET @getIndexSQL_Param = N'@objectID_Out        int OutPut
                                     , @indexID_Out         int OutPut
                                     , @databaseID_Out      int OutPut
                                     , @databaseName_Out    nvarchar(128) OutPut
                                     , @fragmentation_Out   int OutPut
                                     , @partitionNumber_Out int OutPut
                                     , @pageCount_Out       int OutPut
                                     , @p_minPageCount      int
                                     , @p_maxPageCount      int';
 
            EXECUTE SP_EXECUTESQL @getIndexSQL
                , @getIndexSQL_Param
                , @p_minPageCount       = @minPageCount
                , @p_maxPageCount       = @maxPageCount
                , @objectID_Out         = @objectID OUTPUT
                , @indexID_Out          = @indexID OUTPUT
                , @databaseID_Out       = @databaseID OUTPUT
                , @databaseName_Out     = @databaseName OUTPUT
                , @fragmentation_Out    = @fragmentation OUTPUT
                , @partitionNumber_Out  = @partitionNumber OUTPUT
                , @pageCount_Out        = @pageCount OUTPUT;
 
            IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('  Looking up the specifics for our index...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
            /* Look up index information */
            SELECT @updateSQL = N'Update ids
                Set schemaName = QuoteName(s.name)
                    , objectName = QuoteName(o.name)
                    , indexName = QuoteName(i.name)
                From dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus As ids
                Inner Join ' + @databaseName + '.sys.objects As o
                    On ids.objectID = o.object_id
                Inner Join ' + @databaseName + '.sys.indexes As i
                    On o.object_id = i.object_id
                    And ids.indexID = i.index_id
                Inner Join ' + @databaseName + '.sys.schemas As s
                    On o.schema_id = s.schema_id
                Where o.object_id = ' + CAST(@objectID AS VARCHAR(10)) + '
                    And i.index_id = ' + CAST(@indexID AS VARCHAR(10)) + '
                    And i.type > 0
                    And ids.databaseID = ' + CAST(@databaseID AS VARCHAR(10));
 
            EXECUTE SP_EXECUTESQL @updateSQL;
 
            /* Grab our object names */
            SELECT @objectName  = objectName
                , @schemaName   = schemaName
                , @indexName    = indexName
            FROM dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus
            WHERE objectID = @objectID
                And indexID = @indexID
                And databaseID = @databaseID;
 
            IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('  Grabbing the partition count...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
            /* Determine if the index is partitioned */
            SELECT @partitionSQL = 'Select @partitionCount_OUT = Count(*)
                                        From ' + @databaseName + '.sys.partitions
                                        Where object_id = ' + CAST(@objectID AS VARCHAR(10)) + '
                                            And index_id = ' + CAST(@indexID AS VARCHAR(10)) + ';'
                , @partitionSQL_Param = '@partitionCount_OUT int OutPut';
 
            EXECUTE SP_EXECUTESQL @partitionSQL, @partitionSQL_Param, @partitionCount_OUT = @partitionCount OUTPUT;
 
            IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('  Seeing if there are any LOBs to be handled...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
            /* Determine if the table contains LOBs */
            SELECT @LOB_SQL = ' Select @containsLOB_OUT = Count(*)
                                From ' + @databaseName + '.sys.columns With (NoLock) 
                                Where [object_id] = ' + CAST(@objectID AS VARCHAR(10)) + '
                                   And (system_type_id In (34, 35, 99)
                                            Or max_length = -1);'
                                /*  system_type_id --> 34 = image, 35 = text, 99 = ntext
                                    max_length = -1 --> varbinary(max), varchar(max), nvarchar(max), xml */
                    , @LOB_SQL_Param = '@containsLOB_OUT int OutPut';
 
            EXECUTE SP_EXECUTESQL @LOB_SQL, @LOB_SQL_Param, @containsLOB_OUT = @containsLOB OUTPUT;
 
            IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('  Checking for indexes that do not allow page locks...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
            /* Determine if page locks are allowed; for those indexes, we need to always rebuild */
            SELECT @allowPageLockSQL = 'Select @allowPageLocks_OUT = Count(*)
                                        From ' + @databaseName + '.sys.indexes
                                        Where object_id = ' + CAST(@objectID AS VARCHAR(10)) + '
                                            And index_id = ' + CAST(@indexID AS VARCHAR(10)) + '
                                            And Allow_Page_Locks = 0;'
                , @allowPageLockSQL_Param = '@allowPageLocks_OUT int OutPut';
 
            EXECUTE SP_EXECUTESQL @allowPageLockSQL, @allowPageLockSQL_Param, @allowPageLocks_OUT = @allowPageLocks OUTPUT;
 
            IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('  Building our SQL statements...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
            /* If there's not a lot of fragmentation, or if we have a LOB, we should reorganize */
            IF (@fragmentation < @rebuildThreshold Or @containsLOB >= 1 Or @partitionCount > 1)
                And @allowPageLocks = 0
            BEGIN
 
                SET @sqlCommand = N'Alter Index ' + @indexName + N' On ' + @databaseName + N'.' 
                                    + @schemaName + N'.' + @objectName + N' ReOrganize';
 
                /* If our index is partitioned, we should always reorganize */
                IF @partitionCount > 1
                    SET @sqlCommand = @sqlCommand + N' Partition = ' 
                                    + CAST(@partitionNumber AS NVARCHAR(10));
 
            END
            /* If the index is heavily fragmented and doesn't contain any partitions or LOB's, 
               or if the index does not allow page locks, rebuild it */
            ELSE IF (@fragmentation >= @rebuildThreshold Or @allowPageLocks <> 0)
                And IsNull(@containsLOB, 0) != 1 And @partitionCount <= 1
            BEGIN
 
                /* Set online rebuild options; requires Enterprise Edition */
                IF @onlineRebuild = 1 And @editionCheck = 1 
                    SET @rebuildCommand = N' Rebuild With (Online = On';
                ELSE
                    SET @rebuildCommand = N' Rebuild With (Online = Off';
 
                /* Set sort operation preferences */
                IF @sortInTempDB = 1 
                    SET @rebuildCommand = @rebuildCommand + N', Sort_In_TempDB = On';
                ELSE
                    SET @rebuildCommand = @rebuildCommand + N', Sort_In_TempDB = Off';
 
                /* Set processor restriction options; requires Enterprise Edition */
                IF @maxDopRestriction IS Not Null And @editionCheck = 1
                    SET @rebuildCommand = @rebuildCommand + N', MaxDop = ' + CAST(@maxDopRestriction AS VARCHAR(2)) + N')';
                ELSE
                    SET @rebuildCommand = @rebuildCommand + N')';
 
                SET @sqlCommand = N'Alter Index ' + @indexName + N' On ' + @databaseName + N'.'
                                + @schemaName + N'.' + @objectName + @rebuildCommand;
 
            END
            ELSE
                /* Print an error message if any indexes happen to not meet the criteria above */
                IF @printCommands = 1 Or @debugMode = 1
                    RAISERROR('We are unable to defrag this index.', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
            /* Are we executing the SQL?  If so, do it */
            IF @executeSQL = 1
            BEGIN
 
                SET @debugMessage = 'Executing: ' + @sqlCommand;
 
                /* Print the commands we're executing if specified to do so */
                IF @printCommands = 1 Or @debugMode = 1
                    RAISERROR(@debugMessage, 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
                /* Grab the time for logging purposes */
                SET @dateTimeStart  = GETDATE();
 
                /* Log our actions */
                INSERT INTO dbo.dba_indexDefragLog
                (
                      databaseID
                    , databaseName
                    , objectID
                    , objectName
                    , indexID
                    , indexName
                    , partitionNumber
                    , fragmentation
                    , page_count
                    , dateTimeStart
                    , sqlStatement
                )
                SELECT
                      @databaseID
                    , @databaseName
                    , @objectID
                    , @objectName
                    , @indexID
                    , @indexName
                    , @partitionNumber
                    , @fragmentation
                    , @pageCount
                    , @dateTimeStart
                    , @sqlCommand;
 
                SET @indexDefrag_id = SCOPE_IDENTITY();
 
                /* Wrap our execution attempt in a try/catch and log any errors that occur */
                BEGIN Try
 
                    /* Execute our defrag! */
                    EXECUTE SP_EXECUTESQL @sqlCommand;
                    SET @dateTimeEnd = GETDATE();
 
                    /* Update our log with our completion time */
                    UPDATE dbo.dba_indexDefragLog
                    SET dateTimeEnd = @dateTimeEnd
                        , durationSeconds = DATEDIFF(SECOND, @dateTimeStart, @dateTimeEnd)
                    WHERE indexDefrag_id = @indexDefrag_id;
 
                END Try
                BEGIN Catch
 
                    /* Update our log with our error message */
                    UPDATE dbo.dba_indexDefragLog
                    SET dateTimeEnd = GETDATE()
                        , durationSeconds = -1
                        , errorMessage = Error_Message()
                    WHERE indexDefrag_id = @indexDefrag_id;
 
                    IF @debugMode = 1 
                        RAISERROR('  An error has occurred executing this command! Please review the dba_indexDefragLog table for details.'
                            , 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
                END Catch
 
                /* Just a little breather for the server */
                WAITFOR Delay @defragDelay;
 
                UPDATE dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus
                SET defragDate = GETDATE()
                    , printStatus = 1
                WHERE databaseID       = @databaseID
                  And objectID         = @objectID
                  And indexID          = @indexID
                  And partitionNumber  = @partitionNumber;
 
            END
            ELSE
            /* Looks like we're not executing, just printing the commands */
            BEGIN
                IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('  Printing SQL statements...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
                IF @printCommands = 1 Or @debugMode = 1 
                    PRINT IsNull(@sqlCommand, 'error!');
 
                UPDATE dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus
                SET printStatus = 1
                WHERE databaseID       = @databaseID
                  And objectID         = @objectID
                  And indexID          = @indexID
                  And partitionNumber  = @partitionNumber;
            END
 
        END
 
        /* Do we want to output our fragmentation results? */
        IF @printFragmentation = 1
        BEGIN
 
            IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('  Displaying a summary of our action...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
            SELECT databaseID
                , databaseName
                , objectID
                , objectName
                , indexID
                , indexName
                , partitionNumber
                , fragmentation
                , page_count
                , range_scan_count
            FROM dbo.dba_indexDefragStatus
            WHERE defragDate >= @startDateTime
            ORDER BY defragDate;
 
        END;
 
    END Try
    BEGIN Catch
 
        SET @debugMessage = Error_Message() + ' (Line Number: ' + CAST(Error_Line() AS VARCHAR(10)) + ')';
        PRINT @debugMessage;
 
    END Catch;
 
    /* When everything is said and done, make sure to get rid of our temp table */
    DROP TABLE #databaseList;
    DROP TABLE #processor;
    DROP TABLE #maxPartitionList;
 
    IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('DONE!  Thank you for taking care of your indexes!  :)', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
    SET NOCOUNT OFF;
    RETURN 0
END

You can also download it here: dba_indexDefrag_sp_v40_public.txt

I've had this latest version in production on terabyte-size databases running SQL Server 2005 and 2008 Enterprise editions for the last 3 months, where it runs nightly without issue. I've also had numerous beta testers report success in their environments, too. But to be safe, make sure to keep an eye on it the first time it runs to ensure you understand the impact on your server.

Enjoy!

Michelle

26Jan/100

Index Defrag Script Updates – Beta Testers Needed

Update: Wow! I've received a ton of responses to my request for beta testers. Thank you all! The SQL Community is really amazing. I'll hopefully have the new version online in just a few days. :)

Over the last few months, I've received many great comments and suggestions regarding my Index Defrag Script v3.0. I've just recently had time to implement most of these suggestions, plus some other things that I thought would be useful. :)

Here's some of what you can look forward to shortly:

  • Probably the single most requested feature, the new version of the script allows you to set a time limit for index defrags.
  • There's now a static table for managing the status of index defrags. This way, when your time limit is reached, you can pick up where you left off the next day, without the need to rescan indexes.
  • There's now an option to prioritize defrags by range scan counts, fragmentation level, or page counts.
  • For those using partitioning, there is now an option to exclude the right-most populated partition from defrags (in theory, the one you're writing to in a sliding-window scenario).
  • Options such as page count limits and SORT_IN_TEMPDB are now parameterized.
  • I've enhanced error logging.
  • ... and more!

Right now, I'm looking for a few folks who are willing to beta test the script. If you're interested, please send me an e-mail at michelle at sqlfool dot com with the editions of SQL Server you can test this on (i.e. 2005 Standard, 2008 Enterprise, etc.).

Thank you! :)

9Jul/093

Index Defrag Script Update

A couple of people pointed out to me that the stats rebuild feature in my defrag script will only complete for one database. Whoopsies! I've fixed the bug and updated the script in my previous post, so if you're using my defrag script, please update it. Thanks to Derick and SuperCoolMoss for letting me know about the bug.

I've also received a couple of other requests for feature enhancements. I'm currently swamped at work and outside of work, but as soon as I get time, I will release the latest version. Realistically, it'll probably be sometime after summer ends. :)

Thank you to everyone for their comments and suggestions!

23Jun/0995

Index Defrag Script, v3.0

UPDATE: This script has been significantly updated. Find the latest version here: Index Defrag Script, v4.0

I've just completed the latest version of my index defrag script! Here's a brief list of the updates:

  • Fixed a bug with the LOB logic. In the previous version, after a LOB was encountered, all subsequent indexes would be reorganized.
  • Added support for stat rebuilds after the index defrag is complete (@rebuildStats)
  • Added an exclusion list table (dba_indexDefragExclusion) to support index scheduling
  • Modified logging to show which defrags are "in progress"; added columns to dba_indexDefragLog
  • Added support for the defrag of the model and msdb databases
  • Added @scanMode as a configurable parameter

So what can this index defrag script do? Well, for starters, you can:

  • Schedule it to run with the default settings; it works "right out of the box" with no additional configuration necessary
  • Run this one script from a centralized database for all databases on a server
  • Run this script for a specific database or table
  • Configure custom threshold limits and the point at which a rebuild should be performed (instead of a reorganize)
  • Defrag individual partitions
  • Log its actions and the duration of the defrag
  • Run in "commands only" mode (@executeSQL = 0, @printCommands = 1)
  • Customize performance parameters such as @maxDopRestriction and @defragDelay to minimize impact on the server
  • Schedule specific indexes to only be defragged on weekends, or every other day

To use this last option, you need to add a record to the dba_indexDefragExclusion table. I think all of the columns are pretty self-explanatory except the [exclusionMask] column. The way this works is each day of the week is assigned a value:
1=Sunday, 2=Monday, 4=Tuesday, 8=Wednesday, 16=Thursday, 32=Friday, 64=Saturday

Take a SUM of the values for the days that you want excluded. So if you want an index to only be defragged on weekends, you would add up Monday through Friday (2+4+8+16+32) and use a value of 62 for the exclusionMask column. For a little more information on how this works, check out my blog post on Bitwise Operations.

Please note: if you don't insert any records into the dba_indexDefragExclusion table, by default all indexes will be defragged every run-time if they exceed the specified thresholds. This is normal behavior and may be perfectly fine in your environment. However, if the dba_indexDefragExclusion table does not exist, the script will fail.

I try to document each parameter within the code, so check the comments section in the script for a full list of parameters and what they do.

Special thanks to everyone who helped beta test this script! :)

Without further ado, the script:

/* Drop Table Scripts:
Drop Table dbo.dba_indexDefragLog;
Drop Table dbo.dba_indexDefragExclusion;
*/
IF Not Exists(SELECT [OBJECT_ID] FROM sys.tables 
    WHERE [name] In (N'dba_indexDefragLog', 'dba_indexDefragExclusion'))
BEGIN
 
    CREATE TABLE dbo.dba_indexDefragLog
    (
          indexDefrag_id    INT IDENTITY(1,1)   Not Null
        , databaseID        INT                 Not Null
        , databaseName      NVARCHAR(128)       Not Null
        , objectID          INT                 Not Null
        , objectName        NVARCHAR(128)       Not Null
        , indexID           INT                 Not Null
        , indexName         NVARCHAR(128)       Not Null
        , partitionNumber   SMALLINT            Not Null
        , fragmentation     FLOAT               Not Null
        , page_count        INT                 Not Null
        , dateTimeStart     DATETIME            Not Null
        , dateTimeEnd       DATETIME            Null
        , durationSeconds   INT                 Null
 
        CONSTRAINT PK_indexDefragLog 
            PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED (indexDefrag_id)
    );
 
    PRINT 'dba_indexDefragLog Table Created';
 
    CREATE TABLE dbo.dba_indexDefragExclusion
    (
          databaseID        INT                 Not Null
        , databaseName      NVARCHAR(128)       Not Null
        , objectID          INT                 Not Null
        , objectName        NVARCHAR(128)       Not Null
        , indexID           INT                 Not Null
        , indexName         NVARCHAR(128)       Not Null
        , exclusionMask     INT                 Not Null
            /* 1=Sunday, 2=Monday, 4=Tuesday, 8=Wednesday, 16=Thursday, 32=Friday, 64=Saturday */
 
        CONSTRAINT PK_indexDefragExclusion 
            PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED (databaseID, objectID, indexID)
    );
 
    PRINT 'dba_indexDefragExclusion Table Created';
 
END
ELSE
    RAISERROR('One or more tables already exist.  Please drop or rename before proceeding.', 16, 0);
 
IF OBJECTPROPERTY(OBJECT_ID('dbo.dba_indexDefrag_sp'), N'IsProcedure') = 1
BEGIN
    DROP PROCEDURE dbo.dba_indexDefrag_sp;
    PRINT 'Procedure dba_indexDefrag_sp dropped';
END;
Go
 
 
CREATE PROCEDURE dbo.dba_indexDefrag_sp
 
    /* Declare Parameters */
      @minFragmentation     FLOAT           = 5.0  
        /* in percent, will not defrag if fragmentation less than specified */
    , @rebuildThreshold     FLOAT           = 30.0  
        /* in percent, greater than @rebuildThreshold will result in rebuild instead of reorg */
    , @executeSQL           BIT             = 1     
        /* 1 = execute; 0 = print command only */
    , @DATABASE             VARCHAR(128)    = Null
        /* Option to specify a database name; null will return all */
    , @tableName            VARCHAR(4000)   = Null  -- databaseName.schema.tableName
        /* Option to specify a table name; null will return all */
    , @scanMode             VARCHAR(10)     = N'LIMITED'
        /* Options are LIMITED, SAMPLED, and DETAILED */
    , @onlineRebuild        BIT             = 1     
        /* 1 = online rebuild; 0 = offline rebuild; only in Enterprise */
    , @maxDopRestriction    TINYINT         = Null
        /* Option to restrict the number of processors for the operation; only in Enterprise */
    , @printCommands        BIT             = 0     
        /* 1 = print commands; 0 = do not print commands */
    , @printFragmentation   BIT             = 0
        /* 1 = print fragmentation prior to defrag; 
           0 = do not print */
    , @defragDelay          CHAR(8)         = '00:00:05'
        /* time to wait between defrag commands */
    , @debugMode            BIT             = 0
        /* display some useful comments to help determine if/where issues occur */
    , @rebuildStats         BIT             = 1
        /* option to rebuild stats after completed index defrags */
 
AS
/*********************************************************************************
    Name:       dba_indexDefrag_sp
 
    Author:     Michelle Ufford, http://sqlfool.com
 
    Purpose:    Defrags all indexes for the current database
 
    Notes:
 
    CAUTION: TRANSACTION LOG SIZE SHOULD BE MONITORED CLOSELY WHEN DEFRAGMENTING.
 
      @minFragmentation     defaulted to 10%, will not defrag if fragmentation 
                            is less than that
 
      @rebuildThreshold     defaulted to 30% as recommended by Microsoft in BOL;
                            greater than 30% will result in rebuild instead
 
      @executeSQL           1 = execute the SQL generated by this proc; 
                            0 = print command only
 
      @database             Optional, specify specific database name to defrag;
                            If not specified, all non-system databases will
                            be defragged.
 
      @tableName            Specify if you only want to defrag indexes for a 
                            specific table, format = databaseName.schema.tableName;
                            if not specified, all tables will be defragged.
 
      @scanMode             Specifies which scan mode to use to determine
                            fragmentation levels.  Options are:
                            LIMITED - scans the parent level; quickest mode,
                                      recommended for most cases.
                            SAMPLED - samples 1% of all data pages; if less than
                                      10k pages, performs a DETAILED scan.
                            DETAILED - scans all data pages.  Use great care with
                                       this mode, as it can cause performance issues.
 
      @onlineRebuild        1 = online rebuild; 
                            0 = offline rebuild
 
      @maxDopRestriction    Option to specify a processor limit for index rebuilds
 
      @printCommands        1 = print commands to screen; 
                            0 = do not print commands
 
      @printFragmentation   1 = print fragmentation to screen;
                            0 = do not print fragmentation
 
      @defragDelay          Time to wait between defrag commands; gives the
                            server a little time to catch up 
 
      @debugMode            1 = display debug comments; helps with troubleshooting
                            0 = do not display debug comments
 
      @rebuildStats         Affects only statistics that need to be rebuilt
                            1 = rebuild stats
                            0 = do not rebuild stats
 
    Called by:  SQL Agent Job or DBA
 
    Date        Initials	Version Description
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    2007-12-18  MFU         1.0     Initial Release
    2008-10-17  MFU         1.1     Added @defragDelay, CIX_temp_indexDefragList
    2008-11-17  MFU         1.2     Added page_count to log table
                                    , added @printFragmentation option
    2009-03-17  MFU         2.0     Provided support for centralized execution
                                    , consolidated Enterprise & Standard versions
                                    , added @debugMode, @maxDopRestriction
                                    , modified LOB and partition logic  
    2009-06-18  MFU         3.0     Fixed bug in LOB logic, added @scanMode option
                                    , added support for stat rebuilds (@rebuildStats)
                                    , support model and msdb defrag
                                    , added columns to the dba_indexDefragLog table
                                    , modified logging to show "in progress" defrags
                                    , added defrag exclusion list (scheduling)
*********************************************************************************
    Exec dbo.dba_indexDefrag_sp
          @executeSQL           = 0
        , @printCommands        = 1
        , @debugMode            = 1
        , @printFragmentation   = 1;
*********************************************************************************/																
 
SET NOCOUNT ON;
SET XACT_Abort ON;
SET Ansi_Padding ON;
SET Ansi_Warnings ON;
SET ArithAbort ON;
SET Concat_Null_Yields_Null ON;
SET Numeric_RoundAbort OFF;
SET Quoted_Identifier ON;
 
BEGIN
 
    IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('Undusting the cogs and starting up...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
    /* Declare our variables */
    DECLARE   @objectID             INT
            , @databaseID           INT
            , @databaseName         NVARCHAR(128)
            , @indexID              INT
            , @partitionCount       BIGINT
            , @schemaName           NVARCHAR(128)
            , @objectName           NVARCHAR(128)
            , @indexName            NVARCHAR(128)
            , @partitionNumber      SMALLINT
            , @fragmentation        FLOAT
            , @pageCount            INT
            , @sqlCommand           NVARCHAR(4000)
            , @rebuildCommand       NVARCHAR(200)
            , @dateTimeStart        DATETIME
            , @dateTimeEnd          DATETIME
            , @containsLOB          BIT
            , @editionCheck         BIT
            , @debugMessage         VARCHAR(128)
            , @updateSQL            NVARCHAR(4000)
            , @partitionSQL         NVARCHAR(4000)
            , @partitionSQL_Param   NVARCHAR(1000)
            , @LOB_SQL              NVARCHAR(4000)
            , @LOB_SQL_Param        NVARCHAR(1000)
            , @rebuildStatsID       INT
            , @rebuildStatsSQL      NVARCHAR(1000)
            , @indexDefrag_id       INT;
 
    /* Create our temporary tables */
    CREATE TABLE #indexDefragList
    (
          databaseID        INT
        , databaseName      NVARCHAR(128)
        , objectID          INT
        , indexID           INT
        , partitionNumber   SMALLINT
        , fragmentation     FLOAT
        , page_count        INT
        , defragStatus      BIT
        , schemaName        NVARCHAR(128)   Null
        , objectName        NVARCHAR(128)   Null
        , indexName         NVARCHAR(128)   Null
    );
 
    CREATE TABLE #databaseList
    (
          databaseID        INT
        , databaseName      VARCHAR(128)
        , scanStatus        BIT
        , statsStatus       BIT
    );
 
    CREATE TABLE #processor 
    (
          [INDEX]           INT
        , Name              VARCHAR(128)
        , Internal_Value    INT
        , Character_Value   INT
    );
 
    IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('Beginning validation...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
    /* Just a little validation... */
    IF @minFragmentation Not Between 0.00 And 100.0
        SET @minFragmentation = 10.0;
 
    IF @rebuildThreshold Not Between 0.00 And 100.0
        SET @rebuildThreshold = 30.0;
 
    IF @defragDelay Not Like '00:[0-5][0-9]:[0-5][0-9]'
        SET @defragDelay = '00:00:05';
 
    IF @scanMode Not In ('LIMITED', 'SAMPLED', 'DETAILED')
        SET @scanMode = 'LIMITED';
 
    /* Make sure we're not exceeding the number of processors we have available */
    INSERT INTO #processor
    EXECUTE XP_MSVER 'ProcessorCount';
 
    IF @maxDopRestriction IS Not Null And @maxDopRestriction > (SELECT Internal_Value FROM #processor)
        SELECT @maxDopRestriction = Internal_Value
        FROM #processor;
 
    /* Check our server version; 1804890536 = Enterprise, 610778273 = Enterprise Evaluation, -2117995310 = Developer */
    IF (SELECT SERVERPROPERTY('EditionID')) In (1804890536, 610778273, -2117995310) 
        SET @editionCheck = 1 -- supports online rebuilds
    ELSE
        SET @editionCheck = 0; -- does not support online rebuilds
 
    IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('Grabbing a list of our databases...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
    /* Retrieve the list of databases to investigate */
    INSERT INTO #databaseList
    SELECT database_id
        , name
        , 0 -- not scanned yet for fragmentation
        , 0 -- statistics not yet updated
    FROM sys.databases
    WHERE name = IsNull(@DATABASE, name)
        And [name] Not In ('master', 'tempdb')-- exclude system databases
        And [STATE] = 0; -- state must be ONLINE
 
    IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('Looping through our list of databases and checking for fragmentation...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
    /* Loop through our list of databases */
    WHILE (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM #databaseList WHERE scanStatus = 0) > 0
    BEGIN
 
        SELECT TOP 1 @databaseID = databaseID
        FROM #databaseList
        WHERE scanStatus = 0;
 
        SELECT @debugMessage = '  working on ' + DB_NAME(@databaseID) + '...';
 
        IF @debugMode = 1
            RAISERROR(@debugMessage, 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
       /* Determine which indexes to defrag using our user-defined parameters */
        INSERT INTO #indexDefragList
        SELECT
              database_id AS databaseID
            , QUOTENAME(DB_NAME(database_id)) AS 'databaseName'
            , [OBJECT_ID] AS objectID
            , index_id AS indexID
            , partition_number AS partitionNumber
            , avg_fragmentation_in_percent AS fragmentation
            , page_count 
            , 0 AS 'defragStatus' /* 0 = unprocessed, 1 = processed */
            , Null AS 'schemaName'
            , Null AS 'objectName'
            , Null AS 'indexName'
        FROM sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats (@databaseID, OBJECT_ID(@tableName), Null , Null, @scanMode)
        WHERE avg_fragmentation_in_percent >= @minFragmentation 
            And index_id > 0 -- ignore heaps
            And page_count > 8 -- ignore objects with less than 1 extent
            And index_level = 0 -- leaf-level nodes only, supports @scanMode
        OPTION (MaxDop 2);
 
        /* Keep track of which databases have already been scanned */
        UPDATE #databaseList
        SET scanStatus = 1
        WHERE databaseID = @databaseID;
 
    END
 
    CREATE CLUSTERED INDEX CIX_temp_indexDefragList
        ON #indexDefragList(databaseID, objectID, indexID, partitionNumber);
 
    /* Delete any indexes from our to-do that are also in our exclusion list for today */
    DELETE idl
    FROM #indexDefragList AS idl
    Join dbo.dba_indexDefragExclusion AS ide
        ON idl.databaseID = ide.databaseID
        And idl.objectID = ide.objectID
        And idl.indexID = ide.indexID
    WHERE exclusionMask & POWER(2, DATEPART(weekday, GETDATE())-1) > 0;
 
    SELECT @debugMessage = 'Looping through our list... there''s ' + CAST(COUNT(*) AS VARCHAR(10)) + ' indexes to defrag!'
    FROM #indexDefragList;
 
    IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR(@debugMessage, 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
    /* Begin our loop for defragging */
    WHILE (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM #indexDefragList WHERE defragStatus = 0) > 0
    BEGIN
 
        IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('  Picking an index to beat into shape...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
        /* Grab the most fragmented index first to defrag */
        SELECT TOP 1 
              @objectID         = objectID
            , @indexID          = indexID
            , @databaseID       = databaseID
            , @databaseName     = databaseName
            , @fragmentation    = fragmentation
            , @partitionNumber  = partitionNumber
            , @pageCount        = page_count
        FROM #indexDefragList
        WHERE defragStatus = 0
        ORDER BY fragmentation DESC;
 
        IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('  Looking up the specifics for our index...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
        /* Look up index information */
        SELECT @updateSQL = N'Update idl
            Set schemaName = QuoteName(s.name)
                , objectName = QuoteName(o.name)
                , indexName = QuoteName(i.name)
            From #indexDefragList As idl
            Inner Join ' + @databaseName + '.sys.objects As o
                On idl.objectID = o.object_id
            Inner Join ' + @databaseName + '.sys.indexes As i
                On o.object_id = i.object_id
            Inner Join ' + @databaseName + '.sys.schemas As s
                On o.schema_id = s.schema_id
            Where o.object_id = ' + CAST(@objectID AS VARCHAR(10)) + '
                And i.index_id = ' + CAST(@indexID AS VARCHAR(10)) + '
                And i.type > 0
                And idl.databaseID = ' + CAST(@databaseID AS VARCHAR(10));
 
        EXECUTE SP_EXECUTESQL @updateSQL;
 
        /* Grab our object names */
        SELECT @objectName  = objectName
            , @schemaName   = schemaName
            , @indexName    = indexName
        FROM #indexDefragList
        WHERE objectID = @objectID
            And indexID = @indexID
            And databaseID = @databaseID;
 
        IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('  Grabbing the partition count...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
        /* Determine if the index is partitioned */
        SELECT @partitionSQL = 'Select @partitionCount_OUT = Count(*)
                                    From ' + @databaseName + '.sys.partitions
                                    Where object_id = ' + CAST(@objectID AS VARCHAR(10)) + '
                                        And index_id = ' + CAST(@indexID AS VARCHAR(10)) + ';'
            , @partitionSQL_Param = '@partitionCount_OUT int OutPut';
 
        EXECUTE SP_EXECUTESQL @partitionSQL, @partitionSQL_Param, @partitionCount_OUT = @partitionCount OUTPUT;
 
        IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('  Seeing if there''s any LOBs to be handled...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
        /* Determine if the table contains LOBs */
        SELECT @LOB_SQL = ' Select @containsLOB_OUT = Count(*)
                            From ' + @databaseName + '.sys.columns With (NoLock) 
                            Where [object_id] = ' + CAST(@objectID AS VARCHAR(10)) + '
                                And (system_type_id In (34, 35, 99)
                                        Or max_length = -1);'
                            /*  system_type_id --> 34 = image, 35 = text, 99 = ntext
                                max_length = -1 --> varbinary(max), varchar(max), nvarchar(max), xml */
                , @LOB_SQL_Param = '@containsLOB_OUT int OutPut';
 
        EXECUTE SP_EXECUTESQL @LOB_SQL, @LOB_SQL_Param, @containsLOB_OUT = @containsLOB OUTPUT;
 
        IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('  Building our SQL statements...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
        /* If there's not a lot of fragmentation, or if we have a LOB, we should reorganize */
        IF @fragmentation < @rebuildThreshold Or @containsLOB >= 1 Or @partitionCount > 1
        BEGIN
 
            SET @sqlCommand = N'Alter Index ' + @indexName + N' On ' + @databaseName + N'.' 
                                + @schemaName + N'.' + @objectName + N' ReOrganize';
 
            /* If our index is partitioned, we should always reorganize */
            IF @partitionCount > 1
                SET @sqlCommand = @sqlCommand + N' Partition = ' 
                                + CAST(@partitionNumber AS NVARCHAR(10));
 
        END;
 
        /* If the index is heavily fragmented and doesn't contain any partitions or LOB's, rebuild it */
        IF @fragmentation >= @rebuildThreshold And IsNull(@containsLOB, 0) != 1 And @partitionCount <= 1
        BEGIN
 
            /* Set online rebuild options; requires Enterprise Edition */
            IF @onlineRebuild = 1 And @editionCheck = 1 
                SET @rebuildCommand = N' Rebuild With (Online = On';
            ELSE
                SET @rebuildCommand = N' Rebuild With (Online = Off';
 
            /* Set processor restriction options; requires Enterprise Edition */
            IF @maxDopRestriction IS Not Null And @editionCheck = 1
                SET @rebuildCommand = @rebuildCommand + N', MaxDop = ' + CAST(@maxDopRestriction AS VARCHAR(2)) + N')';
            ELSE
                SET @rebuildCommand = @rebuildCommand + N')';
 
            SET @sqlCommand = N'Alter Index ' + @indexName + N' On ' + @databaseName + N'.'
                            + @schemaName + N'.' + @objectName + @rebuildCommand;
 
        END;
 
        /* Are we executing the SQL?  If so, do it */
        IF @executeSQL = 1
        BEGIN
 
            IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('  Executing SQL statements...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
            /* Grab the time for logging purposes */
            SET @dateTimeStart  = GETDATE();
 
            /* Log our actions */
            INSERT INTO dbo.dba_indexDefragLog
            (
                  databaseID
                , databaseName
                , objectID
                , objectName
                , indexID
                , indexName
                , partitionNumber
                , fragmentation
                , page_count
                , dateTimeStart
            )
            SELECT
                  @databaseID
                , @databaseName
                , @objectID
                , @objectName
                , @indexID
                , @indexName
                , @partitionNumber
                , @fragmentation
                , @pageCount
                , @dateTimeStart;
 
            SET @indexDefrag_id = SCOPE_IDENTITY();
 
            /* Execute our defrag! */
            EXECUTE SP_EXECUTESQL @sqlCommand;
            SET @dateTimeEnd  = GETDATE();
 
            /* Update our log with our completion time */
            UPDATE dbo.dba_indexDefragLog
            SET dateTimeEnd = @dateTimeEnd
                , durationSeconds = DATEDIFF(SECOND, @dateTimeStart, @dateTimeEnd)
            WHERE indexDefrag_id = @indexDefrag_id;
 
            /* Just a little breather for the server */
            WAITFOR Delay @defragDelay;
 
            /* Print if specified to do so */
            IF @printCommands = 1
                PRINT N'Executed: ' + @sqlCommand;
        END
        ELSE
        /* Looks like we're not executing, just printing the commands */
        BEGIN
            IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('  Printing SQL statements...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
            IF @printCommands = 1 PRINT IsNull(@sqlCommand, 'error!');
        END
 
        IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('  Updating our index defrag status...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
        /* Update our index defrag list so we know we've finished with that index */
        UPDATE #indexDefragList
        SET defragStatus = 1
        WHERE databaseID       = @databaseID
          And objectID         = @objectID
          And indexID          = @indexID
          And partitionNumber  = @partitionNumber;
 
    END
 
    /* Do we want to output our fragmentation results? */
    IF @printFragmentation = 1
    BEGIN
 
        IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('  Displaying fragmentation results...', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
        SELECT databaseID
            , databaseName
            , objectID
            , objectName
            , indexID
            , indexName
            , fragmentation
            , page_count
        FROM #indexDefragList;
 
    END;
 
    /* Do we want to rebuild stats? */
    IF @rebuildStats = 1
    BEGIN
 
        WHILE Exists(SELECT TOP 1 * FROM #databaseList WHERE statsStatus = 0)
        BEGIN
 
            /* Build our SQL statement to update stats */
            SELECT TOP 1 @rebuildStatsSQL = 'Use [' + databaseName + ']; ' + 
                                            'Execute sp_updatestats;'
                    , @rebuildStatsID = databaseID
            FROM #databaseList
            WHERE statsStatus = 0;
 
            SET @debugMessage = 'Rebuilding Statistics: ' + @rebuildStatsSQL;
 
            IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR(@debugMessage, 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
            /* Execute our stats update! */
            EXECUTE SP_EXECUTESQL @rebuildStatsSQL;
 
            /* Keep track of which databases have been updated */
            UPDATE #databaseList 
            SET statsStatus = 1
            WHERE databaseID = @rebuildStatsID;
 
        END;
    END;
 
    /* When everything is said and done, make sure to get rid of our temp table */
    DROP TABLE #indexDefragList;
    DROP TABLE #databaseList;
    DROP TABLE #processor;
 
    IF @debugMode = 1 RAISERROR('DONE!  Thank you for taking care of your indexes!  :)', 0, 42) WITH NoWait;
 
    SET NOCOUNT OFF;
    RETURN 0
END
Go
 
SET Quoted_Identifier OFF 
SET ANSI_Nulls ON
Go
19Jun/0910

Primary Key vs Unique Constraint

Recently, I encountered a table that needed to have the definition of a clustered index altered. It just so happens that the clustered index and the primary key were one and the same, a pretty common occurrence. However, when we went to modify the index, it failed.

The following entry in Books Online for CREATE INDEX explains why:

If the index enforces a PRIMARY KEY or UNIQUE constraint and the index definition is not altered in any way, the index is dropped and re-created preserving the existing constraint. However, if the index definition is altered the statement fails. To change the definition of a PRIMARY KEY or UNIQUE constraint, drop the constraint and add a constraint with the new definition.

Let's test this, shall we?

/* Create a table with a clustered primary key */
CREATE TABLE dbo.myTable
(
      myID      INT IDENTITY(1,1)   Not Null
    , myDate    SMALLDATETIME       Not Null
    , myNumber  INT                 Not Null
 
    CONSTRAINT CIX_myTable 
        PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED (myDate, myID)
);
 
/* Insert some data */
INSERT INTO myTable
SELECT '2009-01-01', 100 UNION All
SELECT '2009-02-01', 200 UNION All
SELECT '2009-01-05', 300;
 
/* Try to alter the index - FAIL */
CREATE CLUSTERED INDEX CIX_myTable
    ON myTable(myID, myDate, myNumber)
        WITH (Drop_Existing = ON);
 
/* Drop the clustered primary key */
ALTER TABLE dbo.myTable
    DROP CONSTRAINT CIX_myTable;
 
/* Add a unique clustered index */
CREATE UNIQUE CLUSTERED INDEX CIX_myTable 
    ON myTable(myDate, myID);
 
/* Add a unique constraint */
ALTER TABLE myTable
    ADD CONSTRAINT Unique_myTable
        UNIQUE (myDate);
 
/* Try to alter the index - SUCCESS */
CREATE CLUSTERED INDEX CIX_myTable
    ON myTable(myID, myDate, myNumber)
        WITH (Drop_Existing = ON);
 
/* Add a primary key constraint */
ALTER TABLE myTable
    ADD CONSTRAINT PK_myTable
        PRIMARY KEY (myID, myDate);
 
/* Try to alter the index - SUCCESS */
CREATE CLUSTERED INDEX CIX_myTable
    ON myTable(myID, myDate)
        WITH (Drop_Existing = ON);
 
/* Clean-Up */
DROP TABLE myTable;

The only instance that actually fails is the PRIMARY KEY constraint. The unique clustered index is able to be modified successfully, even when a unique constraint is applied to the table. So either I'm misunderstanding BOL, or BOL is mistaken. Either way, I'm then left with the following question: is there any reason to actually use a primary key when a unique index serves the same purpose and offers greater flexibility?

Questions, comments, and explanations are welcome. :)

21May/094

Overhead in Non-Unique Clustered Indexes

I've received a couple of questions regarding my article, Performance Considerations of Data Types, and the overhead associated with non-unique clustered indexes. I started to respond via e-mail, but my response was so long I decided to turn it into a blog post instead. ;)

I should start by clarifying that non-unique clustered indexes do not necessarily consume more space and overhead; it depends on the data stored. If you have duplicate clustered key values, the first instance of the value will be handled as though it were unique. Any subsequent values, however, will incur overhead to manage the uniquifier that SQL Server adds to maintain row uniqueness. This same overhead is also incurred in non-clustered indexes, too, adding to the overall expense of this approach.

I think it helps to actually look at the data, so let's walk through a few different common scenarios. We'll create a table with a unique clustered index, a table with a non-unique clustered index but no duplicates, and a table with duplicate key values.

Also, a little warning that I started to write this in SQL Server 2008, and since I'm on a 2008 kick, I decided to leave it that way. You can modify this pretty easily to work in 2005, if necessary.

USE sandbox;
Go
 
/* Unique, clustered index, no duplicate values */
CREATE TABLE dbo.uniqueClustered
(
      myDate    DATE        Not Null
    , myNumber  INT         Not Null
    , myColumn  CHAR(995)   Not Null
);
 
CREATE UNIQUE CLUSTERED INDEX CIX_uniqueClustered
    ON dbo.uniqueClustered(myDate);
 
 
/* Non-unique clustered index, but no duplicate values */
CREATE TABLE dbo.nonUniqueNoDups
(
      myDate    DATE        Not Null
    , myNumber  INT         Not Null
    , myColumn  CHAR(995)   Not Null
);
 
CREATE CLUSTERED INDEX CIX_nonUniqueNoDups
    ON dbo.nonUniqueNoDups(myDate);
 
 
/* Non-unique clustered index, duplicate values */
CREATE TABLE dbo.nonUniqueDuplicates
(
      myDate    DATE        Not Null
    , myNumber  INT         Not Null
    , myColumn  CHAR(995)   Not Null
);
 
CREATE CLUSTERED INDEX CIX_nonUniqueDuplicates
    ON dbo.nonUniqueDuplicates(myDate);

I'm going to use the date data type in 2008 for my clustered index key. To ensure uniqueness for the first two tables, I'll iterate through a few years' worth of dates. This is typical of what you may see in a data mart, where you'd have one record with an aggregation of each day's data. For the table with duplicate values, I'm going to insert the same date for each row.

/* Populate some test data */
SET NOCOUNT ON;
DECLARE @myDate DATE = '1990-01-01'
    , @myNumber INT = 1;
 
WHILE @myDate < '2010-01-01'
BEGIN
 
    INSERT INTO dbo.uniqueClustered
    SELECT @myDate, @myNumber, 'data';
 
    INSERT INTO dbo.nonUniqueNoDups
    SELECT @myDate, @myNumber, 'data';
 
    INSERT INTO dbo.nonUniqueDuplicates
    SELECT '2009-01-01', @myNumber, 'data';
 
    SELECT @myDate = DATEADD(DAY, 1, @myDate)
        , @myNumber += 1;
 
END;

After running the above script, each table should have 7,305 records. This is obviously pretty small for a table, but it'll serve our purposes. Now let's take a look at the size of our tables:

/* Look at the details of our indexes */
 
/* Unique, clustered index, no duplicate values */
SELECT 'unique' AS 'type', page_count, avg_page_space_used_in_percent, record_count
    , min_record_size_in_bytes, max_record_size_in_bytes
FROM sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats(DB_ID(), OBJECT_ID(N'uniqueClustered'), Null, Null, N'Detailed') 
WHERE index_level = 0
UNION All
/* Non-unique clustered index, but no duplicate values */
SELECT 'non-unique, no dups', page_count, avg_page_space_used_in_percent, record_count
    , min_record_size_in_bytes, max_record_size_in_bytes
FROM sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats(DB_ID(), OBJECT_ID(N'nonUniqueNoDups'), Null, Null, N'Detailed') 
WHERE index_level = 0
UNION All
/* Non-unique clustered index, duplicate values */
SELECT 'duplicates', page_count, avg_page_space_used_in_percent, record_count
    , min_record_size_in_bytes, max_record_size_in_bytes
FROM sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats(DB_ID(), OBJECT_ID(N'nonUniqueDuplicates'), Null, Null, N'Detailed') 
WHERE index_level = 0;

Here's the results:

type                page_count           avg_page_space_used_in_percent record_count         min_record_size_in_bytes max_record_size_in_bytes
------------------- -------------------- ------------------------------ -------------------- ------------------------ ------------------------
unique              914                  99.8055102545095               7305                 1009                     1009
non-unique, no dups 914                  99.8055102545095               7305                 1009                     1009
duplicates          1044                 88.066036570299                7305                 1009                     1017

I want to point out a couple of things. First, there is no difference in the number of pages between the non-unique clustered index with no duplicates ([nonUniqueNoDups]) and the unique clustered index ([uniqueClustered]). The table with duplicate clustered key values, however, requires 14% more pages to store the same amount of data. Secondly, the [max_record_size_in_bytes] of the [nonUniqueDuplicates] table is 8 bytes more than that of the other two. We'll discuss why in a minute.

Now let's take a look at the actual data pages. For this, I'm going to use my page internals proc.

Execute dbo.dba_viewPageData_sp
      @databaseName = 'sandbox'
    , @tableName    = 'sandbox.dbo.uniqueClustered'
    , @indexName    = 'CIX_uniqueClustered';

I'm not going to post the entire results here, but I want to draw your attention to "m_slotCnt = 8", which is near the top of the page. That means 8 records are stored on this page. Also, when you look near the end of the first record (Slot 0), you should see the following results:

Slot 0 Offset 0x60 Length 1009
Record Type = PRIMARY_RECORD         Record Attributes =  NULL_BITMAP     Record Size = 1009
Memory Dump @0x00A9C060
00000000:   1000ee03 c3150b01 00000064 61746120 †..î.Ã......data 
[...]
000003F0:   00†††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††.  
 
Slot 0 Column 1 Offset 0x4 Length 3 Length (physical) 3
myDate = 1990-01-01                  
 
Slot 0 Column 2 Offset 0x7 Length 4 Length (physical) 4
myNumber = 1                         
 
Slot 0 Column 3 Offset 0xb Length 995 Length (physical) 995
myColumn = data

Now let's look at the table that has a non-unique clustered index but no duplicates:

EXECUTE dbo.dba_viewPageData_sp
      @databaseName = 'sandbox'
    , @tableName    = 'sandbox.dbo.nonUniqueNoDups'
    , @indexName    = 'CIX_nonUniqueNoDups';

The m_slotCnt count is also 8 for this page. This time, let's glance at the first and second records (Slot 0 and 1 respectively):

Slot 0 Offset 0x60 Length 1009
Record Type = PRIMARY_RECORD         Record Attributes =  NULL_BITMAP     Record Size = 1009
Memory Dump @0x62FDC060
00000000:   1000ee03 c3150b01 00000064 61746120 †..î.Ã......data    
[...]
000003F0:   00†††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††.                        
 
Slot 0 Column 0 Offset 0x0 Length 4 Length (physical) 0
UNIQUIFIER = 0                       
 
Slot 0 Column 1 Offset 0x4 Length 3 Length (physical) 3
myDate = 1990-01-01                  
 
Slot 0 Column 2 Offset 0x7 Length 4 Length (physical) 4
myNumber = 1                         
 
Slot 0 Column 3 Offset 0xb Length 995 Length (physical) 995
myColumn = data
 
 
Slot 1 Offset 0x451 Length 1009
Record Type = PRIMARY_RECORD         Record Attributes =  NULL_BITMAP     Record Size = 1009
Memory Dump @0x62FDC451
 
00000000:   1000ee03 c4150b02 00000064 61746120 †..î.Ä......data          
[...]
000003F0:   00†††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††.                        
 
Slot 1 Column 0 Offset 0x0 Length 4 Length (physical) 0
UNIQUIFIER = 0                       
 
Slot 1 Column 1 Offset 0x4 Length 3 Length (physical) 3
myDate = 1990-01-02                  
 
Slot 1 Column 2 Offset 0x7 Length 4 Length (physical) 4
myNumber = 2                         
 
Slot 1 Column 3 Offset 0xb Length 995 Length (physical) 995
myColumn = data

We now see a new addition to the row, "UNIQUIFIER = 0." This is SQL Server's way of managing row uniqueness internally. You'll notice that, because the clustered key values are unique, the UNIQUIFIER is set to 0 and the row size is still 1009; for all intents and purposes, the UNIQUIFIER is not consuming any space.

Update: The DBCC God himself, Paul Randal, explained that non-dupes actually have a NULL UNIQUIFIER, which DBCC PAGE displays as a 0. Thanks for explaining, Paul! I wondered about that but chalked it up to SQL voodoo.

Now let's look at our final case, a non-unique clustered index with duplicate key values:

EXECUTE dbo.dba_viewPageData_sp
      @databaseName = 'sandbox'
    , @tableName    = 'sandbox.dbo.nonUniqueDuplicates'
    , @indexName    = 'CIX_nonUniqueDuplicates';

Here's where things get interesting. The m_slotCnt value is now 7, which means we're now storing 1 record less per page. Let's look at the details:

Slot 0 Offset 0x60 Length 1009
Record Type = PRIMARY_RECORD         Record Attributes =  NULL_BITMAP     Record Size = 1009
Memory Dump @0x00A9C060
00000000:   1000ee03 df300b01 00000064 61746120 †..î.ß0.....data  
[...]
000003F0:   00†††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††.                        
 
Slot 0 Column 0 Offset 0x0 Length 4 Length (physical) 0
UNIQUIFIER = 0                       
 
Slot 0 Column 1 Offset 0x4 Length 3 Length (physical) 3
myDate = 2009-01-01                  
 
Slot 0 Column 2 Offset 0x7 Length 4 Length (physical) 4
myNumber = 1                         
 
Slot 0 Column 3 Offset 0xb Length 995 Length (physical) 995
myColumn = data
 
 
Slot 1 Offset 0x451 Length 1017
 
Record Type = PRIMARY_RECORD         Record Attributes =  NULL_BITMAP VARIABLE_COLUMNS
Record Size = 1017                   
Memory Dump @0x00A9C451
00000000:   3000ee03 df300b02 00000064 61746120 †0.î.ß0.....data  
[...]
000003F0:   000100f9 03010000 00†††††††††††††††††...ù.....                
 
Slot 1 Column 0 Offset 0x3f5 Length 4 Length (physical) 4
UNIQUIFIER = 1                       
 
Slot 1 Column 1 Offset 0x4 Length 3 Length (physical) 3
myDate = 2009-01-01                  
 
Slot 1 Column 2 Offset 0x7 Length 4 Length (physical) 4
myNumber = 2                         
 
Slot 1 Column 3 Offset 0xb Length 995 Length (physical) 995
myColumn = data

The first record, Slot 0, looks exactly the same as in the previous table; the UNIQUIFIER is 0 and the row size is 1009. The second record (Slot 1), however, now has a UNIQUIFIER value of 1 and the row size is 1017. If you notice, the "Record Attributes" of Slot 1 are also different, with the addition of "VARIABLE_COLUMNS." This is because the UNIQUIFIER is stored as a variable column. The extra 8 bytes of overhead break down to 4 bytes to store the UNIQUIFIER, 2 bytes to store the variable column offset, and 2 bytes to store the variable count. The tables we created used all fixed-length columns; you may notice some minor overhead differences if your table already contains variable columns.

To summarize, there is indeed a difference in the page structure between a unique clustered index and a non-unique clustered index; however, there's only a possible performance and space impact when storing duplicate clustered key values. So there you go, more detail than you ever wanted to know about clustered indexes and uniqueness!

28Apr/096

A Look at Missing Indexes

Tim Ford (@SQLAgentMan) recently blogged about his Top 5 SQL Server Indexing Best Practices. I thought it was a good list, and it inspired this blog post. I've recently been doing a little index spring cleaning, and I thought some people may be interested in the process I go through. So, here it is... a journey through madness an overview of my general missing index process.

I start with my trusty dba_missingIndexStoredProc table. If this table sounds completely foreign to you, check out my post, Find Missing Indexes In Stored Procs. Basically, I have a process that runs every night, scanning the XML of every query plan on the server to find procs that are possibly missing indexes. I then log the details for later action.

So I take a look at my table, and I find 8 stored procedures that are possibly missing indexes. Clicking on the XML link will show me the logged query plan:

Procs With Missing Indexes

Procs With Missing Indexes

Right clicking on the "Missing Index" description will give me the details of the recommended index:

Missing Index Details

Missing Index Details

Here's an example of what SQL Server will return for you:

/*
Missing Index Details from ExecutionPlan2.sqlplan
The Query Processor estimates that implementing the following index 
could improve the query cost by 85.7327%.
*/
 
/*
USE [msdb]
GO
CREATE NONCLUSTERED INDEX [<Name of Missing Index, sysname,>]
ON [dbo].[sysjobhistory] ([job_id])
INCLUDE ([instance_id],[step_id],[sql_message_id],[sql_severity],
[run_status],[run_date],[run_time],[run_duration],[operator_id_emailed], 
[operator_id_netsent],[operator_id_paged],[retries_attempted],[server])
GO
*/

I now compare the details of this proposed index to the missing index DMV suggestions, using this query:

SELECT t.name AS 'affected_table'
    , 'Create NonClustered Index IX_' + t.name + '_missing_' 
        + CAST(ddmid.index_handle AS VARCHAR(10))
        + ' On ' + ddmid.STATEMENT 
        + ' (' + IsNull(ddmid.equality_columns,'') 
        + CASE WHEN ddmid.equality_columns IS Not Null 
            And ddmid.inequality_columns IS Not Null THEN ',' 
                ELSE '' END 
        + IsNull(ddmid.inequality_columns, '')
        + ')' 
        + IsNull(' Include (' + ddmid.included_columns + ');', ';'
        ) AS sql_statement
    , ddmigs.user_seeks
    , ddmigs.user_scans
    , CAST((ddmigs.user_seeks + ddmigs.user_scans) 
        * ddmigs.avg_user_impact AS INT) AS 'est_impact'
    , ddmigs.last_user_seek
FROM sys.dm_db_missing_index_groups AS ddmig
INNER JOIN sys.dm_db_missing_index_group_stats AS ddmigs
    ON ddmigs.group_handle = ddmig.index_group_handle
INNER JOIN sys.dm_db_missing_index_details AS ddmid 
    ON ddmig.index_handle = ddmid.index_handle
INNER JOIN sys.tables AS t
    ON ddmid.OBJECT_ID = t.OBJECT_ID
WHERE ddmid.database_id = DB_ID()
    --AND t.name = 'myTableName' 
ORDER BY CAST((ddmigs.user_seeks + ddmigs.user_scans) 
    * ddmigs.avg_user_impact AS INT) DESC;

I usually find the data in both places, but not always. One reason why is because the missing index DMV will only store data since your last reboot. So if I'm taking a look at this DMV on Monday and I just rebooted on Sunday, I may not have enough history to give me meaningful recommendations. This is just something to be aware of.

What I'm looking for in this DMV is the number of user_seeks and the est_impact. Also, if I haven't rebooted my server in a while, I take a look at last_user_seek so I can determine whether or not it's still accurate.

Next, I take a look at my existing indexes using Kimberly Tripp's sp_helpindex2 system stored proc. I use her proc instead of sp_helpindex because I need to see included columns.

If you're wondering why I'm looking at existing indexes, the reason is because I'm looking for indexes that can be modified slightly to accommodate my missing index needs. By "modified slightly," I mean that I'd only want to make a change to an existing index if it did not drastically change the size or composition of an index, i.e. adding one or two narrow columns as included columns. I do NOT mean making changes that double the size of your index; in those cases, you'd probably be better off creating a brand new index.

Looking at existing indexes is actually a pretty critical part of the puzzle. If I have a proc that only gets called a few times an hour and could benefit from a better index, I may not create that index if it means adding a wide, expensive index to a busy table. If I can make a small modification to an existing index, then there's a greater chance I'll make the change and cover my query.

At this point, I should have enough information to start making decisions. I was going to write out the path I normally take when making decisions, but I thought, "Hey! What a great time for a diagram." So here you go:

Decision Path

Decision Path

Disclaimer: I'm *not* a Visio wizard, so if I butchered the use of certain symbols in my diagram, please let me know so I can a) fix it, and b) learn from it!

It's hard to really put all of the decision paths into a single, small diagram like this. There's a lot of variables that I'm not even touching here. But I think this is a fairly good "generic" representation of the path I take. When I hit an "end" process, it means I don't create the missing index at this time. Maybe in the future, it'll become necessary, but I prefer to err on the side of less indexes.

So there you have it, a brief look at my missing index process. Hopefully someone finds it helpful. :)

20Apr/093

Filtered Indexes: What You Need To Know

Filtered indexes are probably my favorite feature in 2008. That's saying a lot, since there are so many great new features to choose from. In this post, I want to explore a little about how filtered indexes work, how they can be applied, and some of the "gotchas" to be aware of.

First, for those of you who may not yet know about filtered indexes, allow me enlighten you. In short, filtered indexes allow you to create an index on a subset of data using a filtering predicate. Filters can only be applied to non-clustered indexes. The general syntax of a filtered index is:

CREATE NONCLUSTERED INDEX [index_name]
ON [table_name] ([column_list])
Include ([column_list])
WHERE [filtered_criteria];

For our purposes, we're going to be working with the Sales.SalesOrderDetail table in the AdventureWorks database. Let's look at a specific example. Suppose we have a query that regularly searches on the [SpecialOfferID] column.

SELECT SalesOrderID
    , COUNT(*) AS 'CountOfLineItem'
    , SUM(LineTotal) AS 'SumOfLineTotal'
FROM Sales.SalesOrderDetail
WHERE SpecialOfferID <> 1
GROUP BY SalesOrderID;

We notice that there's no covering index for this query by looking at the actual execution plan:

Query Plan - Clustered Scan

Query Plan - Clustered Scan

If this is a commonly executed query, then we'd probably want to toss an index on it. Before we get started, let's take a look at what the distribution of values are on that column:

SELECT SpecialOfferID
    , COUNT(*) AS 'rows'
FROM Sales.SalesOrderDetail
GROUP BY SpecialOfferID
ORDER BY COUNT(*) DESC;

Our distribution of values is:

SpecialOfferID rows
-------------- -----------
1              115884
2              3428
3              606
13             524
14             244
16             169
7              137
8              98
11             84
4              80
9              61
5              2

As you can see, [SpecialOfferID] = 1 accounts for 96% of our values. In 2005, we'd create an index that may look something like this:

CREATE NONCLUSTERED INDEX IX_Sales_SalesOrderDetail_SpecialOfferID
    ON Sales.SalesOrderDetail(SpecialOfferID)
    Include (SalesOrderID, LineTotal);

Now if we re-run our original query, this is what we see:

Indexed Query Plan

Indexed Query Plan

So we're now performing a non-clustered index seek instead of a clustered index scan. Already this results in some pretty significant performance improvements. To see this, we're going to use the INDEX query hint to force an index scan. We're also going to use the DBCC command DROPCLEANBUFFERS, which will allow us to clear the buffer cache and better examine what's happening with our IO.

SET STATISTICS IO ON;
 
DBCC DropCleanBuffers;
 
SELECT SalesOrderID
    , COUNT(*) AS 'CountOfLineItem'
    , SUM(LineTotal) AS 'SumOfLineTotal'
FROM Sales.SalesOrderDetail WITH 
    (INDEX(PK_SalesOrderDetail_SalesOrderID_SalesOrderDetailID))
WHERE SpecialOfferID <> 1
GROUP BY SalesOrderID;
 
DBCC DropCleanBuffers;
 
SELECT SalesOrderID
    , COUNT(*) AS 'CountOfLineItem'
    , SUM(LineTotal) AS 'SumOfLineTotal'
FROM Sales.SalesOrderDetail
WHERE SpecialOfferID <> 1
GROUP BY SalesOrderID;
 
SET STATISTICS IO OFF;
Clustered Index Scan:
Table 'SalesOrderDetail'. Scan count 1, logical reads 1240, physical reads 17, read-ahead reads 1242...
 
NonClustered Index Seek:
Table 'SalesOrderDetail'. Scan count 2, logical reads 30, physical reads 4, read-ahead reads 480...

As you can see, the non-clustered (NC) index seek performs quite a bit better. Now let's create a filtered index and explore what happens:

CREATE NONCLUSTERED INDEX FIX_Sales_SalesOrderDetail_SpecialOfferID_Filtered
    ON Sales.SalesOrderDetail(SalesOrderID)
    Include (LineTotal)
    WHERE SpecialOfferID <> 1;

First, let's look at the pages consumed by each index:

SELECT i.name, ddips.index_depth, ddips.index_level
    , ddips.page_count, ddips.record_count
FROM sys.indexes AS i
Join sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats(DB_ID(), 
    OBJECT_ID(N'Sales.SalesOrderDetail'), Null, Null, N'Detailed') AS ddips
    ON i.OBJECT_ID = ddips.OBJECT_ID
    And i.index_id = ddips.index_id
WHERE i.name In ('IX_Sales_SalesOrderDetail_SpecialOfferID'
    , 'FIX_Sales_SalesOrderDetail_SpecialOfferID_Filtered'
    , 'PK_SalesOrderDetail_SalesOrderID_SalesOrderDetailID')
    AND ddips.index_level = 0;
name                                                       index_depth index_level page_count  record_count
---------------------------------------------------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- --------------------
PK_SalesOrderDetail_SalesOrderID_SalesOrderDetailID        3           0           1234        121317
IX_Sales_SalesOrderDetail_SpecialOfferID                   3           0           480         121317
FIX_Sales_SalesOrderDetail_SpecialOfferID_Filtered         2           0           19          5433

If you scroll over, you'll see that the clustered index consumes the most pages, naturally. The non-filtered NC index consumes less pages than the clustered index because it's narrower; however, it still consumes more pages than the filtered index because it's storing every data row. The filtered index, with only 5433 rows stored, is by far our smallest index, consuming 96% less space than our non-filtered NC index.

Because we're using less space to store this index, we should also see an equivalent performance boost. Let's verify that this is the case:

SET STATISTICS IO ON;
 
DBCC DropCleanBuffers;
 
SELECT SalesOrderID
    , COUNT(*) AS 'CountOfLineItem'
    , SUM(LineTotal) AS 'SumOfLineTotal'
FROM Sales.SalesOrderDetail WITH (INDEX(IX_Sales_SalesOrderDetail_SpecialOfferID))
WHERE SpecialOfferID <> 1
GROUP BY SalesOrderID;
 
DBCC DropCleanBuffers;
 
SELECT SalesOrderID
    , COUNT(*) AS 'CountOfLineItem'
    , SUM(LineTotal) AS 'SumOfLineTotal'
FROM Sales.SalesOrderDetail
WHERE SpecialOfferID <> 1
GROUP BY SalesOrderID;
 
SET STATISTICS IO OFF;
NonClustered Index Seek:
Table 'SalesOrderDetail'. Scan count 2, logical reads 30, physical reads 4, read-ahead reads 480
 
Filtered Index Scan:
Table 'SalesOrderDetail'. Scan count 1, logical reads 24, physical reads 2, read-ahead reads 22
Filtered Query Plan

Filtered Query Plan

As expected, we get the best results with our filtered index scan.

You'll notice that I did *not* create the index on the [SpecialOfferID] column like I did in [IX_Sales_SalesOrderDetail_SpecialOfferID]. This is because my query doesn't care what my [SpecialOfferID] value is, just as long as it's not equal to 1. My non-filtered NC index was created on [SpecialOfferID] because it needed to navigate the B-TREE to find the records where [SpecialOfferID] <> 1. With my filtered index, the query optimizer knows that all of my records already meet the criteria, so doesn't need to navigate through the index to find the matching results.

We could choose to include the [SpecialOfferID] data in our filtered index, but we'd most likely want to make it an included column rather than part of the index key. In fact, it's important to note that, if I don't add [SpecialOfferID] as an included column and I want to return it in the results, i.e.

SELECT SalesOrderID
    , SpecialOfferID
    , COUNT(*) AS 'CountOfLineItem'
    , SUM(LineTotal) AS 'SumOfLineTotal'
FROM Sales.SalesOrderDetail
WHERE SpecialOfferID <> 1
GROUP BY SalesOrderID
    , SpecialOfferID;

my filtered index will not be used and I will instead scan on the clustered index once more (assuming [IX_Sales_SalesOrderDetail_SpecialOfferID] does not exist). This is because the filtering criteria is not included anywhere on the actual index page. This is actually good news, in my opinion, since it allows you to create even leaner indexes. And like I already mentioned, if you do need the data returned, you can always add the filtering criteria as included columns.

What if you're trying to find out whether or not an index is filtered, and what it's filtered on? The sys.indexes catalog view has been updated in 2008 to include this information:

SELECT name, has_filter, filter_definition
FROM sys.indexes 
WHERE name In ('IX_Sales_SalesOrderDetail_SpecialOfferID'
    , 'FIX_Sales_SalesOrderDetail_SpecialOfferID_Filtered'
    , 'PK_SalesOrderDetail_SalesOrderID_SalesOrderDetailID');
name                                                   has_filter filter_definition
------------------------------------------------------ ---------- -------------------------
FIX_Sales_SalesOrderDetail_SpecialOfferID_Filtered     1          ([SpecialOfferID]<>(1))
IX_Sales_SalesOrderDetail_SpecialOfferID               0          NULL
PK_SalesOrderDetail_SalesOrderID_SalesOrderDetailID    0          NULL

I personally recommend Kimberly Tripp's system stored proc, sp_helpindex2. It returns a lot of good information about your indexes, such as included columns and filtering criteria.

That's all I have for today. Hopefully, you now understand how powerful filtered indexes can be. When used properly, filtered indexes can use less space, consume less IO, and improve overall query performance.