SQL Server 2016 RC0 introduces a new native string splitting function, STRING_SPLIT. Aaron Bertrand (@AaronBertrand) compares its performance to existing methods.
SQL Server 2016 allows you to enable instant file initialization during installation; Aaron Bertrand (@AaronBertrand) looks at how this can impact tempdb data file creation.
Aaron Bertrand (@AaronBertrand) shares some insight about early changes to Plan Explorer that help to provide you with the most accurate information we can.
Aaron Bertrand (@AaronBertrand) revisits the impact that eliminating DONE_IN_PROC messages using SET NOCOUNT ON may or may not have on query performance.
Erin Stellato (@erinstellato) looks into sparse columns in SQL Server – the changes to space requirements and the impact on the write portion of your workload.
Tim Radney of SQLskills gives an overview of his approach to SQL Server performance tuning, from system configuration, to I/O latency, to high cost queries.