Constraints aren't exciting, are they? They seem so basic and fundamental that we tend to forget about the value they add.

The goal of this presentation is to get you thinking about the use of constraints, starting with the basics of making sure the data in a single table is reasonably constrained. We'll start with data types, column lengths, and nullability, then move on to discuss unique constraints, CHECK constraints, and triggers. We'll build on these topics by looking at how to constrain relationships across tables and even databases using foreign keys, triggers, and indexed views.

Throughout the discussion we'll also discuss the overhead versus the benefits of constraints in terms of performance and the challenge of balancing that with raw performance. We'll wrap up with a list of things you might want to check after the webinar and as many questions as time permits.

Speaker: Andy Warren is a SQL Server consultant based in Orlando. Andy was a founding principal of SQLServerCentral.com, is the former President of the Orlando SQL Server Users Group, and one of the founders of SQLSaturday. He has been an MVP since 2009 and has written and presented extensively SQL Server. Andy blogs at www.sqlandy.com, is on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/sqlandy, and is occasionally on Twitter as @SQLAndy.

Topics: Database Performance, Database Monitoring, Database Diagnostics
Products: SQL Diagnostic Manager for SQL Server