SQL Server Internals 2025 - Part 2

Many great developers, DBAs, and architects get their day-to-day work completed on time and with reasonable quality while never fully understanding what’s happening behind the scenes of their database systems. But if you want to take your database skills to the next level, it’s critical to know SQL Server’s internal processes and architecture. This session will answer questions like:

- How are queries handled behind the scenes?
- What are the various areas of memory inside of SQL Server?
- How does SQL Server determine what important procedural code (like functions, procedures, and triggers) to keep in the plan cache and which to evict?
- How does SQL Server perform write operations to database files and transaction log files?
- What are the most important performance features we can leverage (like in-memory OLTP, delay durability, and page compression) and what is their impact on the internals of SQL Server?

This fast paced and highly-rated session takes you through the entire lifecycle of a SQL Server transaction, revealing overlooked aspects SQL Server internals and their inner workings, which in turn you can use to ensure your code performs at its best.

- Learn how SQL Server creates execution plans retains them in cache. - Learn about the mechanisms used by SQL Server to interact with database files and transaction log files. - See the newest internals that improved performance for SQL Server and how they have changed over the years.